Priorities for school buildings and capital funding in England will be the focus of this conference. It follows commitments from the Government to build 100 new free schools in each year of this Parliament and the establishment of LocatED, a new government-owned property company responsible for buying and developing free school sites in England.

It also comes after the Public Accounts Committee’s Capital Funding for Schools report, which warned that the Government was overspending in its bid to create more free schools, as well as the National Audit Office report which called for closer working between the Department for Education and local authorities.

Delegates will evaluate latest thinking on the provision of school places, the future role for local authorities and academy trusts in managing the school estate, and assess the next steps that can be taken to ensure that new free schools deliver added value for local areas. With Phase 2 of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) underway for selected schools, further sessions will look at opportunities for improving the design of new school buildings and learning spaces, in addition to evaluating the progress of the repair and refurbishment of the school estate.

Attendees will also discuss key health and safety issues for school buildings, in light of the Department for Education’s request that additional building checks are carried out following the Grenfell Tower fire.