Primary capital programme

In his budget 2005, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new capital programme to rebuild, remodel and refurbish at least 50 per cent of primary schools and primary age special schools. The 'Primary Capital Programme' will be administered over a 15 year period from 2009.

Kirklees Council were advised by the DCSF in autumn 2007 of our indicative share of the Primary Capital Programme funding. To access funding we were required to prepare and agree a 'Primary Strategy for Change' - a plan setting out how the programme will support national policies and local priorities.

All strategies have now been rigorously assessed, and Kirklees Council's strategy has been fully approved. This means we have met all of the required elements and DCSF are able to confirm our allocation for 2009-10 and 2010-11. This will enable us to move ahead with the planning and procurement for the first four years of the programme.

Local authorities were placed in one of three categories, and Kirklees were amongst 41 leading authorities given 'category 1 - approved' status. 92 authorities were judged 'category 2 - approved with some modification', and 15 were judged 'category 3 - further work needed before funding can be released'.

Comments from the assessors on Kirklees Primary Strategy for Change included:

'This strategy provides a sound summary of vision and context and offers a good analysis and identification of key areas for improvement. Strong points include a focus on standards, ICT development and an openness to innovative models.

'There is a clear strategic approach to option appraisal and good consultative processes and stakeholder involvement.'

This is a positive start to the primary programme, and we will continue discussions with the first schools involved going forward.

Downloads

• Primary strategy for change (pdf 576Kb)
• Proposed overall weighting method (pdf 38kb)
  We have developed the Primary Capital selection criteria in line with the feedback received from schools and other key stakeholders, and have produced a draft weighting system. This has enabled us to prioritise schools for inclusion in the primary programme to submit our Strategy for Change to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).