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A Scottish Government Statistics Publication

This document contains the results of the Scottish Government's collection of certain core facts about the school estate. This survey looks at the size, value, condition, capacity and running costs of the school estate. The collection took place in April 2007 and covered 2,184 primary schools or units, 383 secondary schools or units and 163 special schools or units. Response rates vary between questions.

This is the second time these statistics have been published, the previous time being in June 2005. The quality of the data has been improved with more complete data being received, work carried out on clearer definitions, and improved guidance being published on assigning the condition of the school. A simple comparison of the 2004 and 2007 data is therefore often not valid.

The main findings of the survey are:

• The total gross internal floor area ( GIA) of all publicly funded schools in Scotland is estimated to be about eight million square metres. This gives an average of 1,800 square metres per primary school, 10,500 square metres per secondary school and 1,100 square metres per special school.
• The total area within the perimeter ( AWP) of the school estate is estimated to be about 49 million square metres (about 19 square miles). This gives an average of 12,200 square metres per primary school, 55,300 square metres per secondary school and 9,900 square metres per special school. Although the total area is less than the published estimate in 2004, analysis suggests that this is due to an improved estimate from more complete data, rather than an overall decrease in total area.
• There were 161 schools which shared a campus with one or more other schools, 243 schools had dedicated areas for community services and 117 schools were reported as having been built or refurbished under Public Private Partnership ( PPP) arrangements.
• In accounting terms, the gross value of the school stock was £6.1 billion and the replacement stock value was £9.1 billion.
• Fourteen per cent of schools were given the overall building condition rating of A (good). There were a further one per cent of schools which were new build but for which a condition rating was not reported. 48 per cent were rated B (satisfactory), 31 per cent were rated C (poor) and five per cent were rated D (bad). Improved guidance and methodology was issued on assigning condition ratings in 2007. This may, in some cases, affect comparisons between the 2004 and 2007 condition data.
• In primary schools one in nine schools were operating above 90 per cent capacity, while almost two thirds of schools were operating below 75 per cent capacity. In the secondary sector a third of schools were operating above 90 per cent capacity, with a third of schools below 75 per cent capacity. The average level of occupancy for primary and secondary schools has decreased from 75 per cent in 2004 to 73 per cent in 2007.
• Total revenue expenditure on repairs, alterations and maintenance was £99 million for 2005-06 and PPP service payments amounted to £95 million.

BACKGROUND NOTES

1. The information in this statistical publication notice is derived from the April 2007 school estate core facts collection of data on all publicly funded primary, secondary and special schools, and financial information from local authorities. Certain elements of the School Estates Core Facts were not collected this time while further development work on these is undertaken.

2. Data for grant aided schools and stand-alone nurseries were not collected in this survey.

3. Information from the survey is used to establish baselines, inform targets, inform spending decisions, support monitoring and evaluation of progress over time, and support assessments of value for money in the school estate.

Data quality and definitions

4. This is the third year that school estate data has been collected it was last collected in December 2004. The collection was piloted in December 2003. However as the data was incomplete and often of poor quality the results were not published.

5. Not all local authorities could answer all of the questions in the survey at this time.

6. Data on the total gross internal floor area ( GIA) and area within the perimeter ( AWP) the school estate have been scaled up to take account of missing data. As the 2007 AWP data is more complete than the 2004 data, less scaling was necessary and the resulting 2007 totals are more reliable than those in 2004. A large proportion of the schools whose AWP information was missing in 2004 were from urban areas which tend to have smaller areas. This will explain why the more accurate 2007 estimate is smaller. A simple comparison of the 2004 and 2007 data is therefore not valid.

7. A school is recorded as having community services if there is space within it dedicated to and managed by those providing community services, such as dental, medical or police or social work. This does not refer to use of school amenities such as sports of cultural facilities by community groups.

8. PPP (Public Private Partnership) refers to schools that have been built or refurbished under a public/private partnership arrangement.

9. The gross value of the school stock is the amount at which the school estate is valued in accounting terms.

10. Replacement stock value is based on the amount for which the school estate is insured.

11. Although local authorities are confident that there is consistency in condition ratings within their area, these results may not be consistent across authorities ( i.e. a school given a particular condition rating by one local authority might have been be rated differently by another local authority, depending on the survey methodology).

12. To address this issue the way in which condition ratings are assigned has been improved since 2004. To make the ratings across local authorities more consistent new guidance on assigning condition - The Condition Core Fact (available from www.scotland.gov.uk/schoolestate) - was published in March 2007. It is expected that all local authorities will implement this guidance by the end of 2008. At the time of the survey 22 of 32 local authorities reported having implemented the guidance. This may, in some cases, affect comparisons between the 2004 and 2007 condition data and between local authorities.

13. The condition of a school is based on the following criteria, as assessed by local authorities:
Condition A: Good - Performing well and operating efficiently
Condition B: Satisfactory - Performing adequately but showing minor deterioration
Condition C: Poor - Showing major defects and/or not operating adequately
Condition D: Bad - Economic life expired and/or risk of failure
Condition D has been changed from "Life expired and/or serious risk of imminent failure" in the previous guidance.

14. Local authorities determine the formulae used to calculate capacity, in line with Scottish Government guidance (Circular No. 03/2004). They may therefore vary between local authorities and school types. The percentage of capacity used in each school was calculated using the number of pupils recorded at each school from the results of the September 2006 pupil census.

15. The information on utilities is incomplete. In most cases this is due to local authorities not returning complete data, although in some cases information was returned but not included due to concerns about data quality.

16. The following symbols are used in this publication:

- = nil or rounds to nil
# = not applicable
.. = not available

General

17. Figures contained in this publication are not National Statistics. The standard National Statistics release practices were not followed. The published results are free from political interference.

18. This is the third year of a new collection and it is likely that there remain some differences in the way in which local authorities are reporting information. Local authorities were also unable to provide full data for several of the questions. Once the survey has bedded in and quality concerns have been addressed, the data will be considered for inclusion within the scope of National Statistics.

19. All tables are available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00589

20. Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this Publication Notice should be addressed to:

Carrie Graham,

Telephone : 0131 244 0183
or e-mail : school.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Press Contact:

Brendan Rooney
Telephone : 0131 244 2960.
12 ^th July 2007

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