Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance the Government provides to local authorities on the inspection of school ceilings.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts, along with their schools. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.
The department provides good estate management for schools (GEMS), which is a manual and toolkit to support responsible bodies and schools with their estate management. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.
The guidance contains a range of information that can help organisations to manage their school estate, including strategic estate management, maintenance and health and safety compliance. This includes guidance on carrying out condition surveys and how to procure professional services, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/understanding-land-and-buildings#assessing-the-condition-of-your-estate and here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/planning-and-organising-your-estate-resources#buying-goods-works-and-services.