Nine Devon schools confirmed as still in schools rebuilding targets

Nine Devon schools remain in the government’s school rebuilding programme as ministers prepare to make way for more applications.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced the expansion of the school rebuilding project as part of a wider range of announcements, including a £3 billion bid to create 50,000 specialist places for children with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools nationwide.
The announcement said it would invite applications from a further 250 schools and that those with the “most severe need” would be prioritised.
Nearly 520 schools are on the list from across the country, having applied through the various phases of the rebuilding programme in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
The nine Devon schools that remain on the list are:
Dawlish College
River Dart Academy
Swimbridge C of E Primary School
Tavistock College
Tipton St John C of E Primary School
Tiverton High School
Whipton Barton Infants and Nursery School
Exmouth Community College
Kenton Primary School
Those schools will need varying levels of work on them, but the likes of Tipton St John has been known to flood in its current location and efforts have been ongoing to select a new site for it.
Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat), the MP for Tiverton and Minehead, campaigned partly on the issue of getting Tiverton High School rebuilt.
Her website states: “Tiverton High School was built on a floodplain over 60 years ago and Environment Agency reports have scored regular flooding of school buildings as a ‘risk to life’.
“Moreover, the school is said to have asbestos present across various school buildings, and with a built provision of 1,300, the infrastructure cannot meet the required capacity of 1,800 pupils.”
In terms of the government’s announcement about SEND places, a spokesperson said it could not state at this stage how many would go to each local authority.
Ms Phillipson said: “A child’s background should not determine where they end up. Education is the route to opportunity, and opportunity should be for every child, regardless of their individual needs and circumstances.
“For too many families, the reality has been very different, but this government will fix the broken education system for children and young people with SEND by making sure that their local school is also the right school.
“Ahead our reforms next year, we’re laying the foundations of a new system that shifts children with SEND from forgotten to included and earns the confidence of parents. 
“This £3 billion investment will transform lives. It will open the door to opportunity for tens of thousands of children with SEND, giving them the chance to learn, belong and succeed in their local community. This is how we build an education system that works for every child.”
Elsewhere, the Department for Education released a list of Free Schools that were in the pre-opening phase or had been cancelled or withdrawn.
ACE Cranbrook was listed as ‘pre-opening’, while Northam Primary Academy was included on a list of cancelled or withdrawn, alongside Windmill Hill Primary School in Torbay.