In the June Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that the government was to spend £2.4 billion a year on the programme to rebuild over 500 schools during the next four years, with increased capital funding from April 2026.

Together with a £2 billion rise in the core schools budget, this should “unlock a wave of education-related activity”, according to the newly-published Glenigan Construction Industry Forecast 2026-27.

School building projects account for around 70% of education sector construction activity, and the boost to the rebuilding programme is set to be a major driver of the upturn in work in the sector.

The new Glenigan forecast predicts that the value of underlying (under £100 million) education sector starts will rise by 15% next year and by a further 4% in 2027.

As it is, the number of school projects where work is underway is already on the rise; up from 75 in 2024/25 to 100 in 2025/26.

The government’s pledge to deal with the RAAC, concrete-related problems in schools will be a further spur to activity in the sector.

Indeed, repair & maintenance work is set to rise across state school buildings and its wider estate. The government’s infrastructure strategy points to maintenance funding rising to around £2.3 billion by 2029-30, up from earlier lower levels.

Glenigan reports that there is no shortage of education projects with planning approval around the country, ready to move forward to the construction stage.

In London, for example, planning approval was granted last year for underlying education projects worth over £700 million.

The North West, where education approvals last year were worth around £550 million, the South East (almost £600 million in 2024), and the West Midlands (around £450 million last year) also look to be promising regions for new school projects.

In Scotland, the value of education projects securing planning is set to exceed £600 million this year, on top of projects in the sector worth over £500 million, which won consent last year.