Education Estates Conference 2025: Creating a Sustainable and Resilient Future for Learning

The UK’s education estate is at a defining moment. With around 40% of school buildings constructed between the 1950s and 1980s, many now at or beyond their expected 60-year lifespan.

The challenge of delivering safe, sustainable, and inspiring places to learn has never been greater.

This year’s Education Estates Conference in Manchester brought together policymakers, local authorities, trusts, designers, and consultants to explore how we can renew our education estate for the next generation.

Over two days of discussion, one message stood out clearly – Investment in the learning environment is investment in our collective future – educationally, socially, environmentally, and economically.

Ben Christian, a partner in our planning team who attended the conference, explores some of the key themes from the two-day event and what they might mean for the future of education estates across the UK.

A school estate past its prime

Around 40% of the UK’s education estate was built between the 1950s and 1980s, meaning that much of it has reached or exceeded its expected 60-year design life. The impact of this ageing estate is not just financial – it directly affects learning outcomes.

Research shows that GCSE results can be up noticeably higher where pupils are taught in satisfactory, well-maintained education establishments.

While the government’s work on addressing RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) is now nearing completion, the issue highlighted a broader truth: disruption to education environments for building fabric improvements has a detrimental impact on the education of young people.

Once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity

The Department for Education’s latest data confirms the scale of the challenge.

Last year saw approximately £8 billion invested into the education estate, through the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme.

This is part of the Government investing £38 billion in education capital over five years, taking investment to levels not seen since 2010. Through the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, schools have unprecedented long-term funding certainty, with maintenance investment rising to nearly £3 billion a year through to 2034-35.

That’s alongside almost £20 billion to rebuild schools across England – including 250 new rebuilds on top of the 500 already announced, delivering world-class, net zero and climate-resilient buildings that will inspire generations to come.

The programme is built on three pillars:

1. Estates management – optimising existing assets and improving condition.
2. Condition, resilience and decarbonisation – ensuring long-term sustainability and climate readiness.
3. Build and re-build – replacing or regenerating buildings that are beyond repair.

These pillars reflect a wider ambition to ensure that every school is safe, sustainable, suitable, and appropriately sized – four values that underpin the Department for Education’s design vision for the future.

The benefits are wide-ranging. From improved learning outcomes, reduced long-term maintenance costs and lower carbon emissions, to a more resilient public estate.

Building sustainability and climate resilience into the learning environment

Sustainability was a major theme across this year’s conference.

School estates are uniquely positioned to contribute to the UK’s net-zero ambition – with roof space alone offering potential to generate around 1 GW of solar power, equivalent to one-seventh of the nation’s total roof-mounted solar target.

Yet the climate challenge is not just about carbon.

The conference discussed how rising temperatures and poor building design risk overheating and lost learning days – with research suggesting up to eight days of attendance could be missed each year due to uncomfortably hot classrooms. The potential impact of this on education outcomes could prove significant in the future, and needs to be planned for now.

Forward-thinking estates strategy must therefore focus on:

• Fabric-first refurbishment and better glazing, ventilation, and shading.
• On-site renewable generation through solar installations.
• Active travel links and low-carbon transport planning.
• Biodiversity and outdoor learning, turning school grounds into living classrooms and habitats.

Schools as community anchors

Another key theme emerging from the conference was that of schools no longer being just educational facilities. They are community assets.

Modern estate design is increasingly looking beyond the classroom to provide spaces for sport, recreation, and wellbeing that serve pupils and the wider community alike.

This supports national goals around physical activity, with Sport England noting that over half of children currently undertake less than the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity.

There is also a growing focus on re-imagining school boundaries. Instead of fortress-like fencing, new designs explore softer, more welcoming entrances, where schools act as community hubs, places where families can seek support, connect, and access shared resources.

Environmental enhancement is part of this same narrative. Many new schemes now integrate biodiversity net gain, creating sensory gardens, woodland learning areas and food-growing spaces that enrich the educational experience while supporting sustainability goals.

Data-driven decision-making and modern delivery

The conference also underlined the importance of data in shaping long-term decisions.

The latest DfE survey of education estates is providing valuable insight into condition, utilisation, and risk – helping trusts and local authorities to make better-informed investment choices.

“We’re seeing a shift from reactive maintenance to proactive, planned investment – informed by data, delivered through modern methods, and aligned to long-term educational goals,” Ben added.

Meanwhile, the use of digital tools such as BIM and asset-management platforms is enabling schools to track lifecycle performance, plan maintenance, and evidence the benefits of proactive investment. Combined with new procurement models and standardised, off-site construction techniques, the sector is becoming more efficient and collaborative.

These efforts are guided by four core values that underpin the DfE’s estate vision: safe, sustainable, suitable, and size-appropriate – principles that echo through every discussion on estate design and delivery.

A vision for the future

The Education Estates Conference 2025 highlighted a shared vision: to create educational facilities that don’t just meet today’s needs but inspire tomorrow’s generations.

As Ben reflected, “The education estate is not just a backdrop to learning – it’s a driver of social, economic and environmental progress. When our learning environments are fit for purpose, the benefits ripple far beyond the classroom. By investing wisely today, we can deliver places that enrich both pupils and communities for decades to come.”

At Vail Williams, our education property experts advise education providers, local authorities and contractors on every stage of estate strategy helping schools, trusts, and local authorities to create places that truly enable learning to flourish.

We can help with everything from site identification and strategic planning advice, to land acquisition and disposal, through to building maintenance and energy and sustainability advice.

If you’d like to discuss how to future-proof your education estate, contact our team or explore our education case studies to see how we’re helping clients deliver learning environments fit for the future.

To learn more about how we can help shape your education estate strategy, get in touch with our planning and development team.