The Secretary of State for Education and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson officially opened Farringdon Community Academy's new school building.
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00:00So, I'd be honoured if you could just open the building officially open.
00:20It's going to be on a stand in the middle.
00:36Okay, and Bridget, how's it feel to be here today and to open a new building then?
00:39It's fantastic. I mean, it's a brilliant new building and you know children in Farringdon deserve really fantastic facilities.
00:46It makes such a difference to children's learning to have first class facilities.
00:50And alongside that, the crucial importance of the teachers and the team in delivering a brilliant education.
00:56And can a learning environment really inspire children to race for the top and improve performance?
01:02It can. I mean, I think having a really great building and first class facilities does make a big difference.
01:07But also when facilities are run down or crumbling, that also I think really damages children's learning and life chances.
01:14I think the investment that we can make in school buildings doesn't just give children a great learning environment.
01:19I've seen the fantastic facilities here, but it also demonstrates that we really value their education and everything that they can go on to achieve.
01:28I know the new building for schools programme was stalled, I think it was back to 2016, due to funding, due to austerity.
01:35I mean, I know money's tight at the moment for the government.
01:38Is it something that the government's hoping to invest in and building new schools both here in Sunderland and across the country?
01:43We have faced a really big backlog where it comes to rebuilding and also the condition of lots of schools.
01:49We've seen the rat crisis where schools were crumbling, but it goes beyond that.
01:53Lots of schools are just beyond their design life.
01:56Back in 2010, when the Conservatives were first elected, they scrapped Labour's building schools for the future programme.
02:01And that means that we haven't over the last decade or so really been investing in the way that we should have done in our schools.
02:07At the budget that we've just had in October, the Chancellor did set out significant additional investment going into schools capital,
02:14so making sure we can rebuild and refurbish schools.
02:17But alongside that, we also delivered a pay rise for teachers because buildings are crucial,
02:22but so are the people that work and deliver a brilliant education for our children.
02:26OK, Mr Bedford, what's it like to have the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, here today to officially open the new school building?
02:33We're absolutely delighted to have Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State, here today with our other delegates from the Trust.
02:39It's amazing that the new building, it's amazing that Bridget could come to do it.
02:43We're really excited for the building to be finally officially opened.
02:47And how much was invested in the new building and what are some of the facilities you've got here?
02:50There's a £21 million investment into founding the community academy.
02:55We have state-of-the-art technology, IT, PE, English, Maths, Science facilities and it just allows the children to thrive now.
03:03And just how does it compare to the old school and just what difference is it going to make for the school going forward?
03:08It's night and day in comparison.
03:11We are now in a facility where children can walk around one building and not have to go outside in horrendous weather.
03:16The children will thrive in a building where they've got everything they need to get the outcomes they deserve for their life chances.
03:22Are you already noticing a difference in terms of the impact it's having on the children?
03:25We're seeing a massive impact already. The children are really proud of the building.
03:29They are keen to tell other schools how nice the building is and tell other stakeholders.
03:34So we are absolutely seeing a huge difference, yeah.