Our Buildings

Our central Estates team support our site staff in all our schools to maintain school buildings to ensure all our pupils and staff have safe environments that are fit for purpose. It is vital our school buildings are maintained and comply with statutory and mandatory duties relating to health and safety. We have an ongoing programme of capital works scheduled to maintain and upgrade our school buildings, and are supported by a number of contractors.

School Rebuilding Programme

We successfully secured funding under the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Rebuilding Programme for school rebuilds for a number of our schools.

Work is progressing well at St. Aidan’s Catholic Academy and St. Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, both in Sunderland.

In September 2025 we had the formal ground breaking ceremony for the £42m redevelopment of St. Aidan’s Catholic Academy, which we are working on with the Department for Education and their contractor Bowmer and Kirkland Limited, work is progressing well.

In November 2025 plans were officially submitted for the building of a brand-new school for St. Patrick's. The development aims to create a welcoming, future-focused environment that continues the school's 130-year tradition at the heart of the Ryhope community. The new school is planned to be open Summer 2027. 

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Sunderland, and St. Aloysius Catholic Infant School, Hebburn are both in tranche four of the DfE School Rebuilding Programme. St. James Catholic Primary School, Hebburn and St. John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Sunderland have also been added to the rebuilding programme, with timelines to be advised.