BFE latest: EFA director says fourth batch to be procured 鈥渟oon鈥

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The Education Funding Agency has revealed further details of the first batches of privately financed schools that will be tendered under the 拢2.4bn priority schools building programme.

Speaking at the 好色先生TV Future Education conference this morning, priority schools programme director Rachel Stephenson said that Bradford and Kirklees would be the fourth privately financed batch to be procured under the scheme.

As reported in Builidng last month, the first batch will be Hertfordshire, Luton and Reading, followed by a batch of schools in the north east and one in the north west. She said that the EFA would start work with a further three batches this year.

Stephenson said that Treasury was currently reviewing the business case for the first batch of schools. However, she would not give a firm date for release to market, saying only that it would be 鈥渟oon鈥.

She added, however, that the PF2 model that will be used to fund the schools 鈥渉as been developed鈥 - and that an OJEU for the financing, widely expected to be in the form of a pooled debt facility, would follow 鈥渟hortly after鈥 an OJEU for the first batch of schools.