A summer building programme saw £1.8 million invested in a family of schools in and around Essex.

BMAT is an academy trust, founded at Burnt Mill Academy in Harlow, that operates primary and secondary schools in Harlow, Epping, Stansted in Essex and Newham in London.

Government funding from the Condition Improvement Fund and School Condition Allowance allowed the trust to make large scale improvements at many of its schools over the summer.

The improvements include:

• A new bike shed and a new humanities block at Burnt Mill Academy, Harlow.

• £800,000 temporary accommodation constructed to offer more secondary school places at Sir Frederick Gibberd College, Harlow

• Redecoration of common areas, relocation of classrooms and remodelling of specialist teaching room for children with additional needs at BMAT STEM academy, Harlow.

• Construction of a grow provision to offer places for children with social, emotional and mental health needs, development of outdoor classroom and revamp of Early Years area at Cooks Spinney Primary Academy, Harlow.

• Redecoration, refurbished sixth form common room and creation of new sixth form study room at Epping St John’s Church of England School, Epping.

• New toilet facilities and new humanities classroom for Forest Hall School in Stansted.

• Internal redecoration and installation of a new canopy for outdoor teaching at Freshwaters Primary Academy, Harlow.

• Internal redecoration at Little Parndon Primary Academy, Harlow.

• £200,000 boiler works and a lecture theatre redecoration at Royal Docks Academy, Newham.

• Creation of ICT suite, installation of a new canopy for outdoor teaching and learning in Early Years at Roydon Primary Academy, Harlow.

Lucia Glynn, BMAT head of operations, said: "This has been the busiest summer ever for our operations team. We have undertaken many largescale projects working together with local contractors. The facilities we offer are state of the art and will give our young people the very best opportunities to learn. For our colleagues, we have ensured our teaching and learning spaces are a joy to work in.

“We have tried to spread the investment between our youngest and our oldest pupils, so every child within the Trust has been impacted by this work. Over a period of time, we have invested in our teaching and associate staff and we felt the time was right to invest in our estate, so the environment matches those standards.”