The amount of approved funding for school building projects has dipped to its lowest level since the funding system was created, according to BBC analysis. The UK government has approved only 866 school and college projects through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) next year; 192 less than were approved this year. Addressing these findings, one teaching union expressed disbelief. The Department for Education (DfE) defended the figures, announcing that £1.8bn had been set aside for the refurbishment of school buildings, including through CIF.
The CIF is one of several funding routes available to English schools for building work. Schools within local authorities or large academy trusts receive a set amount of money annually, but smaller academy trusts, voluntary-aided organisations, and sixth-form colleges must apply for funding on a case-by-case basis through the CIF. The DfE maintains that its allocation of over £17bn since 2015 has contributed to the reconstruction of some 500 schools across the country, which are part of the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP).
Data from the DfE indicates that the number of projects to receive funding through CIF has fallen below 1,000 for the first time since its inception six years ago. The government announced that just under £450m had been allocated to 866 projects across 733 schools in 2024/25. That number could still change because 40 of those projects are pending. Requests for “urgent” fire safety and roofing works were among the approved bids, with some schools stating that they only prevent closures.
School buildings’ conditions were the subject of public scrutiny last year when a National Audit Office report revealed that 700,000 children were being taught in unsafe or deteriorating classrooms. Many schools using a hazardous form of concrete, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), were compelled to close days before the start of the latest academic year and continue to suffer disruption. Last week, school staff stated that they feared being “trapped” with leaky roofs and temporary decades-old classrooms, after the SRP’s final placements were occupied by those with harmful concrete.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the NAHT union, called upon the government to invest £4.4bn additional funding annually in school building upgrades. The Association of School and College Leaders’ General Secretary, Geoff Barton, claimed that the government did not provide sufficient capital funding and that it was “not only damaging for pupils and personnel, but also an entirely false economy.” The administration has claimed that funds have been assigned based on condition studies that it has carried out. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan stated on Tuesday that the government was “continuing to invest in the school estate, so all children are taught in the best classrooms for generations to come.
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