Is your trust set to receive funding from the school condition allocation (SCA) this autumn? The DfE is in the process of making eligible bodies aware if they’re set to receive some of the £1.6 million that’s set aside for SCA 2024-2025.
The amount granted is based on the number of students in your trust. It’s there to support you with maintaining and improving the condition of your organisation’s buildings, providing a handy source of cash for pressing maintenance issues. But with demands on school estate management growing and energy costs set to rise again this winter, it can be difficult to know where to prioritise the funds.
Keep reading for an overview of SCA funding. We’ll talk you through how to know if you’re eligible for it, and how to plan your school capital programme if you’re set to benefit from a share of the fund.
What is the school condition allocation?
Since the 2015-2016 financial year to the one we’re currently in (2024-2025), the amount of SCA funding on offer has increased by 33.7%. It’s no wonder – school buildings are ageing, and there’s more focus on making estates as energy efficient as possible.
The school condition allocation intends to keep buildings in safe and good working order. Schools are encouraged to use it for activities that:
- Address critical issues, like health and safety
- Make those energy efficiency improvements
- Comply with building regulations
SCA eligibility
It’s during the autumn that academy trusts and VA school bodies are informed that they’re eligible for SCA. Unlike other forms of school capital funding, SCA isn’t paid directly to a school itself. Instead, it’s given to the bodies responsible for maintaining school buildings, like local authorities, local voluntary-aided (VA) bodies, and MATs.
For larger VA bodies and MATs that meet two necessary eligibility criteria, they receive their SCA funds directly. It’s then up to them to decide where the money needs prioritising across their schools.
Direct SCA eligibility criteria for the 2024-2025 financial year:
- At the start of 2023, the trust or VA body must have had five or more open schools
- At least 3,000 pupils must have been counted in the spring 2023 census or the 2022 to 2023 individualised learner record in these open schools (or their predecessor schools)
With school condition allocations already divvied up for this financial year, we guess your attention will soon be drawn to next year’s round. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem as though there’ll be many – if any – changes to this eligibility criteria, so you can focus on planning where you’d spend the cash if you were to receive it. Information on the DfE’s website states eligibility for SCA for the 2025-2026 financial year will be ‘determined in the same way as previous years’.
How the school funding allocation is calculated
When it comes to allocating SCA, the DfE takes several factors into account. These include a trust’s:
- Building condition
- Pupil count
- Specific requirements or challenges
But don’t fall into the common trap of assuming your trust will receive SCA because certain buildings are in poor condition. The DfE makes it clear eligibility ‘shouldn’t be assumed unless it’s confirmed’.
Once the body receives the news that it will be receiving some of the cash, they share it out across the schools they’re responsible for.
What can SCA be spent on?
School condition allocation funds can be spent however you like. (As long as they’re to do with condition improvements, of course!) That’s unlike other school capital funding, such as the condition improvement fund (CIF). To bid for CIF, you need to detail a particular project that the funds are needed for. If you’re successful, the money you get can be spent on this project only.
The flexibility of SCA is a huge advantage to your trust. You’re able to react to the changing needs of your buildings, strategically adjusting where the money is invested as priorities evolve. That could be immediate maintenance to a single building. Or, for longer-term condition improvements across an entire site.
How to prioritise school condition allocation funding
In theory, it all sounds well and good. But in practice, many trusts still struggle to work out where SCA funds are best channelled.
That’s where we come in.
Our school compliance software, Every Compliance By IRIS, is used by schools and trusts up and down the country to boost visibility over estate and building condition. The more you know and understand your school estate, the more informed your decisions around funding priorities become.
MAT central funding, from Every Compliance
With our new MAT Central Funding Source feature, Every Compliance users have greater control over their finances. Distribute funding across selected properties within your MAT, rather than having to create separate funding sources for each property. You can also see where funds are being spent in real-time, helping you create up-to-date reports for spend management.
As one of our happy customers puts it, “I’ve used different estate property systems over my career. This system stands above with the information, structure, simplicity and assurance that it provides.”
SCA funds will soon be in the hands of our school and trusts that need it most. If your school is set to gain a slice of this funding pie, make sure you’re in a position to get the most from it. Start by seeing Every Compliance in action, finding out how the system gives you the most current picture of your school estate.
Book your quick demonstration with one of our friendly team today!
