Get Prepped for the Condition Improvement Fund 2025-2026

At the end of October, the application window for the next round of the condition improvement fund (CIF) opens. Eligible organisations, like academies, sixth-form colleges, and voluntary-aided (VA) schools, are invited by the DfE to apply for this school capital funding round.

Successful CIF bids provide cash for schools and academies to carry out projects that improve site and building condition.

If you’re prepping to apply for CIF this month, read on for the key considerations you need to make to increase the chance of a successful bid.

What is the condition improvement fund?

First things first, the CIF is different to other forms of school capital funding. Rather than receiving funds directly – as is the case with school condition allocations (SCA) – eligible organisations need to bid for condition improvement funding.

SCAs are given to the responsible bodies that maintain school buildings, like local authorities and MATs. The CIF is for smaller academy trusts, VA bodies, and sixth-form colleges. If your organisation is eligible, the DfE will inform and invite you to bid for the fund. But be aware – receiving this invitation automatically means your school or academy trust’s responsible body won’t receive any SCA funding on your behalf for that financial year.

CIF timeframes

• Autumn: CIF-eligible organisations are notified and invited to bid
• End of October: Application window for the next round of CIF opens
• End of November: Registration deadline for new CIF applicants
• Mid-December: CIF application deadline
• Spring: All applicants are notified of the outcome

CIF 2025-2026: What’s it for?

As a rule, school capital funding exists to keep sites and buildings in safe and good working order. CIF is primarily for buildings that are in severe need of repair and at risk of closure.

Year on year, there’s a high number of applications for the condition improvement fund. The cash is awarded in line with priority, with schools and academies that evidence most need at the top of the list.

The types of projects the condition improvement fund can be awarded for include:

• Fire safety works
• Asbestos removal
• Site and estate security
• Electrical upgrades
• Structural repairs

How is the condition improvement fund allocated?

To determine which eligible organisations are in most need of the school capital funding, the DfE ranks each application using a point scoring system.

• The highest number of points (60) are available for ‘project need’. The more chance there is of a school closure, the higher the points awarded.
• ‘Project cost’ is next, worth up to 25 points. Applications where cost certainty and/or high percentage contributions from the school/trust itself are provided gain more points than those which do not.
• ‘Project planning’ is responsible for the least number of points, 15. Projects with urgent completion dates (i.e. those that limit school closure), are rewarded with higher points.

If you’re prepping to apply for the 2025-2026 condition improvement fund, we recommend you take note of the points-based scoring system. It’s advantageous to know what types of projects the DfE is looking to reward through the CIF, and why.

What does a strong CIF bid include?

On this note, the bad news is there’s no watertight recipe for a successful CIF application. But the good news is there’s certainly strong pointers! Whilst we hope you’re not in a position where a closure feels likely, we hope that if you are, you’ve now got a better idea of how you can secure funding to improve the school’s condition.

Remember, the more evidence you can give to support your application, the more points you’re likely to gain. We recommend you allocate a good amount of time to plan, draft, and tweak your statement of need, making it as detailed and compelling as possible. Photographic evidence is also favourable, helping you to show exactly why you need the funding – rather than simply tell.

Outcome of CIF 2024-2025

Looking at where the previous year’s CIF funding was awarded is also a useful resource when planning your application. The DfE publishes the funding outcome annually to its website – it’s free to access and download.

The most recent results (the outcome of CIF 2024-2025) show:

• 4,363 academies, sixth-form colleges, and VA schools were eligible to apply
• 2,016 applications were received
• 3,034 projects were bid for across these applications

The DfE made just under £450 million available for the 2024-2025 CIF programme. So far, it’s confirmed the funds will go towards over 800 projects at just under 700 eligible organisations. These figures may grow, given 40 projects at 35 organisations need further due diligence so are pending approval. So, almost a third of all projects bid for in CIF 2024-2025 will receive funding.

Which organisations are eligible for condition improvement fund?

All this in mind, and it’s worth checking your organisation is eligible to bid for the upcoming round of school capital funding! Whilst the DfE is yet to publish the eligibility criteria for CIF 2025-2026, we expect it imminently. In the meantime, we’ve detailed the criteria for the previous round – something we don’t expect will be too dissimilar to what we see later this month.

Sixth-form colleges, smaller VA bodies, and smaller academy trusts could bid for CIF 2024-2025– as long as they were one of the following by the start of September 2023:

• A stand-alone academy a school in a MAT with fewer than 5 schools or fewer than 3,000 pupils, as counted in the spring 2023 census or the 2022 to 2023 individualised learner record (ILR)
• A VA school in a VA body or VA group with fewer than 5 schools or fewer than 3,000 pupils, as counted in the spring 2023 census or the 2022 to 2023 ILR
• A school with a signed academy order as of 1 September 2023 that DfE expects to convert to a CIF-eligible responsible body by 1 April 2024
• A sixth-form college

CIF 2025-2026

There you have it, the key considerations you should be making to give your CIF application the best chance of being successful. Whether you’re already using our school compliance software, Every Compliance By IRIS, to generate evidence that supports your bid or that’s the first you’ve heard of us, we’re here to help.