Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) funding is intended to keep school and college buildings safe and in good working order, addressing the priorities of poor condition, structural safety, fire doors and alarms, boilers and electrics, roof coverings and windows, and emergency asbestos removal.

The highest priority is Health & Safety (H&S), where there is a risk of school closure because of dangerous structures, gas and electrical safety, water services and safeguarding, among other reasons. On the other hand, toilet and kitchen refurbishments are unlikely to succeed unless a there is an H&S issue backed up by third-party evidence such as a legionella risk assessment.

So how does your school or academy work out if your condition issue meets the criteria to be a CIF priority, and how do you calculate the costs of your repair or replacement project?

Condition surveys and further evidence

“Applicants should seek professional advice on the condition of their buildings through an independent survey,” the Department for Education says. “They should provide a realistic options appraisal which provides genuine options for consideration. This should set out a clear scope and demonstrate value for money.”

Experienced chartered surveyors for education such as S2e can carry out this survey and calculate costings for you, then help you make the robust case for CIF funding possible.

When you make your application for funding – and remember that only one in three applications succeed – you will need further evidence of condition, including:

• Clear, sufficiently detailed and relevant photographs. For example, if you are applying for a roofing project, provide photographs of multiple sections of the roof(s)

• Letters about compliance from relevant qualified professionals e.g. from a fire safety inspection, police reports or electrical engineers

• Ofsted or other reports on the impact of poor facilities on teaching and learning.

You will be required to confirm that you have reviewed the DfE guidance Good Estate Management for Schools (GEMS), and that your condition project is consistent with your estate strategy and asset management plan.

Note: A Condition Data Collection (CDC) report on its own will not be enough. CDC reports present data collected following a visual, non-intrusive data collection exercise as a step towards further investigation.

Further points to bear in mind are:

Sustainability: DfE expects applicants to consider energy efficient and environmentally sustainable options when replacing components in the move towards reducing carbon emissions and future-proofing estates. All applications will need to demonstrate these factors have been taken into consideration. However, works to improve energy efficiency alone, such as lighting projects, are unlikely to receive CIF funding. You should not apply for these unless they form part of a larger proposal where the primary purpose is to address poor condition.  

Safeguarding: these projects often involve provision of additional security measures or remodelling of pedestrian/vehicle access points. If your condition project addresses safeguarding issues, you need to provide robust evidence to support urgency of need such as an incident report or police reports. DfE will not consider statements of unqualified opinion that there may be a risk.

Assessment of Project Need for condition projects

CIF assessors will rate Project Need as up to 60 points, out of 100 points in total to judge your application (Project Cost and Project Planning make up the remaining 40 points). You accrue points for:

• Urgency of need: applications will be rated with a high/medium/low score based on priority of need. For example, you will score low marks if the urgency of the need is not apparent, and higher marks if the level of urgency is immediate. If the proposed works are not required in the next two years, the application is likely to fail.

• Strength of evidence: to score maximum marks you must have strong evidence of significant need providing justification for all works.

• Nature and extent of impact: to score maximum marks there needs to be an impact overall on the school or closure of key facilities, not just localised impact.

Speak to experienced chartered surveyors for education S2e today to carry out a professional condition survey and make sure your CIF application gives you the best chance of success. You can contact us on  01530 877969 or email enquire@s2e.org.uk.