Following a rigorous assessment process, the Secretary of State for Education has announced over £434 million for 1,476 projects at 1,243 academies, sixth form colleges and non-diocesan voluntary aided schools.
I am pleased to inform you that the list of successful projects published includes the following schools in North Cornwall
- Werrington Community Primary School
- Launceston College
- Bodmin College
- Boyton Community Primary School
- St Stephens Community Academy
- Wadebridge School
- Blisland Primary Academy
The core priority of CIF is keeping eligible academy, sixth form college and non-diocesan voluntary aided school buildings safe and in good working order. Most CIF funding aims to address issues with significant consequences that revenue or Devolved Formula Capital funding cannot meet. These include issues with poor building condition, building compliance, energy efficiency and health and safety.
Local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, such as dioceses, instead receive a School Condition Allocation to invest in condition priorities across their schools.
CIF also supports a small proportion of expansion projects for Ofsted-rated good or outstanding academies, sixth form colleges and non-diocesan voluntary aided schools that need to expand their existing facilities and/or floor space to either increase the number of admissions in the main year of entry or address overcrowding.
As in previous rounds, the fund was heavily oversubscribed so only those projects that demonstrated a high project need and aligned with CIF priorities have been able to be funded.
More information on CIF, including the full list of successful projects published, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.
In addition to annual CIF bidding rounds, I am delighted that the Government has committed to a new ten-year multi-wave rebuilding programme for schools. This will be an ambitious programme, replacing poor condition and ageing school buildings, with modern, energy-efficient designs, transforming education for thousands of pupils.
The Department for Education will start next year with 50 schools in the most need of repair, supported by over £1 billion in capital funding - with full details of these projects to be confirmed in the autumn and further funding to be set out at the Spending Review.
Alongside the start of this new rebuilding programme, we’re also providing over half a billion pounds of additional capital funding to the school system this year to help support essential maintenance projects. This comes on top of over £1.4 billion in school condition funding already committed in 2020-21, including the Condition Improvement Fund. We will set out details of how this additional capital funding will be allocated to schools shortly.
The Department for Education will also bring forward £200 million of the £1.5 billion of capital funding for further education (FE) colleges, which the Chancellor announced at the Budget in March, to this year. This will enable FE colleges in England to undertake immediate remedial work in this financial year to upgrade the condition of their buildings and estates. The Government will set out further plans on capital investment to upgrade the FE college estate in England in due course.
