New school estates strategy: all you need to know

Today the government unveiled an ambitious 10-year plan to improve crumbling school buildings and future-proof them for the decades to come. Tes breaks down the details

11th February 2026, 4:31pm

Ellen Peirson-Hagger

Buildings in poor repair, rooms that are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and spaces unsuitable for the increasing numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities: the challenges of school estates are many and widespread.

Now the government aims to turn things around with its 10-year estates plan, published in full today.

Pointing the finger at previous governments’ long-term underinvestment and the decision to cancel the Building Schools for the Future programme in 2010, education secretary Bridget Phillipson pledges that her department will “turn the page on years of neglect”, rebuilding schools in the poorest condition as well as better managing all 22,000 schools and colleges across England “so they can last for decades”.

How? The announcement comes with an investment in education capital of £38 billion for 2025-26 to 2029-30 - which the government says is the highest since 2010.

But what will the plan, and the funding that comes with it, change for schools? Tes breaks down everything you need to know.

1. The Condition Improvement Fund will be replaced

The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) - capital funding that schools can use to keep buildings in good working order and to expand buildings - will be replaced by autumn 2028.

In its place will be a new programme through which the body responsible for a school’s estate - be that an academy trust, local authority, voluntary-aided school body or church diocese - can access maintenance funding more easily than before, without the need to submit a full bid.

The strategy report notes that the Department for Education has heard from responsible bodies that the competitive CIF can be burdensome and does not allow for long-term planning. The replacement programme will aim to make funding allocation a smoother process for schools - and should, in principle, mean that those in most need get funding first.

To support this, responsible bodies will be required to collect granular and timely data on their estate and share this with the DfE.

2. New digital tools and expectations

This shift means that a new digital platform is needed - and so this month the government will launch Manage Your Education Estate, a digital service that will bring together related guidance, tools and data.

From autumn 2026, all responsible bodies will have to submit a “light touch” annual return via the service to confirm they are meeting national standards. Those that aren’t will receive assistance via an estate management capability support plan: an informal agreement setting out actions to improve within 12 months.

In addition, the government aims for all responsible bodies to collect and share data on their estates by 2029-30, and will start pilots in 2026-27 to test approaches before a national rollout from autumn 2027. It adds that it will publish common data, standards and guides from April 2026 to help responsible bodies collect data and ensure that this collection is consistent across the whole education estate - that’s 88 million square metres across England.

3. Strategic planning for spare space

The government will also centralise strategic planning for spare space in schools. Currently, much of this work is done at a more local level.

The new strategy outlines how this will help to develop a framework for the use of school space during demographic change - a falling birth rate, which is leading to falling rolls, alongside an increase in the need for SEND provision. This work will include delivering on support for children with SEND, setting up more school-based nursery provision and Best Start Family Hubs and will, sensibly, recognise the need for the school estate to remain flexible as local need changes over time.

The aim is to create more alignment across the public estate. Five pilots will launch to test how surplus spaces in the education state can be used to meet community needs - for example, through new housing, young futures hubs and health centres. As such, the DfE will work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on this.

The government says it is committed to co-creating a framework with the sector and will engage with key stakeholders this year, with a view to publishing this in the autumn.

4. A new Renewal and Retrofit Programme

In April the government will launch a new programme, backed by £710 million up to 2029-30, to improve the condition of school buildings.

There is an explicit reference to climate change here: the aim is to increase buildings’ resilience to extreme weather events such as flooding, as well as to help more schools reach carbon net zero. At the moment, some projects fall between those typically delivered through capital maintenance funding and rebuilding - so this work aims to address that gap.

This work will start with a pilot in April in 50 schools in three regions: the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the South East. Initially, the focus will be on replacing buildings in the worst condition and installing energy generation and efficiency measures.

Then, from 2027, the government plans to extend the programme to all regions in England and deliver over £450 million in projects to fix buildings with extensive issues such as with roof, heating and electrical systems, as well as assessing flood and overheating measures and technology connectivity measures. It adds that more detailed delivery plans will be confirmed in due course.

And from 2029, the government expects it will be able to provide all sorts of projects across the country, funded through this Renewal and Retrofit Programme or alternative funding as available.

The government will publish further guidance this spring to support responsible bodies to deliver their own renewal projects that address issues of condition and future resilience to climate change.

5. The School Rebuilding Programme

Of course, there are some school buildings that don’t just need repairs - they need a total rebuild.

The government says it is investing “almost £20 billion” into the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034-35, covering 750 school rebuilds.

Over 500 schools are already in this programme, and a further 250 will be selected by early 2027. Responsible bodies can nominate schools for the programme until 23 April 2026 using the guidance here.

Places will be prioritised for buildings that are in the worst condition and in areas where places are most needed now and in the future. From now on, all rebuilding projects will include an assessment as to whether the school requires a school-based nursery, inclusion base or Best Start Family Hub.

And all new schools will meet new design specifications (yet to be published), which will future-proof buildings against climate change, and insist on good ventilation and lighting. In addition, all new settings will be garden schools - with improved outdoor and natural facilities.