The government has provided guidance on a previously little-known-about capital funding budget.

The Strategic School Improvement Capital Budget (SSICB) funding is for “potential incoming responsible bodies to support a school joining a strong trust through the sponsorship funding route”.

It is a separate funding stream to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), which is an annual bidding round to provide capital funding to eligible schools to address significant issues with their buildings.

In the new guidance, the Department for Education says that it is aware of cases where the capital needs of a school are “so significant and essential, and the cost of them so high, as to form a barrier to a successful move to a new responsible body”.

Under the SSICB, the government will assess the capital works and set a maximum figure for any potential application. It may conclude that the works are not significant enough to attract SSICB at all.

It also warns that responsible bodies “should not assume that DfE will fund capital works for schools changing responsible bodies”.

SSICB funding: what are the criteria?

SSICB funding may be available for responsible bodies taking on full sponsorship, intermediate sponsorship, fast-track academy projects or in cases of academy transfers subject to intervention.

However, the fund can only be used to address “very urgent and critical needs that have a significant cost attached”, the guidance advises.

The government expects any low-cost work to be funded by the incoming responsible body as a matter of routine.

For more significant works, the DfE will consider the incoming responsible body’s financial reserves and will not usually fund works if the responsible body has means to fund them itself.

The guidance will be reviewed annually or sooner if needed, the government adds.

What works might be funded?

The DfE says it will apply a high bar when assessing whether proposed works are genuinely urgent and critical, and a particularly high bar when assessing issues around suitability.

It will consider the following:

• Condition: repairs and upgrades to school buildings without increasing gross internal floor area.
• Suitability: enhancements to ensure that facilities are appropriate for teaching and learning.
• Safeguarding: ensuring that buildings are handed over in a safe condition.

The government will expect the outgoing responsible body to have met its legal duties with regard to safety and safeguarding.

“We will seek a contribution from the outgoing responsible body if they have not done so,” the guidance states.

The DfE must approve SSICB funding in principle before the responsible body transfer, with its guidance clearly stating that retrospective applications will not be accepted.

Potential incoming responsible bodies for eligible schools should contact their regions group delivery officer directly.

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