More schools have been given a share of a £450 million pot for vital repairs, halting a six-year slide that saw the number of successful bidders more than halve. But government figures, published this morning, show one region received just 1 per cent of funding through the multi-million-pound capital programme, called the condition improvement fund (CIF). CIF is only available to standalone academies or trusts with fewer than five schools wanting to keep a building “safe and in good working order”. Larger academy chains and council schools get capital funding allocated automatically through a separate route. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s funding round… 1. More successful schools Overall, 684 schools were awarded CIF grants for 813 projects. The number of successful schools and applications were both up slightly on 12 months ago. This is the first time the figures have risen since 2020, when 1,685 schools were given cash for over 2,100 projects. The average amount awarded per project also dropped for the first time in years. It now stands at £562,000, down from £583,000 12 months ago. Of the 3,925 schools eligible for CIF, less than half (1,706) applied. Forty per cent of those that lodged a bid were successful. Last year, the figure stood at 35 per cent. 2. North east receives the least Just 1 per cent (£5 million) of the £457 million allocated to schools through CIF went to those in the north east. The region accounts for 5 per cent of eligible academies. Those in the region were also the most likely to be snubbed. Just one in four of schools in the area that applied were successful. This was up on the 16 per cent recorded last year but well below the next lowest region, Yorkshire and the Humber (33 per cent). Schools in the capital were the most likely to receive the green light (46 per cent). Meanwhile, the south east received the largest share (21 per cent) of this year’s CIF pot. 3. Schools pay up less The government has also published how many projects were successful based on the size of the financial contribution they pledged. Schools can only get full marks on the funding section of their bid if they offer to cover over 30 per cent of the costs from their own pocket or via a loan. The figures show 53 per cent of successful applications were for those coughing up between 0 and 10 per cent of the cost, up from 49 per cent last year. For those stumping up over 30 per cent the figure edged down to 11 per cent, from 13 per cent. 4. Primaries vs secondaries Of the 684 schools awarded funding, 60 per cent were primaries and a third were secondaries. In all, 67 per cent of those eligible for CIF are primaries and 22 per cent are secondaries. As in previous years, special schools were the most likely to be refused, with 33 per cent of applicants given the go-ahead. But this is a small improvement on last year (30 per cent). Fifty-one per cent of applications put forward by secondaries were successful, up from 42 per cent. For primaries, the figure stood at 36 per cent, four percentage points up on the year before.