Academies

Emergency capital cash handouts soar to £12m after funding squeeze

Funding for urgent work jumps 300% in 12 months, as experts warn figures are 'sign of the times'

Funding for urgent work jumps 300% in 12 months, as experts warn figures are 'sign of the times'

Schools with identified RAAC are being urged to put contingency plans in place in case of closure by the DfE
Exclusive

The cash handed to small trusts which fear their school buildings could be dangerously rundown has increased by more than 300 per cent in just 12 months.

Schools Week analysis also shows funding approved through the government’s urgent capital support (UCS) scheme has hit a six-year high – with academies using the money to fix collapsed ceilings and tear out ageing pipework.

The scheme is only for building “issues that pose the threat of immediate school closure” and cannot wait until the next round of the condition improvement fund (CIF).

This comes after the number of successful CIF projects fell by almost 60 per cent since 2020-21.

Tim Warneford
Tim Warneford

School buildings expert Tim Warneford said: “It’s a sign of the times. What it seems to suggest is that it’s the larger-value projects that are being rejected [for CIF] and then falling into UCS.” 

Figures show that £11.8 million was awarded through UCS in 2023-24, up from £2.8 million the year before. The amount is more than at any point in the past six years and was split between 17 successful bidders, equating to an average of £695,000 per application.

The Kibblesworth Academy in Gateshead received £414,000 from the DfE, without a loan or the need to offer a contribution, following a “partial ceiling collapse”.

Headteacher Craig Steel had “applied for support through CIF for a number of years without success, with each year requiring greater sums of money to rectify the problem. The amount that was finally allocated far exceeded the sums we had initially asked for.”

Only trusts with fewer than five schools or 3,000 pupils are eligible for the cash. Most applications will be offered “primarily as a loan, subject to an assessment of finances”.

The Department for Education noted the number of successful UCS applications was broadly similar in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

But it added a few cases in the latest round presented complex condition issues that required more extensive work, with the funding provided reflecting this.

Latest education roles from

Senior Quality Officer

Senior Quality Officer

University of Lancashire

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Minerva Learning Trust

Head of Programme 2D Studies – City Lit

Head of Programme 2D Studies – City Lit

FEA

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

New City College

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Helping every learner use AI responsibly

AI didn’t wait to be invited into the classroom. It burst in mid-lesson. Across UK schools, pupils are already...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Retire Early, Live Fully: What Teachers Need to Consider First

Specialist Financial Adviser, William Adams, from Wesleyan Financial Services discusses what teachers should be considering when it comes to...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Academies

Free schools update ‘later this year’, and 3 other things we learned from ministers

The education secretary and her team answered MPs' questions in Parliament today

Jack Dyson
Academies

More standalone schools on the brink as deficits grow

Seventy-five trusts – one with a deficit of almost £6 million – raised concerns about their ability to continue...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Specialist MAT given notice to improve after seeking bailout

12-school trust said it had to ask for 'emergency' government cash after 'significant delays' to SEND and free school...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Officials kept mum about academy probe as merger decided

Revelation reopens debate around the transparency of important academy decisions

Jack Dyson

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *