The government has finally published guidance on a previously secretive capital fund for academy trusts that has shelled out tens of millions.
Schools Week revealed last year that almost £200 million has been distributed through the Strategic school improvement capital budget (SSICB) since 2016, but there was no published guidance explaining what it is or who can access the money.
Following calls for transparency published in this newspaper, the Department for Education has finally published guidance on the fund.
The document is for “potential incoming responsible bodies that may need capital funding to support a school joining a strong trust through the sponsorship funding route”.
“When responsible bodies acquire a new school, they gain a valuable asset and an increase in their school condition allocation,” the guidance states.
“The DfE expects incoming responsible bodies, over time, to meet any capital needs of the school through the use of their school condition allocation.”
‘Don’t assume we’ll fund works’
According to the guidance, responsible bodies “should not assume that DfE will fund capital works for schools changing responsible bodies.
“However, DfE is aware that there are 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.
“In such cases, we will consider applications from responsible bodies to help fund some of these works through the SSICB.”
In terms of eligibility, the DfE said it was “happy to discuss individual cases with the relevant responsible bodies”.
But it added that funding “may be available for responsible bodies taking on full sponsorship, intermediate sponsorship, or fast-track academy projects (or in cases of academy transfers subject to intervention)”.
The fund “can only be used to address very urgent and critical needs that have a significant cost attached”, and the DfE expects “any low-cost work to be funded by the incoming responsible body as a matter of routine”.
Reserves will be factored-in
For more significant work, the DfE said it would give “due consideration to the incoming responsible body’s financial reserves” and would “not normally fund works if the responsible body has means to fund them itself”.
The DfE “will make a preliminary assessment of the necessary works, to set the parameters for discussions with potential incoming responsible bodies.
The assessment “will often set a maximum figure for any potential SSICB application. It may also conclude, in some cases, that any necessary works are not significant enough to attract SSICB at all”.
According to the guidance, the DfE “applies a high bar when assessing whether proposed works are genuinely urgent and critical, and a particularly a high bar when assessing issues around suitability”.
It will consider funding repairs and upgrades to school buildings that don’t increase their gross internal area, ICT infrastructure, relocation or mothballing under-used facilities.
It will also consider enhancements to make facilities appropriate for teaching and learning or to make buildings safe, such as fencing or asbestos removal.
Trusts must meet legal duties
But the DfE “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 government must approve the funding in principle before an academy is transferred, and “retrospective applications are not accepted”.
Under a section marked “applications”, the DfE tells trusts to “contact their regions group delivery officer directly”.
Your thoughts