DfE Education Estates Strategy
DfE Education Estates Strategy
Helping schools, trusts and colleges prepare their estates for the future.
The DfE’s Education Estates Strategy sets out a new 10-year approach to managing, maintaining and improving education buildings across England. Our education specialists can help you understand what the changes mean for your organisation and put the right plans, data and processes in place to manage your estate effectively.
A new approach to managing education estates
The Education Estates Strategy marks a shift away from reactive maintenance towards a more proactive, evidence-led approach to managing school buildings. At its heart is a vision for an education estate that is:
Safe
Well-maintained, compliant buildings where risks are understood and managed.
Sustainable
Energy-efficient, climate-resilient buildings that support the transition towards net zero.
Suitable
Inclusive, adaptable spaces that support the changing needs of pupils, staff and communities.
Sufficiently-sized
Estates that make use of space and respond to changing pupil numbers and educational needs.
Frameworks & Accreditations
What does the Education Estates Strategy mean for your organisation?
The DfE is placing increasing emphasis on Responsible Bodies taking a strategic, long-term approach to managing their estates. This means developing a clear understanding of the condition, performance and future requirements of buildings, supported by accurate and up-to-date estate information.
Rather than responding to issues as they arise, schools, trusts and colleges are being encouraged to use this evidence to understand risk, prioritise maintenance and plan future investment. A proactive approach can help Responsible Bodies direct available resources towards the areas of greatest need while considering the longer-term suitability, sustainability and resilience of their estate.
This includes:
- maintaining accurate and up-to-date estate information.
- understanding building condition and risk.
- planning and prioritising maintenance.
- meeting the School Estate Management Standards.
- developing long-term estate and asset management plans.
- improving sustainability and climate resilience.
- considering suitability, inclusion and accessibility.
- making effective use of existing buildings and space.
- planning future capital investment.
Understand. Plan. Fund. Deliver.
YMD Boon has extensive experience supporting schools, academy trusts and colleges with the management, maintenance and improvement of their estates. Our multidisciplinary team can support you throughout the entire process.
Understand
Establish a clear picture of your estate through condition surveys, building surveys, compliance reviews and analysis of existing estate data, helping you understand condition, urgent risks, suitability and future requirements.
Fund
Identify appropriate funding routes and develop the evidence, priorities and robust business cases needed to turn your long-term estate plans into deliverable, well-planned projects that address your estate needs.
Plan
Turn your estate information into a long-term strategy, bringing together condition, suitability, resilience and decarbonisation priorities through estate strategies, asset management plans, lifecycle planning and capital programmes.
Deliver
Translate your estate priorities into a deliverable, phased programme of improvements, with our multidisciplinary team supporting projects from feasibility and design through procurement, construction and completion.
Preparing for the School Estate Management Standards Annual Return
The School Estate Management Standards set out the DfE’s expectations for effective estate management and provide a framework for Responsible Bodies to understand their current position and identify areas for improvement.
Responsible Bodies should be working towards achieving Level 3 – ‘Fully Effective’ – across the standards.
From the 2026/27 academic year, Responsible Bodies eligible for annual DfE capital funding will be asked to complete a School Estate Management Standards Annual Return.Â
This makes now an important time to review your estate information, identify any gaps and consider whether your existing approach supports effective long-term estate management.
The future of the Condition Improvement Fund
The Education Estates Strategy also sets out significant changes to the way condition-related capital funding will be allocated.
The DfE plans to introduce a new programme by autumn 2028 to replace the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). Under the proposed approach, eligible Responsible Bodies will no longer need to submit full bids to access this capital maintenance funding.
Until the new programme is introduced, CIF remains an important funding route for eligible schools and academy trusts.
YMD Boon will continue to support clients through the CIF process while helping organisations prepare for the longer-term changes to education estate management and funding.
How prepared is your estate?
The Education Estates Strategy represents a significant change in how school buildings will be managed, maintained and funded over the next decade.
Whether you are preparing for the School Estate Management Standards Annual Return, reviewing the condition of your buildings, developing an Estate Strategy or planning future capital investment, our education specialists can help.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Read our Education Estates Strategy FAQs for schools, academy trusts, colleges and Responsible Bodies.
If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, our team is here to help. We are happy to talk through what the changes mean for your organisation and how you can prepare your estate.
Need help? Contact Us
What is the Education Estates Strategy?
The Education Estates Strategy is the Department for Education’s 10-year plan for improving education buildings across England.
It sets out a move towards more proactive estate management, long-term strategic maintenance and renewal, supported by better information about the condition and performance of education buildings.
Who does the Education Estates Strategy apply to?
The strategy covers education settings across England, including schools, colleges and other education settings.
For schools, many of the actions within the strategy relate to Responsible Bodies – the organisations with responsibility for managing and maintaining school estates. These include academy trusts, local authorities, voluntary-aided bodies and other organisations responsible for school buildings.
What are the School Estate Management Standards?
The School Estate Management Standards provide a framework for effective management of school estates.
They help Responsible Bodies understand what effective estate management looks like, assess their current position and identify areas where improvements may be required.
The DfE expects Responsible Bodies to work towards Level 3 – ‘Fully Effective’ – across the standards.
What is the School Estate Management Standards Annual Return?
From the 2026/27 academic year, Responsible Bodies eligible for annual DfE capital funding will be asked to complete an annual return about their performance against the School Estate Management Standards.
The first return is expected to open during the third week of September 2026 and close in late November 2026.
Will the Annual Return affect our funding?
The DfE has stated that responses to the Annual Return will not affect the amount of funding an organisation receives.
However, completing the return provides an opportunity to assess your organisation’s approach to estate management and identify areas requiring further development.
What should we be doing now?
Responsible Bodies should familiarise themselves with the School Estate Management Standards and review the information they currently hold about their estate.
This could include reviewing:
- estate and asset management plans
- condition information
- asset registers
- compliance information
- maintenance programmes
- lifecycle plans
- capital investment priorities
- sustainability and climate resilience planning
- suitability and accessibility information
Do we still need our own condition surveys if the DfE holds condition data?
DfE condition data provides important information about the national education estate, but Responsible Bodies still need sufficiently detailed and current information to effectively manage their own buildings.
Condition surveys can help identify defects and risks, prioritise maintenance and capital works, forecast future expenditure and inform wider estate and asset management planning.
The Education Estates Strategy also sets out plans for Responsible Bodies to increasingly collect and share their own estate data in line with common standards.
Is the Condition Improvement Fund ending?
The DfE plans to introduce a new programme by autumn 2028 to replace the Condition Improvement Fund.
Under the proposed system, organisations that would previously have been eligible for CIF will no longer need to submit full bids to access this capital maintenance funding.
Eligible Responsible Bodies will be contacted by the DfE ahead of the new programme’s introduction.
Can we still apply for CIF?
Yes. Until the replacement programme is introduced, CIF continues to be an important capital funding route for eligible organisations.
Schools and trusts should therefore continue to identify condition priorities and consider suitable projects for upcoming CIF rounds.
A technical adviser plays a critical role in both bid success and project delivery. This includes identifying the most suitable project, preparing robust condition surveys and technical evidence, developing cost plans aligned with Department for Education expectations, and ensuring compliance with CIF eligibility and scoring criteria.
Poor-quality or insufficient technical input is one of the most common reasons bids are unsuccessful.
Working with an experienced consultant can significantly improve your chances of success. YMD Boon is a leading CIF consultant in the Midlands, supporting applications since the fund’s inception. As a RICS and RIBA Chartered Practice, with a multi-disciplinary team of architects, surveyors and construction consultants, we provide end-to-end support, from initial surveys and evidence gathering through to bid submission and project delivery.
Why is estate data becoming more important?
Better estate data is a central part of the DfE’s new approach.
Accurate information about building condition, assets, maintenance requirements and investment priorities allows Responsible Bodies to understand risk, plan expenditure and make informed decisions about their buildings.
The DfE also intends to introduce common data standards and greater two-way sharing of estate information between Responsible Bodies and the department.
What is Manage Your Education Estate?
Manage Your Education Estate is the DfE’s digital service bringing together estate-related guidance, tools, support, programmes, funding and data.
It forms part of the Government’s wider ambition to make it easier for Responsible Bodies to understand and effectively manage their estates.
How can YMD Boon help?
YMD Boon provides multidisciplinary education estate support to schools and academy trusts.
Our services include condition surveys, estate and asset management planning, funding support, architecture, building surveying, health and safety consultancy, Principal Designer services and project delivery.
This means we can help you understand your estate, identify and prioritise investment requirements, secure appropriate funding where available and manage improvement projects through to completion.
The Arden Forest C of E MAT has worked closely with YMD Boon over the past few years and that partnership has led to the successful completion of multiple projects, and the improvement of our estate.Â
Chief Operating Officer
Arden Forest C of E MAT
Having managed the process for us from funding application through to delivery, both projects were completed simultaneously with virtually no impact to our school community. We have been consistently impressed with YMD Boon’s diligence, commitment and attention to deal throughout the projects, and we can now look forward to enjoying a much improved facility here at our school.
Business Manager
Holywell Primary School
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