The Department for Education’s newly published Education Estates Strategy sets out a 10-year vision for transforming school and college buildings in England. Backed by £38 billion of capital investment between 2025–26 and 2029–30, it is being presented as a decisive move away from ‘patch and mend’ maintenance towards long-term renewal, resilience and inclusion by design.
For those of us who advise schools, trusts and colleges grappling with deteriorating buildings, RAAC crises, funding shortfalls and complex SEND pressures, this strategy is welcome and overdue.
The school estate has been under sustained pressure for well over a decade. The National Audit Office has previously identified thousands of buildings beyond their intended design life. The RAAC crisis exposed the fragility of parts of the estate and raised legitimate questions about long-term stewardship. At the same time, demographic shifts are reshaping demand: falling rolls in some areas, surging post-16 numbers in others, and continued growth in children and young people requiring specialist support. Alongside this, the SEND system is under intense scrutiny, and inclusion has moved to the centre of policy debate with the long-awaited white paper ‘still in development’.
Estate management as a governance issue
The Education Estates Strategy seeks to elevate estate management to a strategic governance responsibility, supported by long-term capital commitments and national data standards. Boards and governing bodies will be expected to adopt long-term lifecycle planning, proactive maintenance and structured asset management. The introduction of annual estate returns signals that boards and governing bodies will be expected to demonstrate oversight, data literacy and forward planning.
Replacement of the Condition Improvement Fund by 2028
The proposed replacement of the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) by 2028 is particularly significant. CIF has long required detailed competitive bids, with many eligible schools unsuccessful each year. The strategy signals a move away from full narrative bidding towards a system enabled by improved, standardised estate data. If implemented effectively, this could reduce administrative burden and provide greater predictability — particularly beneficial for smaller trusts.
Data and digital transformation
The launch of the ‘Manage Your Education Estate’ platform and the move towards nationally standardised estate data is one of the most innovative elements of the Strategy. From 2026 onwards, responsible bodies will be expected to submit annual estate returns. By the end of the decade, funding decisions are expected to be increasingly data-led. Trusts with strong asset management systems will be well placed to evidence need and secure investment. Those without reliable data may find themselves disadvantaged. Smaller trusts and maintained schools may find compliance demanding and boards will need to ensure they have the right expertise around the table.
Significant capital commitments
The headline figures are substantial:
- £38 billion capital investment to 2029–30
- A £700+ million Renewal and Retrofit Programme
- £300 million for digital connectivity through ‘Connect the Classroom’
- £3.7 billion to create 60,000 additional SEND places
There is a welcome emphasis on climate resilience, decarbonisation and adaptation to flooding and overheating — issues that are increasingly material for governing bodies from both a risk and cost perspective.
For the FE sector, which is experiencing a demographic bulge in 16–18 year olds, the commitment to greater capital certainty and expansion of capacity is particularly important. Colleges have in recent years been forced to turn learners away because buildings simply could not accommodate demand.
However, the figures set out in the Strategy must be considered in light of the size of the undertaking, and whether the Renewal and Retrofit Programme will be sufficient to address structural deterioration at the required pace. The maintenance backlog is estimated in the billions. When spread across more than 20,000 schools in need of renewal or refurbishment, the large headline figures can look less transformative.
Smarter use of space
The Strategy acknowledges falling rolls in parts of the system and proposes a decision-making framework for better use of surplus land and buildings. This could include co-location with family hubs, health services and early years provision. Whilst this could strengthen schools as community anchors, governance will be complex and clear frameworks will be essential.
Inclusion by design
Perhaps the most high-profile policy commitment is the expectation that, in time, every secondary school will have an ‘inclusion base’. The intention is to create dedicated spaces that bridge mainstream and specialist provision, supporting pupils with additional needs within local schools. Two commissioning models are envisaged: school- or trust-led ‘support base’ and local authority-commissioned ‘specialist bases’. In principle, this aligns with a broader policy drive towards inclusion and early intervention. Well-designed spaces, staffed appropriately and embedded within whole-school practice, can make a meaningful difference.
While investment in inclusion bases is welcomed by many, physical space is only part of the problem. Inclusion requires trained staff, specialist input, and sustained funding. Without adequate staffing, inclusion bases risk becoming holding spaces rather than genuinely inclusive environments.
The Strategy contains no explicit new commitments to invest in the special school and alternative provision estate, much of which is also under strain. If mainstream inclusion is to expand, this must not come at the expense of high-quality specialist provision for those who need it.
Conclusion
Estates policy is not simply about buildings, it enables inclusion, sustainability, skills and economic growth. Safe, well-designed, inclusive environments materially affect attendance, attainment, staff retention and pupil wellbeing. Conversely, deteriorating buildings create legal risk, safeguarding concerns and morale challenges. Those trusts, colleges and local authorities that invest now in robust asset management, high-quality data and strategic planning will be best placed to secure funding and, more importantly, to create environments in which children and young people can genuinely thrive.
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