Ingleton Wood wins millions of pounds for schools and colleges from Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) 2024/25

Property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood has announced it has successfully secured millions of pounds in funding from the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for urgent condition and infrastructure projects at schools, academies and colleges.

The Department for Education (DfE) has published the allocation of its £450 million CIF funding pot for next year. In total, 866 of 3,034 projects received approval, meaning less than one in three (29%) of CIF bids were successful for the 2024/25 academic year.

This is a fall from around 34% last year when 1,033 of 3,061 projects were approved from the £456 million CIF funding pot.

CIF is government funding for essential repairs and upgrades for which eligible schools, academies and sixth-form colleges can bid. Learn more with our Essential CIF Guide.

Ingleton Wood secured essential funding for schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) across London and the East of England for 2024/25. Projects include safeguarding, fabric replacement including doors, windows and roofs, as well as heating, hot water and other mechanical and electrical upgrades.

Many projects also fall under decarbonisation and sustainability improvement programmes – helping to lower energy consumption and carbon footprint levels.

It comes at a critical time as the education sector continues to grapple with challenges posed by ageing building stock and escalating material costs.

Sam Taylor, Director | Building Surveyor, said: “Despite the declining national success rate, we are pleased to have secured significant CIF funding to enable our long-standing education clients to carry out much-needed investment of their infrastructure.

“We have a proven track record of successfully navigating the complex and ever-changing nature of CIF criteria, thanks to our dedicated and proactive education specialists.

“We look forward to helping our education clients to maximise their CIF allocations and make vital long-term improvements and sustainability upgrades for current and future generations.”

Case Study – Stisted CofE Academy, Canonium Learning Trust

Our Practice was pleased to support Stisted CofE Academy, part of the Canonium Learning Trust, in securing CIF 2024-25 funding towards a vital boiler replacement project.

Our expertise and support was described as “instrumental” by the Trust.

The project has an estimated cost of £328,000 with the Trust contributing 15% (£49,200).

Martin Hawrylak, Executive Headteacher of Stisted CofE Academy in Braintree, Essex, said: “Our success in securing capital funding amidst a decline in successful applications underscores the urgent need for investment in our school infrastructure.

“We are grateful for the support of Canonium Learning Trust and our partners at Ingleton Wood, whose collaboration has been instrumental in ensuring the success of this project.”

Appealing CIF outcomes for 2024/25

The capped amount of the annual CIF means not every project or school is successful in receiving a share of the funding. For 2024/25, around 71% of individual project bids were unsuccessful (2,168 out of 3,034) – demonstrating the need for expert support.

Ingleton Wood can support you if you wish to appeal the CIF decision. We will be among one of the first multi-disciplinary Practices to find out how this year’s appeal process will work.

Ingleton Wood’s expanding CIF services – East of England, Midlands and South West

As a leading education consultancy, Ingleton Wood has been successfully awarded millions of pounds of CIF funding for wide-ranging projects across hundreds of schools and colleges based across London and the East of England.

And following recent investments in our Cambridge, Oxford and Nottingham teams, we have expanded our CIF services to include schools and colleges in the Midlands and South West.

From condition surveys to bid writing and project management, you can rely on Ingleton Wood to work closely with you to significantly improve your chances of winning CIF funding and ensure your school is modern, sustainable and fit for purpose.

The Grange Academy