CIF 2027 to 2028: key dates, rule changes and what to prepare by 15 December

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

The Department for Education (DfE) opened the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for 2027 to 2028 on 21 October 2026, when it published its information for applicants and opened the online application window. New applicants must register for a CIF portal account by 12 noon, 30 November 2026, and every application, with all supporting documents, must be submitted by 12 noon, 15 December 2026, the CIF 2027-28 deadline. Outcomes are expected in May 2027, which the DfE marks "subject to change".

The round also changes the rules. Project need now carries 55 points and project planning 20, every bid needs a bespoke costed options appraisal, supporting documents are capped at 50 pages each, and applicants must evidence how they procured their technical adviser. The rest of this article sets out the dates, each change, and what a school or trust should have in hand before the deadline.

For the wider background on who can bid, how bids are scored on need, cost and planning, and the evidence assessors expect, see Grayling Thomas Architects' complete guide to CIF funding for schools.

When are the CIF 2027 to 2028 deadlines?

The DfE's CIF 2027 to 2028 information for applicants gives these milestones:

The registration date matters most for schools that have not bid before: a first-time applicant without a portal account cannot submit. The Condition Improvement Fund guidance on gov.uk is clear that "You must apply for funding through the CIF portal. We do not accept applications made through other routes."

Two other dates shape the projects themselves. The guidance says "The majority of funds will be allocated for projects that complete by 31 March 2028", and that "all projects must complete by 31 March 2029". A programme that cannot plausibly finish inside those dates will struggle on planning.

For a month-by-month plan of the work that leads up to a CIF deadline, from a needs review to governor sign-off, the practice's step-by-step CIF timeline for schools sets out the stages.

Eligibility for the CIF 2027 to 2028 round

Eligibility is set by what the school was at the start of September 2026. The DfE lists stand-alone academies, sixth-form colleges, schools with a signed academy order as of 1 September 2026 that it expects to convert to a CIF-eligible responsible body by 1 April 2027, and schools in a multi-academy trust (MAT) or voluntary aided (VA) body "with fewer than five schools or fewer than 3,000 pupils as counted in the Spring 2026 census".

Larger trusts and VA bodies receive School Condition Allocations (SCA) instead, as do local authorities with maintained schools. For special and alternative provision schools, the DfE says "we multiply the pupil count by 4.5 for the purposes of determining either CIF or SCA eligibility". A trust that runs special schools should check its count carefully, because that multiplier can move it from CIF to SCA.

For special schools preparing a bid, the practice's article on condition surveys for special schools covers specialist rooms, suitability and the evidence a CIF bid needs.

Project sizes keep the same shape. The minimum project funding for primary and special schools is £20,000, the minimum for secondary schools, all-through schools and sixth-form colleges is £50,000, and the maximum is £4,000,000. The DfE adds that "The average CIF grant funding award is approx. £500,000 for condition projects" and that "Applications requesting more than £1 million in grant funding may be subject to additional scrutiny."

Rule changes for CIF 2027 to 2028

The guidance opens with a list of new requirements. Each one can cost a bid marks or put it at risk of disqualification, so they are worth reading in full.

Scoring weights

"The project need section of the application will now account for a total of 55 points, and the project planning section will account for a total of 20 points. Project cost section remains the same at 25 points." In the 2026 to 2027 round need carried 60 points and planning 15, so a well-planned programme now counts for more than before.

A bespoke, costed options appraisal

"All applications must include a bespoke, costed options appraisal that is unique to your project." It is scored. It has to show the alternatives considered, with "the costs, benefits and risks associated with each option", and explain why the preferred option is the right one. The guidance warns that "If no options appraisal is included, your application may be disqualified."

The application form comes first

"For CIF 2027-28, the application form is the main source of information for assessment purposes and must contain full details of the project." Uploaded documents support the form; they do not replace it. Successful applications are also funded on the cost section of the portal form, "and not the uploaded document(s)", so the two must match.

A 50-page limit

Supporting documentation for need, planning and cost "is limited to 50 pages per document", in Arial no smaller than size 11. "Any information submitted beyond the 50-page limit for a document will not be considered as part of the assessment."

Evidence of how the technical adviser was procured

This requirement is new. "Applicants must clearly explain and adequately evidence a compliant procurement process undertaken to appoint their technical adviser." The rule applies "regardless of how the adviser is remunerated, including where services are provided on a no-win-no-fee basis", and failing it "may result in the application being disqualified". Grayling Thomas Architects' guide to choosing a CIF consultant as a standalone academy or small MAT now covers what the DfE expects you to document.

Responsibility stays with the school. The accounting officer, or for a sixth-form college or VA school a member of the senior management team, is responsible for the application, "not any consultant or technical adviser you may be using". The guidance also says plainly that "technical advisers cannot apply on your behalf".

Where a successful bid will lead to a building project, the practice's guide to choosing an architect for a school capital project sets out what to check before appointing one and how to procure the appointment.

Missing documents and the RPA

The DfE "is not obliged to contact applicants regarding missing or incorrect documentation", and there is no chance to add documents after the deadline. The guidance is blunt about the hand-signed declaration form: "Missing, incomplete or unsigned declarations will result in the application being disqualified." Works that may be eligible for cover under the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) should go through the RPA first; a successful CIF application for the same works "will be placed on hold pending the outcome of the RPA claim".

What should you have ready before 15 December?

Working back from the deadline, a bid needs most of the following in place well before the final week:

1. A portal account, registered before 12 noon on 30 November if you are a new applicant.

2. Independent evidence of need. The guidance says "Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023. They need to be independent and impartial." A survey is not independent if, for example, it is conducted by a firm "that has also quoted or tendered for the work". The practice's guide to [education building surveys and what school leaders need to know](https://www.graylingthomas.com/articles-faqs/education-building-surveys-what-school-leaders-need-to-know-before-planning-improvements) explains how condition grades become evidence for a bid.

3. A costed options appraisal written for this project, not adapted from another school's.

4. A cost plan that matches the cost section of the portal form.

5. A realistic programme that aims to complete by 31 March 2028, when most funds are allocated, and in any case by 31 March 2029, with a delivery plan and a risk register specific to the project.

6. Procurement records for your technical adviser, if you use one, showing the adviser "was formally appointed before undertaking work in connection with the project".

7. The hand-signed declaration form, uploaded as a PDF.

8. Consent from the freehold landowner. For church schools on trustee-held land, that means engaging the relevant diocese, and Church of England schools are also required to seek consent from the Diocesan Board of Education.

The DfE is frank about the odds: "On average only around a third of applications are successful each year." A complete, well-evidenced bid is the part a school controls.

Our CIF 2027 to 2028 guides

• The CIF costed options appraisal: what every 2027 to 2028 bid must now include

• CIF, SCA and urgent capital support: which one applies to your school?

• CIF funding for roof replacement: what evidence a 2027 to 2028 bid needs

• CIF for heating, boilers and electrics: building the case in 2027 to 2028

• CIF for fire safety and compliance works in 2027 to 2028

• Asbestos, RAAC and CIF 2027 to 2028: what the fund will and will not pay for

• CIF 2027 to 2028 outcomes: when results are announced and what happens next

• Unsuccessful CIF bid in 2026 to 2027? How to strengthen it for 2027 to 2028

• CIF funding for modular and temporary classrooms: what 2027 to 2028 bids can and cannot cover

• CIF bid support in 2027 to 2028: what good support includes and what the DfE requires

• CIF guidance for 2027 to 2028: where the official documents are and what each one covers

• The CIF application for 2027 to 2028: a section-by-section walkthrough

• School condition surveyors: what the role covers in a CIF bid and how to choose one

Is this the last CIF round?

Possibly. The guidance repeats that the DfE "will be introducing a new programme by autumn 2028 to replace CIF", under which eligible responsible bodies "will no longer need to submit full bids". It has not yet set out the details. The practice's article on what the education estates strategy says about the programme that replaces CIF covers what is known so far.

Preparing a CIF 2027 to 2028 bid with Grayling Thomas Architects

Grayling Thomas Architects is a RIBA Chartered Practice, practising since 2010, that designs and delivers school buildings. We were lead consultant and architect for the CIF-funded Dorothy Goodman School project in Hinckley, a new building for an existing special school.

Our CIF funding page explains how we work on CIF projects. Any appointment needs to follow your own procurement process, so it is worth starting early. To talk about a project, use our CIF enquiry form.