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

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

Can the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) pay for modular or temporary classrooms? Not as a category. CIF funds condition need and a small number of expansion projects. The DfE's guidance does not set separate rules for modular buildings; it judges a bid on project need, project planning and project cost (55, 20 and 25 of 100 points), and on whether the floor area fits the category, rather than on whether the building is modular or traditionally built. Replacing a life-expired temporary or modular block can be a condition bid (the guidance has specific block replacement rules) if the evidence shows significant condition need and the new block is no larger than the rules allow, or a condition with expansion bid if a small increase in floor area is unavoidable. Adding classrooms is an expansion bid with its own tests. Temporary accommodation during works is one of the guidance's examples of an abnormal cost, which must be "clearly identified and justified".

CIF is for stand-alone academies, schools in a multi-academy trust with "fewer than five schools or fewer than 3,000 pupils", voluntary aided schools in a VA body or group of the same size, and sixth-form colleges. Trusts and VA bodies with five or more schools and at least 3,000 pupils receive SCA instead. In the guidance's words, "an eligible school will either attract School Condition Allocations (SCA) for its responsible body, or be eligible for CIF, but not both." Maintained schools other than voluntary aided schools are generally not eligible and are funded through SCA instead.

The rest of this article sets out where a modular or temporary classroom fits in the current round, which rules decide the category, and what the bid has to prove. For the dates and the rule changes across the whole round, read our guide to the key dates, rule changes and what to prepare for this CIF round.

For how the fund works as a whole, from eligibility to scoring, see the practice's complete guide to CIF funding for schools.

Does CIF fund modular classrooms?

The DfE's information for applicants does not mention modular or portable classrooms by name. What it describes is a fund that "keeps school and college buildings in good working order" and "supports a small number of expansion projects", in the words of the Condition Improvement Fund guidance on gov.uk.

The useful question is not "is modular allowed?" but "which kind of project is this?". The guidance sorts every bid into one of three categories: condition, condition with expansion, and expansion. The DfE can move a bid into a different category if it does not meet the criteria for the one chosen, and some mistakes are fatal. In the guidance's own words: "If an expansion project is submitted as a condition project, it will be disqualified".

Priorities matter too. The guidance gives "the highest priority to condition projects that address compliance and health and safety issues" and also gives priority to critical replacements of coal and oil-fired boilers with low carbon heating alternatives where there is a risk of school closure; after that it prioritises "weather tightness of buildings and other projects for continuous heating and water supply". A worn out temporary classroom with a failing roof, unsafe electrics or poor fire separation can sit squarely inside those priorities. One that is simply unpopular with staff will not.

Replacing a life-expired temporary or modular block

Some schools still teach in temporary buildings that have stayed in use far longer than intended. When one of these reaches the end of its life, replacing it can be a condition bid, and the guidance has a specific section on block replacement and refurbishment.

The key rules are about size and standards:

• The DfE will judge a replacement "in the context of the overall standards set out in Building Bulletin 103 or 104 as appropriate", and a project "that over-specifies the space required compared to current area standards or performance will not score highly".

• "We would normally expect the replacement build to be no larger than the current block." Small increases are allowed if they are needed to meet space standards, Health and Safety, Equality Act and DDA compliance, or child safeguarding.

• "If the proposed new build is larger than the existing block and larger than current area guidelines, then the application will be disqualified."

• A replacement block must also meet the standards in Building Bulletin 100, and the guidance points applicants to the Generic Design Brief within the DfE Construction design standards.

There is also a middle category. A condition with expansion project is one "where the GIFA of the new block is up to 10% larger than the previous block", accepted only "if you provide clear evidence that there is no other alternative to meeting area standards as defined by Building Bulletin 103 or 104". "The aim of the project must primarily be to address significant condition need."

The guidance does not set a construction method, so a replacement can be modular, traditional or a mix. Whichever is chosen, the new block must meet the Building Bulletin standards above, and the guidance says "Where new buildings are being provided, full compliance with DfE's construction design standards is required." Block replacements can also score better: "Your score will be enhanced where you can evidence how the project aligns with sustainability design standards with the DfE Construction design standards", so the options appraisal should show how each option performs on that. The DfE scores project need, project planning and project cost; the floor area decides which category the bid falls in and whether it is disqualified. The construction method is not scored.

When is a new classroom an expansion bid?

Once the project adds teaching space rather than renewing it, the rules change. Projects that add new functional areas or facilities to address overcrowding, or that aim to increase the planned admission number (PAN), "must be submitted as expansion applications". That applies whether the new rooms arrive on a lorry or are built on site.

Expansion is a narrow route. The guidance says "Only a very small proportion of CIF will be allocated to address expansion issues across high performing applicants and will be restricted to academies, sixth form colleges, and VA schools with fewer than 2,000 pupils", and the applicant must meet the Ofsted test set out in the guidance. The new block must be "more than 10% larger than the previous block or add functional areas or facilities". There are two types: added places, which raise the number on roll, and overcrowding, where the number on roll is already greater than capacity.

The thresholds are strict. "Your expansion application will be disqualified if your capacity will increase by less than 10% for an added places project or your existing number on rolls is less than 10% over your capacity for an overcrowding project." If your project is solely expansion, you will also need a schedule of accommodation (the DfE tool is for mainstream primary and secondary schools; other school types provide a list of accommodation).

If you are unsure whether your project meets the criteria for a condition with expansion or an expansion project, the DfE says you "may contact the Department without prejudice via Customer Help Portal" to check. It is worth doing before the design is fixed.

The practice's article Beyond Repairs: how to secure CIF funding for school expansion and growth projects looks at expansion bids in more depth.

Temporary accommodation as a cost in a CIF bid

Temporary classrooms also appear in CIF bids as a cost, not a project. When a block is replaced or a major refurbishment empties rooms, pupils have to be taught somewhere. The guidance quotes the RICS definition of abnormal costs and lists "asbestos removal, demolition costs, temporary accommodation and specialist substructures works" as examples. "Abnormal costs must be clearly identified and justified."

In practice that means hire, installation, services connections and removal of any decant units should sit as a separate, explained line in the cost plan, with tenders or quotes attached. The guidance says "You will score low marks where there is no evidence of tenders/quotes attached to the application or they are inadequate for the size of the project." Folded into a general allowance, they make the overall cost look high with no clear justification, which the guidance says scores low.

Schools in the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) face a further rule. The DfE will only consider a CIF bid from an SRP school in exceptional circumstances, and "Where a temporary or reduced solution would safely keep the school operational until SRP delivery and provide better value for money than a permanent solution, the Department may require this approach." It may also reduce the scope of a successful project, "including requiring temporary or reduced works". If your school has an SRP nomination, plan the bid around that possibility rather than assuming a permanent building.

What evidence and options appraisal does the bid need?

A bid to replace a temporary or modular block is judged on the same evidence as any condition bid, with extra scrutiny: block replacement projects are among those the DfE says may receive conditional or pending approval.

Condition evidence. An independent survey with condition grades and priority ratings. "Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023. They need to be independent and impartial." Support it with labelled photographs, floor plans and elevations, and any specialist reports, such as structural, electrical or fire safety findings.

Floor area. "You must clearly identify the changes in the GIFA as part of any application." Show the area being renewed or refurbished, the area removed or demolished, and any new build, so the assessor can see at a glance whether the replacement is like for like.

A costed options appraisal. "All applications must include a bespoke, costed options appraisal that is unique to your project." For a temporary or modular block the honest options usually include:

• Do nothing, showing the risk and impact of leaving the block in use. The guidance says to always present a do nothing option.

• Refurbish the existing block, if its structure allows.

• Replace it with a modular building.

• Replace it with a traditionally built block.

Each needs its costs, benefits and risks, and the preferred option must be shown to be "the most appropriate and cost-effective solution to address the identified need". The guidance also asks applicants to "Show that lower-cost options have been considered, and, if not chosen, this is justified." Modular may win on programme and disruption; traditional construction may win on life span and running costs. The appraisal has to show the working, not assert the answer.

Planning and phasing. A delivery plan that shows how the school keeps teaching while the work happens, including any decant, ties the options appraisal to the cost plan.

For the operational side of that plan, including site separation, safeguarding and exam weeks, see building work on a live school site.

Related guides

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

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

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

• School building grants in England: the capital funding routes for new facilities

Grayling Thomas Architects on modular and temporary classroom bids

We are a RIBA Chartered Practice that designs and delivers large school buildings. We were CIF bid writer, lead consultant and architect for Dorothy Goodman School in Hinckley, a new building for an existing special school, funded through the Condition Improvement Fund.

As lead consultant and architect, we work with the school to prepare the evidence, the design and the costed options a bid like this needs, including whether modular, traditional or refurbishment is the right answer for the site. For special schools, room sizes, sensory needs, acoustics and access all shape the right answer; see our SEN school architecture page.

Where the block is at a special school, our article on condition surveys for special schools explains what the survey evidence needs to reflect.

Our CIF funding page explains how we work on CIF projects. To talk about replacing a temporary or modular block, use our CIF enquiry form.