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

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

The Department for Education (DfE) publishes the official CIF guidance for the 2027 to 2028 round on the gov.uk page Condition improvement fund: guidance for schools, last updated on 21 October 2026. That page carries the Information for applicants, a 74-page PDF that sets out eligibility, project types, scoring and the evidence a bid needs, and a loan repayment calculator. The terms and conditions, the post-approval guidance and the portal user guide sit on the CIF portal itself, and the declaration form is on the portal and in Annex A of the PDF.

This article is a map: which document says what, and when in a bid you need it. For the round's dates and the new rules in detail, see the practice's guide to this round's key dates, rule changes and what to prepare before the deadline.

For how the fund works overall, see the practice's complete guide to CIF funding for schools.

The gov.uk guidance page: the front door

The gov.uk page is short. It describes the fund as capital funding which "keeps school and college buildings in good working order" and "supports a small number of expansion projects". It says eligible academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools "can apply for funding in an annual bidding round".

For expansion bids, the practice's earlier guide to securing CIF funding for school expansion and growth projects covers that route; check its detail against this round's documents.

It carries two downloads:

• Information for applicants (PDF, 74 pages): the full rulebook for the round.

• Loan repayment calculator (Excel spreadsheet): the DfE says to use it "to work out your annual and total repayments"; it is relevant if a bid includes a CIF loan.

The page also states the one rule about how to apply: "You must apply for funding through the CIF portal. We do not accept applications made through other routes." For problems that cannot wait for a bidding round, it points to urgent capital support on gov.uk, which covers "urgent condition issues that pose the threat of immediate school closure".

The page's update history is worth a glance whenever you return to it. Its latest entry reads "21 October 2026 Updated as applications for funding for 2027 to 2028 are now open." If the DfE adds or corrects a document during the round, this is where the change will show.

What is in the CIF information for applicants?

The Information for applicants PDF is the rulebook for the round: it explains what CIF is, who is eligible, what types of projects are eligible and how bids will be assessed. It describes itself as "non-statutory guidance" for "eligible academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided (VA) schools that wish to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for the 2027-28 financial year (April 2027 to March 2028)". It is not, though, the main thing assessors read: "For CIF 2027-28, the application form is the main source of information for assessment purposes".

The section names below follow the document's contents page.

The assessment criteria section deserves the most time. It sets out how project need, project cost and project planning are judged, including the priority given to each project type, and it is the closest thing a school has to the marking scheme. The new requirement for a bespoke options appraisal is covered in the practice's article on the CIF costed options appraisal every bid must now include.

The three annexes

Three annexes sit at the back, each with a practical job.

• Annex A, the Condition Improvement Funding declaration. This is the text of the form that must be signed. The checklist says the declaration "can be found on the CIF portal and Annex A" and must be hand-signed and uploaded as a PDF. "Missing, incomplete or unsigned declarations will result in the application being disqualified."

• Annex B, CIF loans. Loans are offered at Public Works Loan Board rates, and the annex sets out the interest rates, the affordability tests for each type of applicant and how repayments work. "The minimum loan duration is 2 years, and the maximum is 10 years." Read it with the calculator from the gov.uk page.

• Annex C, the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA). This explains how existing buildings and new works are covered during refurbishment or extension work for schools that are RPA members.

Where are the CIF portal documents?

Several documents the DfE expects you to read are not on gov.uk at all. To reach the portal, the guidance says "go to Manage Your Education Estate, select ‘Funding’ from the navigation menu, then choose ‘Explore Funding’". From there:

• The terms and conditions and post-approval guidance. "You must familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions and post-approval guidance before submitting your application for CIF funding. You can find these on the CIF portal."

• The declaration form, the same text as Annex A.

• The portal user guide. "Applicants should refer to the user guide on the portal for help."

First-time applicants find details of how to request portal access on the same Explore Funding page. The account must be registered by the date given in the key dates table, and the DfE recommends logging in and beginning the application "at least 14 working days before the deadline".

The Customer Help Portal is the route for questions to the DfE, and also for asking to have a submitted application unsubmitted if you spot a mistake. There is a cut-off for that request, covered with the uploads in the walkthrough below.

For what each upload must contain, from the need, planning and cost documents to the signed declaration, see the practice's section-by-section walkthrough of the CIF application.

Other guidance the document points to

The Information for applicants refers out to other official sources rather than repeating them. The ones a bid is most likely to need are the School capital funding guidance, which explains School Condition Allocation (SCA) for schools not eligible for CIF; Good estate management for schools (GEMS) and its self-assessment tool, which feed the scoring of project need for condition projects; and the Academy Trust Handbook, against which the procurement of a technical adviser is judged. Detailed guidance on appeals is not out yet: the DfE says it "will be published in due course".

How the documents differ from last year's

Comparing this round's document with the previous Information for applicants shows several changes that affect how the documents are used.

Scoring and page limits. The new scoring weights and the new page limit on supporting documents are covered in the practice's guide to this round's key dates and rule changes.

Portal access. Last round, a first-time applicant had to "send a request for access via the Customer Help Portal". This round, the information on requesting access is on Manage Your Education Estate.

Possible outcomes. The previous document said an application "will either be fully funded or unsuccessful", though it allowed that some might be put on hold for further due diligence or have conditions attached. This round makes those formal outcome categories: "fully funded, approved subject to conditions, pending approval subject to further due diligence, or unsuccessful." The DfE adds that for the two middle categories "full approval has not yet been granted".

Technical adviser procurement. Both documents warn that a bid may be disqualified if a compliant procurement of the technical adviser is not evidenced. This round also lists what to include: "details of the procurement and selection process, the evaluation and scoring methodology applied, the rationale for the appointment, and how value for money was achieved."

Annexes. The previous document carried a fourth annex on School Resource Management Advisers. This round's annexes end at Annex C.

One thing has not changed. Responsibility for the bid sits with the accounting officer, or for a sixth-form college or VA school a member of the senior management team, and the DfE is plain that "technical advisers cannot apply on your behalf".

Where the adviser a school appoints is an architect, the practice's guide to choosing an architect for a school capital project sets out what to check.

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

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

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

Using the CIF guidance with Grayling Thomas Architects

We are a RIBA Chartered Practice that designs and delivers school buildings, from condition works to large new buildings. Grayling Thomas Architects was 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.

On a CIF project we act as lead consultant and architect, preparing the evidence of need, the design and the costed options with the school, so that the portal form and the uploads tell the same story. Our CIF funding page explains how we work. 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.