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

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

A school condition surveyor inspects your buildings and records what is failing, how badly and how soon it needs work. For a Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) bid, that survey is the starting point for your evidence of need, and the Department for Education (DfE) says that, "To increase the likelihood of success, applicants should also provide further specialist evidence of the specific condition issue". The survey must come from an independent, suitably qualified person and show the surveyor's name, qualification and date on its front page, and it should grade each issue by condition and priority. That makes choosing school surveyors a funding decision as much as a property one. A survey dated before 1 October 2023, or one that is not independent and impartial, "will be discounted and not considered as part of your application."

Applications are now open for funding for 2027 to 2028. New applicants must register for a CIF portal account by 12 noon, 30 November 2026. The deadline for applications with all supporting documents is 12 noon, 15 December 2026. CIF is for "Eligible academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary aided schools"; maintained schools are generally funded for condition work through School Condition Allocation (SCA) instead, as the practice's guide to CIF, SCA and urgent capital support explains. This guide reflects the 2027 to 2028 round; check the current guidance before relying on it for a later round. This article covers what the DfE asks of condition evidence, what a good school or academy condition survey contains, the questions to put to a surveyor before appointing one, and how the survey feeds into design and costed options.

For the fund as a whole, including who can bid and how bids are scored, see our complete guide to the Condition Improvement Fund.

What does the DfE require of a school condition survey?

The DfE's CIF 2027 to 2028 information for applicants is specific about condition evidence. Its central sentence reads: "The condition survey will need to be undertaken by an independent, suitably qualified person and should contain specific grading and prioritisation ratings".

The scale is set out too: condition grade A to D (from 'good' through to 'bad' condition) and priority rating 1 to 4 (from 'immediate action required' through to 'work required in 5+ years'). The guidance adds: "We expect surveys to demonstrate D1 to C2 condition issues." If your survey uses a different grading system, the DfE says you "should ensure the condition grading and prioritisation rating are clearly explained so the assessor can interpret the information correctly."

Age matters as much as content: "Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023."

The DfE also checks presentation. Applicants must provide the front page or pages of the survey clearly showing the date and the surveyor's name and qualification, even where the full survey is not included. And it closes a common shortcut: "generic letters of support from surveyors are not acceptable as evidence of condition and/or priority rating or of the urgency of need for the works and will not be considered."

Independent surveyors and conflicts of interest

The guidance is worded carefully, and the wording is worth reading exactly: "Surveys must be from an independent source. They will not be considered independent if, for example, it is conducted by a firm that has also quoted or tendered for the work or is a manufacturer of any proposed solution."

Two points follow. First, the examples are examples. The DfE says conflicts of interest "are not restricted to, nor limited to the examples given above", that a survey which is not independent "may result in the application being disqualified", and that "We will carry out checks as part of the assessment process." Second, the conflict test reaches beyond the surveyor: "You should consider any conflicts of interest that the technical adviser may have with others involved in your application, such as those undertaking the condition reports or tendering for the works."

The hand-signed declaration makes this personal to the accounting officer (or, for a sixth-form college or VA school, a suitably responsible member of the senior management team). It asks you to confirm that you have considered "whether any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest exist in relation to this application, including those involving the technical adviser, survey provider, and any other organisation."

In practice, a free survey from a roofing contractor who then prices the roof fails the test, as does a report from the manufacturer of the boiler it recommends. Where your adviser has any link to the surveyor, write it down and declare it. Grayling Thomas Architects' guide to CIF bid support and what the DfE requires covers the wider procurement and conflict rules for advisers.

What does a good school condition survey cover?

The practice's earlier article on why a strong condition survey is the key to CIF funding success sets out the general case. The current guidance is specific about a few points. The survey should "include a detailed assessment of the consequences of any delay or failure to undertake the proposed work", which is where many surveys are thin: a grade on its own does not tell an assessor what happens if the work waits another year. Alongside the survey, the DfE lists other evidence of condition, "where applicable", including labelled photographs: "Photographs should be labelled with commentary on the issue being illustrated. We have introduced an additional 1MB upload that you can use for photographs."

The survey sits inside a limited upload: "The Project Need upload is limited to a maximum of 50 pages." Supporting evidence should be "concise, relevant, and focused on demonstrating the need for the proposed works", so a survey written for your school alone works better than a long generic one. The DfE also warns that "Duplicated risk registers, surveys, costed options appraisals and other such information will not assist schools in competing for funding with other applicants".

A condition survey is not the only survey a school may need before planning works. Our guide to education building surveys and what school leaders need to know covers what such surveys assess and how their grades become evidence for a CIF bid.

A trust taking on a new school needs a survey scoped to that decision, and our guide to condition due diligence when a school joins your trust covers what to ask for.

Is the DfE's own condition data report enough?

Your school may already have a DfE condition report. From 2021 to 2026, the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme set out to visit every government-funded school in England, as the CDC2 programme page on gov.uk explains. It is useful, but in the DfE's words it "is not an in-depth condition survey nor a structural survey".

The CDC2 page lists its limits: the data is not invasive, not structural and does not report on hazardous materials such as asbestos. The CIF guidance is direct: a CDC2 report "can be used to support a CIF application, if it is dated within 3 years, but on its own will not be sufficient to make a full assessment of a CIF application". Check the date on the report itself. The DfE adds: "We would expect to see a CDC2 report supported with additional evidence, e.g., a condition or structural survey." CDC1 reports "will be discounted and not considered as part of your application."

The CDC report is a starting point for your surveyor, not a replacement. The DfE asks applicants to "continue to include block references in the same format as set out in your CDC2 report", so ask your surveyor to use them and the assessor can match the two.

What should you ask a school surveyor before appointing one?

Before you appoint a school or academy condition surveyor for a CIF bid, ask:

• Will each condition issue be graded A to D and prioritised 1 to 4, using the DfE's scale?

• What is your professional qualification, and will it appear on the front page with the survey date?

• Do you, or any firm you are connected to, quote or tender for building work, or make or supply building products?

• Will the report assess the consequences of delay for each issue, not just give a grade?

• Will you label photographs, provide plans that locate the works, and use the block references from our CDC2 report?

• Where you find a problem, can you arrange or advise on specialist testing, such as structural, M&E or moisture?

• Is the report written for our buildings alone, with nothing carried over from another school?

The DfE makes you responsible for due diligence on all contractors, not just the winning one, which "must include ensuring all parties are qualified personnel". For technical advisers it strongly recommends members of recognised professional bodies such as RICS, CIOB or RIBA.

If you are thinking of using one firm as both surveyor and technical adviser, treat this as a possible conflict of the kind described in the section on independence above. The DfE says: "You must declare any potential or perceived conflicts of interest in the application form, so that they can be considered as part of the assessment." The DfE also warns: "Should a conflict of interest be identified to exist between the technical adviser and others involved in your application, this may result in the application being disqualified." So if one firm does both, declare it, because the DfE judges whether it is a conflict, and take appropriate steps to manage it: the signed declaration confirms that "appropriate steps have been taken to manage them". If you are unsure, appoint the surveyor separately.

The practice's guide to choosing a CIF consultant as a standalone academy or small MAT covers how to procure those appointments and keep a record of the process. For a special school, the practice's guide to condition surveys for special schools covers the specialist rooms, fixed equipment and safe survey visits that the brief also needs.

How the survey feeds design and costed options

A survey says what is wrong. A bid also has to show what should be done about it, at what cost and in what order. For condition projects, the guidance says applicants "must seek professional advice on the condition of their buildings through an independent survey" and should provide "a realistic, costed options appraisal which provides genuine options for consideration".

That is where survey work meets design. A poor roof, for example, might be repaired, overlaid or replaced, and each option carries a different cost, programme and risk. The survey findings set the problem; design and cost work turn them into options an assessor can compare. A feasibility study should include "Full details of surveys undertaken or planned", which means the two pieces of work should be planned together rather than commissioned separately and stitched together late.

Most CIF projects are relatively straightforward, lower value works, and the DfE says "Percentage fees are not necessarily appropriate for this type of work". If they are used, they "should be a maximum of 10% of the total project value", and that cap "includes all professional fees and disbursements, as well as one off 'bid writer' fees, not just the technical adviser fee". The DfE is explicit: "Please be aware that 10% is not a default fee allowed for the CIF programme. It is considered a maximum amount unless there are very exceptional circumstances." Any higher fee level "must be specifically justified within the application", and the DfE warns: "We may disqualify any bids with higher fee costs contained within additional surveys that we believe are not fully justified, especially if they are included within contractor costs."

Related guides

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

• From school condition assessment to a five-year plan: turning survey findings into costed priorities

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

School condition surveys for CIF bids with Grayling Thomas Architects

Grayling Thomas Architects is a RIBA Chartered Practice that designs and delivers large school buildings, and its education surveys include condition surveys for schools and academies. The practice 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.

Our CIF bid writing and support page explains how we work with schools on CIF projects.

As lead consultant and architect, the practice prepares the evidence, the design and the costed options with the school, and the school remains the applicant. Any appointment needs to follow your own procurement process, and if you are considering the practice for both the survey and the adviser role, that link should be declared in the application, and the DfE will judge whether it is a conflict. To talk about your buildings, use the CIF enquiry form.