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

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

The CIF application form is the online form, inside the CIF portal, on which every Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) bid is made. Applications are now open for funding for 2027 to 2028, and the Department for Education (DfE) is clear that "You must apply for funding through the CIF portal." This round the form carries more weight than before: the DfE says it "is the main source of information for assessment purposes and must contain full details of the project". This walkthrough groups what the form and uploads ask for into seven parts: eligibility and registration, project details, evidence of need, planning, cost, supporting documents and the signed declaration. It takes each part in turn, says what evidence it needs and notes where the DfE says marks are lost.

The round's dates, eligibility rules and new requirements are set out in our guide to this round's key dates and rule changes. The one date to hold onto is the close: applications with all supporting documents are due by 12 noon, 15 December 2026. For how the fund works more broadly, see our complete guide to CIF funding. For where each official document sits and what it covers, see our map of the CIF guidance documents.

Why the form matters more than the uploads

Assessors now treat the form as the main source of information, and the uploads are there to evidence it. The DfE's CIF information for applicants says that statements such as "please see attached" or "refer to supporting documents" will not be accepted as answers. It goes further: "Assessors will not rely on supporting documents in place of information that should have been included within the form itself."

The form and the documents also have to agree. Successful bids are funded on "the information contained in the cost section of the portal application form, and not the uploaded document(s)". The portal and the cost plan must therefore match: the DfE says the accounting officer is responsible for "ensuring that the information provided in the application form matches that in the supporting documentation", and an error "could disqualify your application, reduce your final score, or affect the amount of funding awarded".

Eligibility and registration

Eligibility depends on what the school was "at the start of September 2026", and our guide to this round's key dates and rule changes lists the categories. The practical step is the portal account. A school or trust bidding for the first time requests access through Manage Your Education Estate, by selecting "Funding" and then "Explore Funding", and is then invited to register.

A few details here cause avoidable trouble:

• The username should be the trust's Companies House number, or for a school without one, its URN "with the first two digits being 00".

• The DfE recommends a generic email address, so that schools "are not locked out of CIF portal accounts when individual staff move on".

• All correspondence goes to the portal account holder, and any replies "must come from the applicant and not any technical advisers that you may be working with".

• New applicants must register by 12 noon, 30 November 2026.

The DfE also recommends that applicants "begin your application at least 14 working days before the deadline", and warns that the portal "may run slower in the last 24 hours before the deadline".

Project details

This is where the bid says what the project is. One key choice is the project type: condition, condition with expansion, or expansion. Getting it wrong is costly, because "If an expansion project is submitted as a condition project, it will be disqualified". A condition with expansion project is one where "the GIFA of the new block is up to 10% larger than the previous block", and it still has to be justified on condition need. The extra area is accepted only where there is "clear evidence that there is no other alternative to meeting area standards as defined by Building Bulletin 103 or 104", and "If a condition with expansion project does not meet these criteria, it will be disqualified." Expansion projects also face a disqualification threshold, and it differs by type: "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."

The form is also where the narrative goes. The DfE wants the form to set out "the need for the project and the exact works being proposed". Conflicts of interest are declared in the form itself: "You must declare any potential or perceived conflicts of interest in the application form". The application must also evidence how any technical adviser was procured, and that evidence is new for this round. Applicants "must 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", and "Failure to adequately evidence a compliant procurement process for the appointment of the technical adviser may result in the application being disqualified."

What evidence does the project need section want?

Project need is the largest section. "Project need accounts for 55 points from a total of 100 for condition projects and consists of five sub-criteria: project type, urgency of need, strength of evidence, nature and extent of impact and GEMS."

The narrative sits in the form; the need upload carries the proof. The DfE says that extensive narrative in the upload, "particularly where it contains generic and/or unevidenced statements, is not acceptable evidence". What it does want is an independent condition survey, with front pages showing the date and the surveyor's name and qualification, plus specialist evidence of the specific issue, labelled photographs and clear floor plans where they help.

For a special school, the practice's article on condition surveys for special schools covers what is different. Schools still to commission a survey can see how the practice approaches school condition surveys.

The guidance names several things that are discounted or marked down:

• "Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023." A survey by a firm that has also quoted or tendered for the work is not independent.

• "We expect surveys to demonstrate D1 to C2 condition issues."

• "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", and CDC1 reports are discounted. The DfE adds: "You should continue to include block references in the same format as set out in your CDC2 report."

• Generic letters of support from surveyors "will not be considered".

• Low marks for "insufficient or no evidence of significant need", and for impact that is "solely localised".

• "If the proposed works are not required to be carried out within the next two years, it is unlikely that the application will be successful."

The score is also "enhanced" where the school can show evidence from its GEMS self-assessment, asset management plan and estate strategy. For a roofing project, the evidence the DfE expects is covered in our article on what a CIF roof replacement bid needs.

Project planning

"Project planning accounts for 20 points from a total of 100 for all projects and consists of three sub-criteria: appropriateness of solution (demonstrated through a bespoke, detailed, costed options appraisal), timescales and delivery plan."

"The application should indicate clearly whether or not planning permission is required and whether it has been confirmed with the local planning authority."

The options appraisal is the heart of this section, and it is scored. What it must contain is set out in our guide to the CIF costed options appraisal, so it is not repeated here.

On timescales, the DfE says that for full marks "readiness milestones (e.g., planning approval) need to be complete by May 2027". Marks fall "where it is clear that readiness milestones would not be complete until after January 2028", and "Projects should not begin before June 2027." The delivery plan scores low where it "lacks a sufficiently detailed delivery plan or risk register for the size of project", and the DfE asks applicants to avoid generic risk registers.

Cost and value

"Project cost accounts for 25 points from a total of 100 for all projects and consists of four sub-criteria: overall costs, cost certainty, funding sources and environmental sustainability."

Cost figures are entered to the pound: "round up to the nearest GBP (£). Do not enter pence."

A weak cost score can end the bid on its own: "Your application will be disqualified if you score very low marks in the overall costs sub-criteria (see below), regardless of how you score against other criteria." The DfE adds: "You will score low marks where the level of costs is above expectations with no clear justification e.g., excessive professional fees, unjustified additional allowances and contingency."

For full marks on cost certainty, "at least 3 tenders/quotes should be thorough and well evidenced, with fixed prices and in line with expectations relative to the size of the project and a firm commitment evidenced from contractors to stick to the tender price if appointed". The funding sources score adds any CIF loan to any contribution, from 0 points for a contribution below 5% up to 6 points for "a 30% (or over) contribution". For a VA school, the DfE notes that "VA schools will only score in this sub-criterion if they provide more than 10% of the project value", and the mandatory 10% contribution "cannot be covered by a CIF loan". The environmental sustainability statement is expected "to be no more than 1-2 pages in length".

Supporting documents

The uploads follow a fixed pattern. At minimum, every project uploads:

• one project need document, maximum 50 pages;

• one project planning document, which includes the bespoke options appraisal, maximum 50 pages;

• one project cost document, maximum 50 pages;

• the hand-signed and dated declaration, as a PDF.

An extra document for photographs is allowed. "Each document can be up to a maximum of 1MB and must not contain links to further documents", text must be "no smaller than Arial 11", and anything beyond 50 pages "will be disregarded". Files should be named "URN_SchoolName_Need/Planning/Cost/Declaration/Photographs", using the current URN.

Photographs that are "heavily pixelated, unclear, or otherwise offer insufficient detail may be disregarded". If a school spots an error after submitting, it must contact the DfE "by 9 December 2026 and request that the application be unsubmitted", and that "may take up to 3 working days to process".

Who signs the CIF declaration?

The declaration "must be signed and uploaded by the accounting officer", or for a sixth-form college or VA school a responsible member of the senior management team. In exceptional circumstances it can be delegated to a deputy, with the DfE told first. By signing, that person confirms that the application follows the guidance, that conflicts of interest have been considered and declared, that the project only covers buildings the responsible body owns or leases, that there is no duplicate funding, and that the evidence uploaded is complete and for the right institution.

The DfE treats this as the line that cannot be missed: "Missing, incomplete or unsigned declarations will result in the application being disqualified." It also says that "technical advisers cannot apply on your behalf". Whoever helps prepare a bid, the accounting officer (or for a sixth-form college or VA school, the responsible senior manager) owns it.

Choosing who helps is a separate decision, and the practice's guide to choosing an architect for a school capital project sets out what to check before appointing.

Related guides

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

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

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

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

Preparing a CIF application with Grayling Thomas Architects

We are a RIBA Chartered Practice that has designed and delivered multi-million-pound school 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.

As lead consultant and architect, we prepare the evidence, the design and the costed options with the school, so that what goes into the form and the uploads holds together. The accounting officer stays responsible for the application, and any appointment needs to follow the school's own procurement process, so it is worth starting early. Our CIF funding page explains how we work on CIF projects, and our school funding page covers the other routes. To talk about a bid for this round, use our CIF enquiry form.