Munday and Cramer

Tag Archives: Condition Improvement Fund


The Condition Improvement Fund is a government fund for the improvement of school buildings.

Many academies have inherited buildings from converter schools which are no longer in a workable condition. The ESFA controls the Condition Improvement Fund. Academies can apply for a share of an annual budget. They can then use the money to make make the required improvements.

Condition is one if the key criteria for success. Examples include schemes to replace or renew areas where safety is compromised, or where the building will suffer further deterioration if the academy takes no action. Alternatively, overcrowding is another reason for an application. Some academies already have a problem with overcrowding. Others need to expand, but the building is unable to accommodate more students.

How do Academies access the money?

Academies must submit a bid with extensive details and plans of the proposed scheme. This includes a feasibility study and projected costs, including the cost of no action. Costs are not always financial. Where safety is compromised, the cost of no action is potentially much higher.

The application process itself can be a daunting prospect. The academy must prepare a number of documents and have supporting information ready to back up their claim.

Acadmies may of course prepare their own application for the ESFA to consider. However, many engage the services of architectural/surveying practices such as Munday and Cramer. This Essex-based practice use their considerable skill and experience to work with the academy and prepare the bid for submission.

Academy best practice is to have a 5 year asset management plan in place. This document can form the base of supporting evidence for a CIF bid. Surveying practices can help with the preparation of these if required. They will also manage the planning process for a bid if necessary.

A collaborative partnership is formed between practice and academy and bid preparation, is completed free of charge to the academy. This is on the understanding that the practice will manage works resulting from successful bids, thus earning a fee.

What cost to the academy themselves?

Academies must fund a portion of the costs themselves, either through capital expenditure, or via Salix loans. However, some types of works do not qualify for Salix. A good surveying practice will certainly be able to advise schools on what is and isn’t viable.

£506m was awarded for 1576 projects in total last year 2017-2018. In 2018/19, academies will be bidding for a share of a similar sum

Fire Safety In Schools


Why do buildings need fire stopping solutions? Fire stopping products are used to prevent fire and smoke spreading through a building. Similarly, they help keep key areas such as fire exit corridors protected. Penetrations through walls etc. for infrastructure such as pipework, cables and gas pipes, if not properly fireproofed can allow smoke and fire to spread, however small the aperture! The Challenge: M+C helped their client secure CIF funding for fire stopping solutions to be implemented across their site. In conjunction with Cahill Design Consultants (CDC), a number of key issues that compromised fire safety were identified: Within the main teaching […]

Picture of Nullifier FS709 Sealant with M+C helmet with a zoom effect.

Who are the ESFA and what do they do?


Structural and condition issues can not only be costly to fix, but extremely disruptive. When it comes to running a school, regular maintenance is required to help you avoid any issues arising. This being said, not all breakages can be pre-empted and foreseen. It’s in these instances that bodies such as the ESFA are helpful, providing vital funding where it’s needed most. Who are the ESFA? This acronym stands for the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Sponsored by the Department for Education, the ESFA is a division of the Government. They provide funding to schools and colleges in desperate need […]

Image of a piggy bank to indicate school funding provided by the ESFA

CIF Funding for Schools – Who is eligible?


CIF funding for schools is a type of financial aid provided by the government. The acronym stands for ‘Condition Improvement Fund’ and the aim of this budget is to help schools, academies and sixth-form colleges stay in good condition, or to improve the condition to get them up to an appropriate standard. CIF capital funding is reserved for qualifying educational facilities that are in desperate need of repair works. These defects may be hindering the way they operate, or they could even be a health and safety risk. When granted, funding can then be used to make vital improvements. Eligibility […]

ESFA CIF funding for schools

Can You Apply For Multiple CIF Projects? 


The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) is a fund controlled by the Education Funding Agency (EFA). The aim of CIF is to allow academies and sixth-form colleges to improve their properties. Projects that CIF can cover are varied, consisting of health and safety, expansion, security, maintenance, efficiency and more. Many of these institutions will want to work on multiple CIF projects at once, as these can all be very important in their own ways.  Unfortunately, they may have to prioritise one aspect over another, as you can only apply for two projects at a time via CIF. Also, if your plans […]

Can you apply for multiple CIF projects?

A Detailed Look At The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) 2021/2022


It seems like only yesterday that the announcements for the 2020-2021 CIF results were being published, but here we are again, having gotten around to next year’s application opening. With finances as stretched as they currently are for many within the education sector, the prospect of any additional funding is most certainly a welcome one. The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) has become a mainstay of the Government funding circuit, with its offerings helping many schools and academies to carry out vital maintenance, structural repair works and even to help with some expansion projects (though CIF capital cannot be used in […]

A piggy bank to represent the condition improvement fund.

Munday + Cramer’s Successful 2020 CIF Bid Applications


The application outcomes for this year’s Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) bids were announced this week. Up and down the country, schools and academies, alike, will have been awaiting this news with bated breath. Munday + Cramer has the great pleasure of announcing that they’ve successfully secured around £20 million in funding from this year’s Condition Improvement Fund. This comprises £9.8 million for Essex-based academies, £5.3 million across Buckinghamshire schools and £2.3 million across the county of Kent. Munday + Cramer also successfully secured bid applications in London and Bedfordshire, as well. The funding that we’ve secured will be making its […]

Confetti coming out of a glass, signifying the celebratory mood after successful CIF bid applications.

Improving Efficiency Within The Education Sector Using Salix Loans


We’re continuously being updated, through various facets of the media, on the importance of making proactive environmental changes in our lives and workplaces, as a means to ensure the future good health of the planet’s climate. Unfortunately, these sorts of capital improvements, which often come in the form of plant and equipment changes, tend not to come too cheap. Looking at schools in particular, many of the state sector’s school estates are becoming increasingly energy inefficient. This costs the planet in both the immediate future and the longer-term. It also costs the school as well, financially speaking. That’s where Salix […]

Salix Loans & Bid Applications

2019/20 CIF Success – M+C reach new heights


Munday + Cramer have again surpassed expectation, and are pleased to announce yet another successful year of securing Condition Improvement Funding for our academy clients. In total, around 100 schemes, totalling over £38m has been secured for the 2019/20 CIF funding round for academies in the South-East, London and Home Counties. The current round saw the ESFA’s spend reduce slightly to £433 million for 1,413 projects at 1,210 academies and sixth-form colleges. This means that Munday + Cramer successfully secured nearly 9% of the total UK fund. M+C’s level of success also sees an unprecedented growth of 72%. Associate Director, […]

Munday + Cramer successfully secured CIF funding of £38 million for academies in the 2019/20 round

Over £22 Million In CIF Funding Secured For Academies In 2018/9 Round


Munday + Cramer have once again beaten the odds, securing in excess of £22 million in funding from the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). The Education and Skills Funding Agency recently announced the results of the annual funding round. An unprecedented £1.3 billion was requested across across 3,800 projects! In total 1556 schemes were funded for 1299 academies and sixth-form colleges, amounting to £514 million. Of this, £38 million was funded using the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund (HPCF), designated to help improve children and young people’s physical and mental health. The Condition Improvement Fund is dedicated to supporting academies, free schools and sixth-form colleges […]

CIF Bidding for 2018/9 opens


The Education and Skills Funding Agency have this week opened CIF bidding for the 2018/9 round for academies and sixth-form colleges. As with previous years, the bidding window will close in mid-December, this year on the 14th. The now-familiar portal will be central to all CIF bidding activities; and will follow the same format. Whilst the Condition Improvement Fund remains focused on the condition of buildings, there are a number of changes within this round: Healthy Pupils Capital Fund Following an announcement by the ESFA in February; funding from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (commonly known as the Sugary Drinks […]

CIF Bidding for 2018/9 has now been opened by the Education and Skills Funding Agency