Additional education capital funding for 2022/23

What is additional education capital funding?

In December 2022 the government announced an additional allocation of funding of £447m for schools and sixth form colleges and £53m for Further Education and designated institutions. The funding is aimed at helping educational institutions improve energy efficiency and the Department for Education guidance states that; 

• You must spend this funding on capital projects, prioritising projects that improve your school / college estate’s energy efficiency
• Where you judge this is not appropriate based on local circumstances, you have discretion to spend this on other capital projects
• The payment allocation is for individual institutions but the payments themselves may go through local authorities, dioceses or multi academy trusts who will pass this on

What funding is available?

On average a primary school will receive approximately £16,000, a secondary school benefits from £42,000 and further education college groups will get around £290,000.

Full details on School Capital Funding, including the additional funding amounts per school can be found on the government website here.

How and when can I spend the money?

The funding is predominantly for schools and colleges to spend on energy efficiency upgrades. This will help manage your energy consumption, save on bills during the colder months and boost sustainability credibility.

There are a number of potential projects you might consider undertaking, including:

• Low carbon heating systems
• Installation of solar panels
• Double glazing windows
• Undertake energy audits
• Develop a Heat Decarbonisation Plan
• Making the switch to energy efficient lighting
• Insulation enhancement to reduce heat loss
• Installing better heating controls

When can the funding be accessed?

The government expect organisations to spend the funding in the 2022 to 2023 financial year but also announced that that in some cases it can be used across the following two financial years.

For organisations who need assistance on how best to utilise this additional funding, Eddisons is able to offer no obligation advice from our in house decarbonisation team as to the most efficient and cost effective solutions.