Investing in the further education estate

The government has announced £302 million for further education colleges across England to improve their buildings that are in poor condition. We examine what the funding can be spent on

As part of its plans to grow the economy, the government has pledged to create a world class Further Education (FE) system to ensure a consistent, skilled pipeline of workers to drive productivity.

A key part of this is ensuring FE colleges are fit for the future – with better facilities and good quality sustainable buildings.

As such, the government has announced £302 million for further education colleges across England to improve their poor-condition buildings, such as fixing leaky roofs and broken windows. The funding, which was announced by the Chancellor in the budget in October, is the first condition allocation for FE colleges in two years. The aim of the investment is to ensure the FE estate is high quality and supports the government’s skills pipeline. All FE colleges and designated institutions will receive a share of the money, which will be directly allocated to them.

Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said: “Further education colleges are at the heart of our mission to grow the economy and train the next generation of skilled workers under our Plan for Change.

“But the college estate we inherited is simply not fit for purpose. This funding addresses these issues, allowing colleges to focus on what they do best: breaking down barriers to opportunity and inspiring the workforce of the future.”

What can the money be spent on?

For the first time, the government is giving FE colleges the discretion and flexibility to decide how the funding should be spent – recognising providers are best placed to determine their own priorities to improve the condition and prevent the deterioration of their estate.

While funding may be used on suitability projects, this should not be at the expense of condition improvement projects potentially leading to a backlog of problems.

Funding can be used for IT infrastructure that is in poor condition, including stripping out existing cables and replacing them with new ones, data outlets and trunking as necessary. Infrastructure is limited to passives (cabling), actives (switching and wifi) and associated components.

The funding cannot be used to fund IT equipment and software - for example, revenue funded items such as laptops, desktops, annual software licences, cyber security measures and other devices for staff or learners. Funding cannot be used for the replacement of servers.

What’s more, the funding allocation should not be used to fund expansion of premises or to purchase land. This includes purchasing land, buildings and other assets.

FE colleges must only invest funding in an asset that is owned by their FE corporation by freehold or under a long-term lease.

Funding should not be used for capital expenditure that will be met under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract.

It is strongly advised that FE colleges use procurement frameworks available to them from the DfE or locally to procure condition improvement work to assure they are getting the best value for money and best quality. DfE provides a list of quality-checked, approved buying frameworks for education providers that can help get value for money and comply with buying procedures and procurement law.

Net zero targets

Colleges should prioritise spend in a way which prioritises meeting net zero targets, sustainability and energy efficiency. The DfE has guidance on how FE colleges can target condition improvement funding to reduce their energy demand and consumption, driving down energy costs and carbon emissions.

The DfE’s guidance says that the top three actions that schools and colleges can take to reduce energy costs are to understand energy usage and conduct an energy audit, so they can target where to save energy. Then to develop a plan using the energy audit to encourage good practices, behaviours and further interventions. The last action is to implement and manage the proposed interventions to reduce energy consumption.

There are several factors that affect how much energy your building uses, including the condition of the building and how well the building and systems have been managed and maintained. The type of setting also has an affect – for example, different operational requirements for primary, secondary, further education and special educational needs and disabilities.

The energy efficiency of ICT and education equipment, as well as the catering requirements of the building’s users and the efficiency of existing equipment, also has an impact – as do environmental factors, such as heatwaves or extreme cold weather.

Eliminating outdated systems

Oaklands College in Hertfordshire will be using its funding to improve the condition of the college’s estate, including buildings, grounds, and digital infrastructure.

A major portion of the investment will be directed towards the renewal and maintenance of the mechanical and electrical infrastructure to get rid of outdated systems. The works will also contribute towards Oaklands’ long-term ambition to create a carbon-neutral campus by 2050, with a 15 per cent reduction in emissions targeted by 2027.

Boosting capacity in Leeds and Manchester

The government has also announced that colleges in Greater Manchester and Leeds will get a £20 million boost to capacity funding for 16 to 19 year olds to address a shortage of places.

Among those to benefit will be Calderdale College in West Yorkshire, which will use the capital funding to expand its much-needed capacity in construction and professional trades workshops. The funding will also support the creation of an additional classroom within Mill Studios, the College’s state-of-the-art digital and creative centre.

Andrew Harrison, vice principal for corporate services at Calderdale College, said: “We welcome this investment from the government’s Autumn budget, which will enable us to further enhance the experience for our students. This follows the success of our recent £7.5 million transformation project, completed in August 2024, which focused on refurbishing our ageing estate.

“As well as modernising our facilities, the project significantly improved our energy efficiency, cutting costs by 40 per cent and making a major step forward in our carbon reduction edits.”