CDC2 is over. Your survey obligation is not new
Between 2021 and July 2025, DfE-commissioned surveying teams visited government-funded schools across England, visually …
The SEMS Annual Return Opens This Month — Download Your Free Guide
If you follow this newsletter, you already know what the School Estate Management Standards annual return is — we've cov …
Your trust has to explain how the money moves. Estates might be the awkward bit.
From 1 October 2026, every multi-academy trust in England has to publish a new summary statement of its financial arrang …
Work at height: the school estate blind spot
By one important measure, work in Great Britain is safer than it has been for decades.
The autumn return: now we know
Back in June, I published a piece about the SEMS Annual Return with an honest caveat baked into the title: there was sti …
Your Energy Supplier May Be Fine. Your Contract Isn't.
An academy trust could be perfectly satisfied with its energy supplier and still have a problem after September. Under t …
GEMS telecoms update: what schools and trusts need to know
On 3 July 2026, the Department for Education updated its Good estate management for schools guidance with revised inform …
£314m Is Leaving School Capital. That's Not The Real Story
Somewhere inside the Department for Education's £31.4 billion capital budget, £314 million is being quietly redirected. …
England's school sprinkler rethink
I was visiting a school last week and as we were walking up to the office we passed a new block being built on site. We …
The Autumn Return: What We Know, What We Don't.
Most people in the sector have heard of Manage Your Education Estate by now — the DfE's new digital platform, live since …
