Guidance

Schools and colleges: apply for urgent capital support

How eligible schools and colleges can apply for funding to address urgent condition issues that pose the threat of immediate school closure.

Applies to England

The Department for Education funds urgent capital support (UCS) as part of the condition improvement fund.

UCS is specifically for urgent condition issues that pose the threat of immediate school closure.

Check you can apply

Academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided schools can apply.

You cannot apply if you receive a school condition allocation.

You must need funding assistance to address urgent building condition issues that both:

  • put the safety of your pupils or staff at risk
  • threaten the closure of the whole or a significant part of your school

We will only consider your application if both:

Apply for funding

To apply:

  1. Read  urgent capital support: how to apply guidance (PDF, 358 KB, 17 pages)

  2. Fill out the  urgent capital support: application form (MS Word Document, 426 KB)

  3. Fill out the  urgent capital support: finance template (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 70.8 KB)

  4. Email your application form and finance template to customer.help@service.education.gov.uk, with ‘urgent capital support application’ and your institution’s name in the subject line. Make sure the size of your email does not exceed 9MB

Read the guidance and application form carefully.

Your application may be delayed if you do not send us the right documents.

How we offer funding

We offer UCS funding primarily as a loan, subject to an assessment of finances.

We may also require trusts to contribute.

We only provide grant funding in exceptional circumstances.

Updates to this page

Published 21 October 2025

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