Key Takeaways and Practical Actions
The Government has published its new
Education Estates Strategy: A Decade of National Renewal (February 2026), setting out a ten-year direction for the condition, safety, sustainability and resilience of school buildings across England.
The strategy makes clear that
school estates are central to delivering opportunity for all. It signals rising expectations around estate management, data quality, strategic planning and leadership accountability.
While this is a national framework, its implications are very real for headteachers, governors, school business leaders and premises teams.
Below we summarise the key themes and, importantly, what school leaders should do now.
Safety, condition and proactive management are the foundation
The strategy reinforces that safe, well-maintained buildings are essential to delivering education. It explicitly acknowledges that too much of the estate is in poor condition and references the disruption caused by RAAC as a warning of what happens when condition risk crystallises.
At the heart of the ten-year plan is:
- A shift to more proactive management
- Long-term strategic maintenance
- Greater renewal of the existing estate (Chapter 3, p.16)
The “Manage the Estate” pillar sets out clear expectations and standards for Responsible Bodies, supported by School Estate Management Standards (Chapter 4, p.20).
What school leaders should do now:
- Review whether your estate management arrangements align with the School Estate Management Standards (p.20).
- Ensure statutory compliance activity is documented and accessible.
- Revisit contingency planning for structural, flooding or climate-related disruption.
- Confirm that estate risk is visible at board level.
Data and digital transformation are no longer optional
One of the most significant shifts in the strategy is its focus on
data and digital transformation (Chapter 3, p.18; Chapter 4, p.24).
From February 2026, the Department will launch
Manage Your Education Estate, a new digital service bringing together guidance, funding, condition data and tools in one place (p.20; p.24). This is complementary to what we provide on the NASPM Resource Hub and we will support you in its use.
By autumn 2026, Responsible Bodies will be asked to submit a light-touch annual return confirming they are meeting the Estate Management Standards (p.24). Again NASPM will provide resources to make this simple and straightforward.
By 2029–30, the ambition is for all Responsible Bodies to be collecting and sharing data in line with common standards (p.24).
This signals a clear shift from assumption to evidence.
What school leaders should do now:
- Audit your condition data, asset registers and compliance documentation.
- Identify who owns estates data governance within your leadership team.
- Ensure digital asset management systems meet emerging minimum standards.
- Prepare for annual confirmation requirements via the new digital platform.
Sustainability, climate resilience and net zero are embedded
Sustainability is not presented as an optional add-on. It is one of the strategic principles underpinning the entire estate vision (Chapter 2, pp.15–18).
The strategy sets out ambitions for:
- Buildings resilient to overheating and flooding (p.18)
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy generation (p.18)
- Reduced carbon emissions (p.18)
- Flood protection for over 1,500 schools by 2030 (p.29)
- A £710 million Renewal and Retrofit Programme improving resilience to climate change (p.23)
Climate resilience, biodiversity and digital security are framed as part of a modern, future-ready estate (pp.15–18).
What school leaders should do now:
- Review your climate action plan and energy performance.
- Identify potential energy efficiency or low-carbon upgrades.
- Consider flood resilience and overheating risk in estate planning.
- Ensure sustainability is reported within governor oversight structures.
Long-term investment and renewal
The strategy confirms significant capital investment between 2025–26 and 2029–30, including:
- £38 billion total capital investment (p.23)
- Over £12 billion for maintenance (p.23)
- £10 billion for the School Rebuilding Programme (p.23)
- £710 million for renewal and retrofit (p.23)
It also confirms a long-term trajectory of almost £3 billion per year in capital maintenance funding through to 2034–35 (p.23).
The direction of travel is clear: proactive planning and resilience are expected to replace reactive repair (Chapter 3, p.16).
What school leaders should do now:
- Refresh your three-to-five-year estates strategy.
- Prioritise projects based on risk, condition and resilience.
- Ensure your capital planning aligns with documented condition need.
- Position your school to respond quickly to funding opportunities.
Leadership accountability is explicit
The strategy repeatedly emphasises the role of
Responsible Bodies in estate oversight (Annex C, pp.43–46).
Estate management responsibilities include:
- Day-to-day maintenance
- Statutory compliance
- Strategic asset planning (Annex C, p.43)
The Strategy also establishes an Education Estates Strategy Group to oversee implementation (Annex B, p.42), reinforcing governance visibility at national level.
In short, estate oversight is a leadership issue.
What school leaders should do now:
- Clarify estates accountability across SLT and governors.
- Schedule a formal estates and compliance review at board level.
- Ensure premises professionals have strategic visibility.
- Move from “operational oversight” to “board-level assurance”.
What this means overall
The Education Estates Strategy does not impose immediate new statutory duties on individual schools. However, it clearly signals rising expectations around:
- Evidence-based management
- Digital maturity
- Climate resilience
- Strategic maintenance planning
- Leadership accountability
The language of the document is unambiguous: the government expects proactive, well-managed estates that are safe, suitable, sustainable and sufficiently sized (Conclusion, p.38).
Schools that treat estates management as a core strategic responsibility rather than a back-office function will be better positioned for inspection, funding and risk resilience over the coming decade.
Final thought
As the Secretary of State states in the Foreword, investing in safe, high-quality buildings is essential to delivering world-class education.
At NASPM, our mission is simple, to ensure school premises are safe and compliant. We exist to support headteachers, governors, school business leaders and premises professionals in meeting statutory obligations, strengthening compliance systems and building confidence at leadership level. If you would like our support, join
now.
This transition period is an opportunity. Schools that take action now will not only meet rising expectations but will be better prepared, better governed and better protected in the years ahead.
