If you receive SCA you cannot apply for CIF.
School Condition Allocation is the formula-based capital allocation paid to trusts above the small-MAT threshold and to local authorities. CIF is the competitive grant for those below the threshold. The two regimes do not overlap.
Compiled by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, founder, Digital Signet. Reviewed against ESFA Information for Applicants 2026-27 and the Condition Funding Methodology March 2026 revision.
Why receipt of SCA disqualifies
The policy purpose of SCA is to devolve condition funding to larger trusts that can sequence capital across a portfolio. CIF is the competitive route for trusts too small to receive SCA. A trust receiving SCA may not also apply for CIF on the same scope.
The threshold that triggers SCA
SCA is allocated to trusts with 5 or more academies or 3,000 or more pupils. A MAT crossing either threshold receives SCA from the following financial year and loses CIF eligibility for the next bid round.
Can a MAT have both?
A MAT cannot mix CIF and SCA for the same school. A trust that recently crossed the SCA threshold can still complete delivery on a previously awarded CIF project; it may not submit a new CIF bid.
Capital alternatives for SCA trusts
SCA trusts plan capital from the formulaic allocation, Devolved Formula Capital, and where eligible the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and the School Rebuilding Programme.