SuDS in Schools Grant Scheme
Grants cover up to 50% of sustainable drainage project costs at eligible schools in England, with the balance funded by the applicant or organisational contributors.
Deze mogelijkheid is momenteel in het Engels beschikbaar.
Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) manage rainwater to reduce surface-water flooding. The Department for Education (DfE) supports both design and installation at school sites, from downpipe planters to rain gardens, tree pits, swales and detention basins. Designs should suit the site; they need not include every measure in a size category. A project may form part of wider works, but DfE funds only its SuDS elements.
DfE decides whether to award up to 50% of total SuDS project costs. Your organisation or third-party organisational contributors must provide the balance. Give DfE contributor identities, registration or charity numbers where applicable, and amounts; contributions from private individuals cannot be matched. Tell DfE immediately if project costs fall, as its contribution may be reduced.
Apply with costs excluding VAT. Recoverable VAT cannot be funded, and any VAT later recovered that was included in the grant must be repaid immediately. A nonprofit unable to recover VAT may receive additional support for VAT on the DfE-funded share, with eligibility and the amount confirmed in the Grant Offer Letter.
Payments reimburse completed work. Claims can be made against the design milestones (KPIs 2 and 3) and completed installation (KPI 6); both design and installation must be completed before full payment. You must evidence all seven project milestones: school commitment; surveys, modelling and outline design; detailed design approved by the school and confirmed by a certified professional, with DfE consulted on the final design; tendering and contract awards; project-managed installation; completed works matching the agreed design; and school maintenance instruction and plans. Use qualified technical professionals, and designs complying with CIRIA C753, the drainage design standard, or an equivalent.
Obtain DfE’s prior written consent for material changes to funded activities, outcomes or milestones. Costs fully funded elsewhere cannot be claimed again. Liabilities incurred before the grant agreement starts, or before payment conditions are satisfied, need DfE’s written agreement to qualify.
Provide progress and final activity reports. The final yearly report is due within 60 days of the funding period ending or funding terminating, whichever happens first. Annual expenditure, payment schedules and eligible-cost compliance need independent accountant or auditor certification; return the certified form within three months of each funding financial year’s end. If it is expected later than two months after year end, DfE requires additional sample checks that grant expenditure complies with the rules. Include third-party funding and its use in financial reports. Keep financial and project records available for inspection for at least seven years after the agreement expires or terminates.
DfE can recover some or all funding for noncompliance. Unspent funding cannot be carried forward without written permission or an applicable grant-offer provision; money DfE does not agree you may retain must be repaid within 30 days of its request.
Eligibility
- Lead Local Flood Authorities, water companies and nonprofits can apply, as can state-funded nursery, primary, secondary and alternative-provision schools and voluntary-aided schools in England. Delivery providers and contributors undergo DfE due diligence. Individual schools may apply themselves; DfE encourages them to consider joining a larger bid through their flood authority, water company or a relevant nonprofit.
- Apply for both design and construction. Design-to-construction completion must not exceed three years, and DfE-funded SuDS must finish within three financial years. Unfunded elements of a wider project may continue longer. Schools scheduled for rebuilding within the next three to five years are excluded; schools on the School Rebuilding Programme list will be removed before assessment.
- Commit to at least 50% match funding, the seven project milestones, the grant terms and payments in arrears. Deliver an educational session for the school about the installed SuDS features.
- Confirm that you have no conviction for crimes listed in the linked Public Procurement Mandatory Exclusion Grounds. The application also checks slavery, environmental, social and labour offences, insolvency, professional misconduct, procurement or competition misconduct, poor contract performance and business suspension. Where a discretionary check raises an issue, provide further evidence; DfE decides whether it is sufficient to proceed.
- Supply flood-risk evidence for every school. A claimed flood history needs supporting evidence: a school testimonial must be signed by relevant school personnel, such as the headteacher or business manager, and state affected locations, extent, severity and frequency of flooding, and existing mitigation; photographs, video or incident reports are also accepted. An incident report older than five years needs a current testimonial, and secondary evidence such as insurance claims or news reports also needs a school testimonial. Unsupported or falsified flood-history claims can void the application.
Funding is competitive and budget dependent. Assessment weights are flood history (30%), benefits (30%), costs (17.5%), greenspace inequality and deprivation (10%), project stage (7.5%) and school numbers (5%). A 20% minimum award score applies; DfE may decline bids below it, and exceeding it does not guarantee funding. DfE may terminate the process before signing a grant.
How to apply
- Status
- sluit 2 nov 2026
- Opent
- Sluit
- Voorwaarden voor deze aanvraagronde
- Submit the application and all supporting evidence by the closing time.
Complete the linked FY 2027/28 Microsoft Forms application. Email the completed application checklist, school-list supporting document, flood-risk or flood-history evidence, and expressions of interest from every school to suds.mailbox@education.gov.uk. Include each school’s unique reference number (URN), name and postcode. Provide each school’s Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) code—the small area used to assess local greenspace access and deprivation—which is available in Get Information About Schools. A school’s email confirming awareness and interest is sufficient at application stage; formal commitment is needed later as a project milestone.
Submit the form and all supporting evidence by 2 November 2026 at 17:00 UK time. Use the published guidance and attachments to prepare the bid, and contact the same DfE mailbox for form-access problems or unclear application instructions.