School net zero funding stack

Three categories: capital grants (CIF, Greener Schools Fund, Mayoral Renewables, plus PSDS for schools already holding a Phase 4 award), capital loans (Salix Recycling Fund interest-free, Salix education fixed-rate at 2.15 per cent), and PPA / off-balance-sheet finance (Solar for Schools, others). PSDS is closed to new applications with no successor confirmed, so it is a live route only for the priority cohort already awarded and delivering to 2028. LCSF, which used to grant-fund the feeder heat-decarbonisation plan, is also closed (no funding from 2025/26); schools now get HDP support free from their regional Local Net Zero Hub.

PSDS and CIF can be sequenced on the same building if the funded scope does not overlap; concurrent funding of the same kit is prohibited. A PPA-funded solar array is treated as off-balance-sheet and does not consume CIF or PSDS cap.

For projects that secured a Phase 4 award, PSDS at 60 to 80 per cent of in-scope CAPEX, plus Salix CIF for the residual condition envelope, commonly delivers 75 to 100 per cent net grant offset for the priority cohort of a MAT programme. With PSDS now closed to new bids, projects starting from 2026 typically rely on CIF plus a PPA and see a lower blended grant share, so the residual to fund from reserves or borrowing is larger.

PSDS Phase 4 ran a single application window (opened 9 October 2024, closed 25 November 2024) and is now closed. Following the June 2025 Spending Review the government confirmed no further investment in the scheme beyond currently awarded projects: awarded Phase 4 projects deliver to 31 March 2028, but there will be no successor phase and no new round to apply for. Schools decarbonising from 2026 should build their stack around CIF, a Solar for Schools PPA and, in London, the Greener Schools Fund rather than PSDS. CIF expression-of-interest cycles follow an annual rhythm. Refer to each scheme's page and the administrator's site for the live calendar before assuming an open round.