School condition survey methodology

We regularly survey the condition of school buildings to understand their state of repair and identify where work is needed.

Which schools are included

Facilities Management commissions these surveys on behalf of Children and Families. They apply to schools where Cheshire East Council is responsible for capital maintenance.

This includes all community, foundation and voluntary controlled schools, as shown below.

Establishments
Establishment	Capital maintenance	Basic need additional places
Community School	Cheshire East Council	Cheshire East Council
Academy	School / Education Funding Agency	Cheshire East Council
Voluntary Aided School	Diocese	Cheshire East Council
Voluntary Controlled School	Cheshire East Council	Cheshire East Council
Free School	School / Education Funding Agency	Cheshire East Council
Foundation Schools	Cheshire East Council	Cheshire East Council

What the surveys are for

Condition surveys provide a consistent and objective way to assess the state of school buildings.

The information helps us to:

plan repairs, replacements and improvements
target funding where it is most needed
reduce risks caused by poor building condition

How the surveys work

The surveys identify work needed to bring buildings to a serviceable state of repair. This means a condition where buildings can be safely used and only need routine, planned maintenance.

They also identify:

breaches of legislation that may need to be addressed
where further surveys or specialist tests may be required

The surveys are non-intrusive. Surveyors do not open up the building fabric, but inspections are detailed enough to assess overall condition.

Condition and priority grading

Each part of a building is given a condition grade and a priority rating. Priority ratings are assessed over a five-year planning period.

Condition and priority grades
Code	Condition grading	Priority	Notes on priority classification
A	Performing as intended and operating efficiently	1	Urgent work that will prevent immediate closure of premises and/or address and immediate high risk to health and safety of occupants and /or remedy a serious breach of legislation.
B	Performing as intended but exhibiting minor deterioration	2	Essential work required within two years that will prevent deterioration of the fabric or services and/or address a medium risk to health and safety of occupants and/or remedy a less serious breach of legislation.
C	Exhibiting major defects and/or not operating as intended	3	Desirable work required within three to five years that will prevent deterioration of the fabric or services and/or address a low risk to health and safety of occupants and/or remedy a minor breach of legislation.
D	Life expired and/or serious risk of imminent failure	4	Long-term work required outside the five year planning period that will prevent deterioration of the fabric or services.

Estimated costs

Estimated costs are included for each condition and priority rating. These show the likely cost of repairing or renewing a building element so that it reaches a Grade A condition.

Minor day-to-day maintenance and routine works are not included in these estimates.

National school building inspections

The Department for Education (DfE) is currently inspecting all government-funded schools in England through the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme.

CDC2 follows earlier national surveys:

Condition Data Collection (2017 to 2019)
Property Data Survey (2012 to 2014)

CDC2 collects information on building condition, context and management. The data will inform future investment decisions and support the development of education capital policy.

Further information is available in the CDC2 programme guide: CDC2 Programme Guide (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Page last reviewed: 30 April 2026