Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in Schools Grant Scheme

The Department for Education (DfE) SuDS in schools project is an invest to save initiative, aimed at installing SuDS features in the school estate to help mitigate the risk of surface water flooding.

You can apply for the SuDS in Schools grant funding if you are*:

• A Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA).

• A Water Company.

• A Non-Profit Organisation.

• A State Funded School (Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Alternative Provisions) in England.

• A Voluntary Aided School in England.

*All eligible delivery providers and project contributors will be subject to DfE’s due diligence checks prior to acceptance.

The department will be supporting delivery providers in developing their SuDS for Schools programme by collaborating with schools at risk of surface water flooding. The SuDS programme delivers several benefits, such as:

• reduction of water entering the sewer system to reduce the risk of systems being overwhelmed and flooding the school

• reduction of risk of the school flooding from surface water

• improved biodiversity

• reduced urban heat island effect

• improved climate resilience

• improved physical and mental health

• improved water quality

• improved customer engagement, and

• education of communities on sustainable water management.  

These benefits align with the departments targets to reduce the risk of flooding within schools and improve climate resilience.  

Delivery providers shall use all reasonable endeavours to achieve the following objectives:

• reduction of water entering the sewer system to reduce the risk of systems being overwhelmed and flooding the school, 

• reduction of risk of the school flooding from surface water,

• improved biodiversity

• reduced urban heat island effect

• improved climate resilience

• improved physical and mental health

• improved water quality

• improved customer engagement, and 

• education of communities on sustainable water management.  

Delivery of the SuDS in Schools project will be delivered in two phases.

• design of the SuDS features in line with the individual school requirements, and

• installation of the agreed SuDS features.

Please Note: Both stages need to be completed before the full grant payment can be issued.

Applications will open on 24th August 2026 and close at 17:00 on Monday 2nd November 2026.

Applications will be received up to the time and date stated. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that their application is submitted before the closing date and time. All supporting evidence must also be received by the DFE on or before the closing date.

The application assessment will conclude in January 2027. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application at the latest by Tuesday 31 March 2027. This timeframe for assessment and award is indicative and subject to change, as it is dependent on the volume of applications received.

Please complete the accompanying Department for Education SuDS in Schools Grant Funding Application for the 27/28 Financial Year (FY) form.

Further information and prompts have been provided for each question. Some sections will require accompanying text to support your response and have stated word limits. Please ensure that you adhere to these, as your response beyond the word limit may not be considered.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they understand the application process.  If any information is unclear or if an applicant considers that there is insufficient information or they have issues accessing the form, please contact SuDS.mailbox@education.gov.uk.

To complete your application, you are required to submit via email:

1)      The Application Checklist (attached to this advert)

2)      School List Supporting Document (attached to this advert)

3)      Evidence of flood risk/flood history for all schools in your application

4)      Evidence of all included schools expressing an interest in the project

Please note, we do not require formal commitment from schools at the application stage. Evidence that the schools are aware of the project and may be interested will be sufficient - this should be an email from the school confirming their interest. 

Asking the SuDS team a question

A separate Microsoft question form has been created for applicants to submit any queries they might have regarding the application process. The link can be accessed here: SuDS Grant Application Clarification Form.

The queries form will close at 17:00 on Friday 25th September 2026, and the answers will be published on Friday 2nd October 2026.

Section A: SuDS scheme types 

Please refer to Table 1 SuDS Categories in Annex 1 for examples of SuDS measures which could be installed for each scheme type.) Please use this to best inform your answer to the SuDS category questions. The answer to this question will be used to inform the environmental benefit. The measures installed will depend on detailed design and therefore the DfE understand these are subject to change as the project develops. Please note not all the measures listed under each category need to be included in each design, the list is indicative only and the design should use the most appropriate solutions to meet the site needs. If your project might be a combination of the scheme referenced in Table 1, please select the SuDS category that best reflects the main type of installation proposed.

In addition, you are required to state the level of protection the SuDS features are or will be designed to protect against. As stated above in the benefits section, the higher the level of protection the higher the associated benefit. However, it is understood that achieving (for example) protection against a standard 1 in 30 year flooding event on some sites may require inappropriate and expensive designs and the right approach for the site may be to achieve a lower standard of protection, noting that a balance between flood protection and usability of the site for regular school purposes is essential.  You will be able to specify the level of protection the SuDS features are designed to protect against i.e. 1:5, 1:10, 1:30, 1:75, 1:100 or 1:1000 rainfall event.

Evidence of this will be required as part of reporting against Key Performance Indicator (KPI 3), if your application is successful.

Section B:  Grant Terms and Conditions

Please review the DfE general Grant Terms and Conditions, as confirmation of acceptance will be required in the DfE SuDS in Schools Grant Funding Application for the 27/28 FY application form.

If your application is successful and you are awarded grant funding for the delivery of the SuDS in schools project, the grant funding can only be claimed in arrears (payment made after completion or a service or works) against the successful and completed delivery of the grant funding KPIs stated below. Payment in arrears is a mandatory Cabinet Office process for Government grant funding and as a mandatory criterion, applicants must comply with this requirement for their application to progress and be assessed against the award criteria.

Section C: Project Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Payment claims can only be made against certain KPI’s, these are:

• The design KPI’s: KPI’s 2 & 3

• The installation/construction KPI: KPI 6

However, as a part of mandatory project governance, evidence is required to show all 7 KPI’s have been successfully delivered. Grant recipients are expected to engage qualified technical professionals such as Landscape Architects, Civil Engineers and/or other suitably qualified professionals to deliver technical KPIs. Designs must comply with CIRIA C753 or an equivalent standard.

Key Performance Indicators List:

KPI 1 - Provide evidence of school commitment to SuDS project

KPI 2 - Provide evidence of data, modelling, surveys, and outline design of SuDS scheme for the school including the level of protection the SuDS solution will provide (for example 1:5, 1:10, 1:30, 1:100-year event).

KPI 3 - Provide evidence of the detailed design, the schools agreement to the design (email) and a confirmation from a certified professional confirming the design will deliver the level of protection stipulated (for example 1:5, 1:10, 1:30, 1:100-year event). Consult with the DfE on the final design.

KPI 4 - Provide evidence of Tendering and contract(s) award to complete the works at the school

KPI 5 - Project manage the installation of SuDS features at the school(s).

KPI 6 - Provide evidence that the installation has been completed in line with the agreed design.

KPI 7 - Ensure the schools are educated on the maintenance processes of the installed SuDS features. Provide evidence of maintenance plans for SuDS features.

Section D: Match Funding Requirement

This is a match funded scheme and therefore at the DfE’s discretion and where the scheme criteria allow, the Department can fund up to 50% of the total SuDS project costs. This means that the delivery provider will be required to match fund (i.e. contribute) the remaining balance to make up to the total funding amount needed.

If the total cost of the project reduces from your initial assessment, you must inform the DfE immediately as your grant award value will need to be re-assessed and the DfE retains the right to reduce their contribution accordingly.

The delivery provider’s match funded contribution can be either directly from the applicant’s organisation or third-party contributors. If additional contributions are secured from third party contributors towards the project, the applicant is required to provide the name(s) of the of the third party, their company registration details (if a private organisation) or charity number(s) (if a Non-Profit organisation) and the monetary value of their contribution(s). Due to Government money laundering policies and grant governance, the DfE are unable to match fund against funding contributions from private individuals in the grant funding agreement.

Section E: Flood Risk

Please refer to the Flood Risk examples in the attached Annex 1 document.

Information Sharing Across Government

All Central Government Departments and their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies are subject to control and reporting within Government. They report to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury for all expenditure.

For these purposes, the Department may disclose within Government any of the Applicant’s documentation/information (including any that the applicant considers to be confidential and/or commercially sensitive such as specific bid information) submitted by the applicant to the DfE. Applicants taking part consent to these terms as part of the process.