The Department for Education’s (DfE) new Education Estates Strategy represents one of the most significant changes to school estate management in recent years. Built around a 10-year vision for renewing, modernising and future-proofing education buildings, the Strategy aims to create estates that are safe, sustainable, inclusive and fit for purpose, while giving schools greater certainty over long-term planning and investment.
Alongside substantial capital funding commitments, the introduction of the Manage Your Education Estate (MYEE) platform and annual self-assessment returns will provide schools with better access to estate data, clearer management standards and a more consistent approach to demonstrating estate performance.
In autumn 2026, all Responsible Bodies (such as academy trusts and local authorities) in England will be required to submit their first annual returns against the School Estate Management Standards (SEMS). While the DfE has described this particular annual return as a light-touch self-assessment, it should be viewed as an important opportunity to establish a baseline and gain a comprehensive understanding of the new requirements.
Benchmarking Your Estate Against the SEMS Returns Criteria
Before completing an annual return, schools should undertake an honest review of their estate management arrangements. This includes examining the quality of asset data, the robustness of compliance records, the availability of condition information, and the effectiveness of governance processes. Understanding where an organisation sits within the maturity framework will make it easier to identify evidence for the return and develop a roadmap for future improvement.
Preparation should also involve benchmarking existing estate information against the requirements set out in the Education Estates Strategy and associated standards. Schools that already maintain accurate asset registers, condition surveys, compliance documentation and building performance data are likely to find the process much smoother than those with fragmented or outdated records.
Benchmarking enables schools to identify gaps before submission deadlines approach. For example, organisations may discover missing building data, incomplete statutory compliance records or insufficient evidence to demonstrate how estate decisions are being planned and monitored. Addressing these issues early reduces the risk of last-minute scrambles and helps ensure the submitted information accurately reflects the organisation’s estate management position.
Don’t Hesitate to Seek External Support
Many schools are still developing their understanding of what information should be included and how it should be submitted through the MYEE platform.
Responsible Bodies who are still uncertain about the new expectations would benefit from seeking external support. Specialist estates consultants, surveyors and compliance advisers like those here at Barker Associates can help interpret the standards, assess estate maturity, review supporting evidence and ensure submissions are aligned with DfE requirements.
Arranging external input can also provide reassurance that nothing important has been overlooked and that the organisation is presenting an accurate picture of its estate.
As the Education Estates Strategy begins to reshape estate management across the sector, early preparation will be essential. By assessing estate maturity, benchmarking current arrangements against the strategy’s criteria, and accessing expert support where required, schools can approach the autumn return with confidence while laying the foundations for stronger, more strategic estate management in the years ahead.
Visit Barker on stand G18 to discover how we can help Responsible Bodies navigate the DfE’s new guidance and align the data in their next annual return with SEMS. Barker’s Estates360 Self-Assessment also provides schools with a free, fully personalised report outlining how their estate measures up against DfE standards.
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