Important Update for Schools 2026 - 2027
The Condition Improvement Fund will be announced in the coming days and marks the annual bidding round of funding for eligible schools, single academies, small multi academy trusts, voluntary schools and sixth form colleges to apply for 2026 to 2027.
The Fund has been designed for eligible bodies to apply for grants to help maintain and improve school buildings and grounds, including safety measures. Applicants are informed if their bid is successful in Spring 2026.
The deadline for submissions is normally around mid December but we are announcing this news early as preparation of bids is required, including condition surveys and detailed project proposals. Previously the highest priority has been given to projects that address compliance and health and safety issues. With the passing of MARTYN'S LAW in April of this year, security systems to comply with the new legislation are likely to be an increased focus for bidding schools. Last year the fund stood at 400 million pounds.
WHAT IS ALERTEX LOCKDOWN?
In line with guidelines, schools must demonstrate that their LOCKDOWN alert sounds distinct to their FIRE alert as one means stay inside and find a place of safety whilst the other means evacuate the building. Martyn's Law further states that there must be a CLEAR and UNAMBIGUOUS site wide alert in the event of a terrorist attack for any public venue, including schools, with a capacity for 200 or more people.
Alertex units not only sound distinct to a fire alert, but with their blue flashing beacon, look different. If schools prefer to air a lockdown message, the Alertex range includes an annunciator with a library of standard messages or the school can record their own. You can mix annunciators with sounder/beacons where certain areas of a school such as SEND locations or nurseries may respond better to a message or music rather than a sounder. All units are battery powered and can be quickly installed in the optimal place for best coverage for an efficient and coordinated response. There is no cabling required meaning a quicker and more cost effective installation. With a long transmission range, when one Alertex unit is activated, it will trigger all other Alertex devices in range to provide a site wide alert. The Alertex portal enables schools to see which unit has been triggered and has a number of reporting functions such as low battery. Crucially the portal uses the local network so is immune from cyber attacks.
