Climate Resilient Schools Grant – 2026

Following the success of year one, Surrey County Council has launched a second year of the Climate Resilient Schools Grant. This scheme provides schools with money for adaptation measures against the impact of our changing climate – and meets the aims of the Surrey Adapt Strategy.

Schools across Surrey are facing extreme conditions which are impacting on how our children learn and play. Flooded playing fields, overheating classrooms, and declining biodiversity are becoming more frequent and severe, and often mean areas of the school are unusable. Unfortunately, many schools across Surrey are operating with older infrastructure, which can make them even more vulnerable to climate-related challenges.

Last year Surrey County Council launched a grant supporting schools to implement measures to reduce the impacts of climate change. The response was overwhelming, showing the great need schools are facing. In total, £120,000 was awarded to 21 schools to install measures such as SuDS planters, solar shading, tree pits, green walls, pergolas and wildlife gardens.

In addition, two schools; Guildford Grove Primary School and Town Farm Primary School, were selected for ‘deep dive’ interventions. They received multiple measures to showcase the impact of a more comprehensive approach, and to share best practice. Find out more here and watch the video below.

Surrey County Council is proud to announce it is investing a further £125,000 to help schools across the county adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.

Eligible schools (Surrey Maintained Schools and Academies) can apply for grants of between £5,000 to £10,000 to install climate resilient measures, supported by expert guidance from the council to ensure value for money. This funding provides an opportunity for schools to address these challenges while creating meaningful, real-world learning experiences for students. This may be used as match funding for other potential external grants.

Participating schools will be encouraged to use these interventions to work towards their Eco-Schools Green Flag awards – for which Surrey is at the top of the national Eco-Schools league table for the third consecutive year.

Who Can Apply?
This micro-grant is available to Surrey Maintained Schools, Academy Trust Schools, and Church of England Voluntary Aided schools.

Between 10-15 schools will be selected for the grants.

How Much Funding Is Available?
The maximum amount of funding available per school is £10,000, including any VAT costs that cannot be claimed back. You can request funding between £5,000 and £10,000. You must complete the budget breakdown as accurately as possible and provide quotes or evidence of costs up front (as instructed in the Application Guidance) to be considered for funding. We appreciate that some measures will cost more than the maximum grant, however we encourage schools to explore alternative supplementary funding or submit applications as close to this as possible to demonstrate value for money, which is a scoring criteria.

Application Deadline
The application window closes on Friday 31st July 2026. You can apply from Monday 8th June, when the grant funding window opens.

Receipt of Payment
We will aim to transfer funds within 2 weeks of you being notified of a successful application and the returning of required paperwork.

If you have an existing SCC Vendor Number then please include in your application to ensure payment is made quickly. Note that if you are not an existing SCC Vendor, you will need to be set up via the Vendor Registration process to enable the transfer of funds, which may delay the payment process slightly.

Completion of Works
All work must be completed by 28th February 2027. If there is a risk of work not being completed before this deadline, you must make SCC aware as early as possible.

Reporting Requirements
Schools awarded funding will be required to submit an impact report, including before and after photos. You will receive a link to a feedback form to complete.
Final reporting must be submitted no later than Friday 5th March 2027.

If for any reason the works will not be completed by the reporting deadline, you must notify SCC as far in advance as possible.

Documentation Required
If you are awarded grant funding, you will need to provide the following documents before the funds can be paid:
– Proof of indemnity insurance
– Bank details on signed letter head (if you are not an existing SCC vendor or need to make any changes to your details on the system)
– Written acknowledgement of landlord permissions if required
– Return of a signed copy of SCC’s Grant Funding Agreement (this will be emailed to you on notification of a successful application).
– Invoices for work once completed

Interested and want to find out more? Attend one of our drop-in sessions to ask questions about the grant and application process. Sign up here

APPLICATION FORM: Application Form for Climate Resilient Schools Grant 2026 to 2027 – Complete this form
(Including Surrey County Council’s Privacy Notice)

GUIDANCE / RESOURCES: Folder containing guidance document, measures database and case studies here.

Please note we will continue to add resources to this folder as they become available. If you require anything specific or have questions, please contact greenerfutures@surreycc.gov.uk