Capital expenditure
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-03)

This section provides information on capital expenditure for schools.

CE01: acquisition of land and existing buildings

Includes:

cost of land acquisition including fees and charges related to the acquisition

cost of acquiring existing buildings, including fees and charges related to the acquisition

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:
- construction of new buildings (see CE02)
CE02: new construction, conversion, and renovation

Includes:

cost of new construction, including fees

cost of conversions and renovations

costs of extension to existing premises

Excludes:

cost of land and existing buildings (see CE01)

costs for conversion and renovation under the school’s de minimis threshold - this is revenue spending (see E12)

CE03: vehicles, plant, equipment, and machinery

Includes:

any capitalised expenditure, including the acquisition, renewal or replacement of vehicles, equipment or machinery to be used at the school

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:
- capital expenditure on ICT equipment (see CE04)
CE04: information and communication technology

This category has been split into sub-categories to collect additional information about ICT expenditure that has been capitalised. The new sub-categories are:

CE04A: Connectivity

Includes:

broadband, wireless networks, network switches, network cables where they are capitalised

telephony, ISDN, ASDL or other dedicated phone lines where they are not leased

phones where they are not leased

installation costs

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:

maintenance costs (see E20A)

IT support, repair and maintenance costs

mobile phones

CE04B: Onsite servers

Includes:

physical onsite servers where costs are capitalised

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:

maintenance costs (see E20B)

cloud storage costs

IT support, repair and maintenance costs

CE04C: Administration software and systems

Includes:

administration and management software such as management information systems (MIS), safeguarding, finance, cashless catering, building management and payment portals

operating systems and device licences, unless bundled into the cost of laptops, desktops and tablets

cloud and data storage

cybersecurity, filtering and monitoring if not part of any connectivity services

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:

connectivity such as broadband and telephony (see section CE04A)

IT learning resources

hardware

IT support, repair, and maintenance costs

CE04D: Laptops, desktops, and tablets

Includes:

laptops, desktops and tablets purchased by the school used for teaching, learning and administration

operating systems and licences if bundled into the cost of devices

device management tools

any leases classed as capital

Excludes

bring your own device (BYOD) schemes where pupils and or staff are required to bring their own devices such as laptops or tablets

any other hardware (see CE04E)

IT support, repair, and maintenance costs

Where a resource is used for learning and administration purposes, and where costs are material, costs or estimates of the split should be coded separately at the time of purchase.

CE04E: Other hardware

Includes:

hardware such as printers and consumables, audio-visual display screens, projectors and CCTV

peripherals such as keyboards and mouses where they are not bundled into laptop, desktop and tablet costs (see CE04D)

any leases classed as capital

Excludes:

laptops, desktops, and tablets (see section CE04D)

onsite servers (see section CE04B)

IT support, repair, and maintenance costs