Capital expenditure

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