School building company LocatED to be part of DfE

LocatED, the government's school building body, will move into the Department for Education by April 2026.

The integration will combine LocatED’s commercial property expertise with the Department for Education’s understanding of what schools need, whilst delivering maximum value for taxpayers.

This move follows the Cabinet Office review of all Arm’s Length Bodies across government announced in April 2025.

LocatED was established in 2017 to support the delivery of education settings across England including buying, developing, and managing sites for schools and colleges as well as strategic property advice to government and education bodies to help build a more efficient education estate.

This move will bring LocatED’s property expertise directly into the Department for Education, creating a unified approach to managing and developing the education estate.

Department for Education Permanent Secretary, Susan Acland-Hood, said: "LocatED will bring commercial property expertise into the heart of the Department for Education to help us manage and transform the education estate, make it sustainable, give great value to the taxpayer, and support excellent outcomes for children and young people. I’m delighted to be welcoming LocatED colleagues even more closely into the Department.

Lara Newman, Chief Executive at LocatED, said: "I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved since our establishment in 2017. Our success has been built on the specialist expertise of our team, our can-do approach to problem-solving, and the strong relationships we’ve developed with clients, partners and stakeholders.

"Throughout this transition, our clients and partners can expect the same high-quality service and expertise they’ve come to rely on.

"Both organisations will work closely together to ensure seamless continuity of all services and projects throughout the transition period."

LocatED and the Department for Education will work closely together to ensure seamless continuity of all services and projects throughout the transition, which is planned to complete by April 2026.