Schools in England to benefit from major funding boost

• State schools to receive extra cash in May following additional £2 billion investment
• A typical primary school to receive approximately £35,000 and a typical secondary school approximately £200,000
• Government announces further reforms to make school funding fairer, including support for areas with falling pupil numbers

Every state school in England is to receive a cash boost, as primary and secondary schools are allocated extra funding for the next academic year.

The additional cash is part of a £2 billion injection of new funding for schools – being made in both this year and next year – topping up budgets to help headteachers manage higher costs like energy bills and teacher pay. This sits alongside the Prime Minister’s promise to halve inflation.

A typical primary school will receive approximately £35,000 and a typical secondary school approximately £200,000, with the first payments by the 10^th May. The majority of this funding is allocated on a per-pupil basis, and disadvantaged pupils attract additional funding to their school. The allocations also factor in differences in wage costs between areas.

Schools can choose how to invest the extra funding, however it is primarily expected to support salary uplifts for teachers and teaching assistants and help with increased running costs, school trips and learning materials.

The boost means that schools budgets are rising by £3.5 billion next year, and funding will be at the highest ever level in real terms per pupil by the next academic year, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

It also means school funding is set to rise faster than forecast inflation in both 2023/24 and 2024/25.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

“I am hugely grateful to all our fantastic teachers, school leaders and support staff for all their incredible work and the immeasurable impact they have on the lives of children every day.

“Teachers must continue to have the resources they need, and this extra cash will make sure that they do.

“With school funding set to be at its highest ever level next year, even accounting for inflation, parents everywhere can be confident schools are being supported to let teachers get on and do what they do best - teach.”

The remainder of the £2 billion funding boost will be used to increase Pupil Premium funding rates, which are rising by 5% in 2023-24, to support disadvantaged pupils and local authorities’ high needs budgets which support special schools.  

The Department for Education is also today responding to a consultation on the National Funding Formula (NFF)  which is used to allocate school funding, considering a range of factors such as the number of pupils, their needs and the school site.

Among the changes being introduced, and in recognition of falling pupil numbers across some areas of the country, is the removal of a requirement for schools to be Ofsted rated good or outstanding in order to be eligible for additional funding to help manage a significant decline in pupil numbers. Schools will need to show that places will be required within five years. 

Councils will also be set expectations around the minimum funding they must provide to support schools seeing a significant increase of pupil numbers. Schools with more than one site will also now receive funding on a consistent national basis to go towards the additional costs they face due to the need to duplicate services, like caretaking, across sites.

The consultation response sets out changes to the formula from 2024-25 and reconfirms the Department’s commitment to move to a ‘direct’ NFF, in which funding for individual schools will be set by a single, national formula – rather than each local authority having its own local formula to allocate funding for individual schools. The changes will make the system fairer, more efficient and predictable.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• A typical primary school has around 200 pupils, whilst a typical secondary school has around 900 pupils
• The Mainstream Schools Additional Grant will allocate the majority of the additional £2 billion from the Autumn Statement.
• Local authorities will receive the Mainstream Schools Additional Grant (MSAG) funding by the 28th April and academy trusts and free schools by the 10th May. 
• The £2 billion further funding for 2023-24 equates to £1.45 billion for the Mainstream Schools Additional Grant, £400 million for high needs and the remaining funding used to increase pupil premium funding rates.
• Per pupil funding for mainstream schools will increase by 5.6% in 2023-24, compared with last year, with average per-pupil funding rising to £5,840.
• Falling roll funds can be allocated through local authorities from their Dedicated School Grant (DSG) schools block funding.

This funding today is in addition to separate funding schools receive to support specific outcomes including:

• Almost £5 billion for education recovery initiatives, including more than £1 billion for the National Tutoring Programme, which has revolutionised the way targeted support is provided for the children and young people who need it the most.
• To support teacher development, the Early Career Framework provides the solid foundations for a successful career in teaching, backed by over £130 million a year in funding.
• We have launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and leaders have been able to access scholarships to undertake fully-funded NPQs.
• Investing over £600 million in the PE and Sport Premium for the next two academic years.
• The Premium is provided to all primary schools in England and other educational establishments with primary-aged children, such as special schools and hospital schools.
• Through the primary PE and sport premium, the government has invested over £2bn of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. The Government doubled the premium to £320m a year from September 2017.
• Separately, we are investing £22 million in the School Games Organisers (SGO) network, with the commitment of funding until the end of the summer term 2025.