Schools and academies over the last decade have faced significant financial pressures, further exacerbated due to the current COVID-19 global pandemic. However, central government are reacting to these current pressures and have announced additions to school funding for the academic year 2021/22 alongside the increase in per pupil funding previously announced. These changes in funding aim to increase the opportunities for pupils across the UK and intend to return education back to normal.
Changes to National School Funding
The funding figures released highlight how each pupil will benefit in the second and third years of central government’s school funding settlement which is worth a total of £14.4 billion over a three year period. During the coming academic year (2020/21) schools will benefit from an increase in per pupil funding to a minimum of £3,750 for a primary pupil and a minimum of £5,000 for a secondary pupil. The funding will continue to deliver on the Prime Ministers pledge to increase education funding and provide all young people with the same opportunities to succeed, regardless of where they grow up or which school they attend.
For 2021/22 Central government has pledged a minimum of £5,150 per pupil for secondary schools and a minimum of £4,000 per pupil for primary schools, a further increase from the 2020/21 per pupil allocations.
The increased funding will be allocated using the national school funding formula (NFF) which has been formulated to fairly allocate funding to meet the needs of pupils in all types of schools. Funding for small and remote schools will also see an increase by over 60% to overcome the financial challenges that these schools can face.
Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary has said: “Not only are we confirming another year of increased and better-targeted funding for our schools, but with our transformative national funding formula we are making sure the money is distributed fairly across the country so all schools can drive up standards.”
£1 billion COVID catch-up package
In addition to the increased funding allocation via the NFF, schools are set to receive significant investment from the Government’s £1 billion COVID catch up package in the next academic year. This intends to provide support for schools due to the lost teaching time and other challenges caused by COVID-19. The allocations for this funding will be determined by pupil numbers and will be paid once a term over the 2020/21 academic year.
As stated by Boris Johnson, “our £1 billion COVID catch up package, on top of these increases in per-pupil funding will help teachers support those who have fallen behind while out of school, and deliver a superb education for all children across the country”
National Tutoring Programme
The government is also offering a £350 million tutoring fund as a second part to the catch-up funding. This aims to provide support for disadvantaged pupils aged 5-16 in schools and colleges.
From the second half of the 2020/21 autumn term, the national tutoring programme will provide additional support to disadvantaged pupils through providing heavily subsidised tuition from approved partners and also offer in house academic mentors to provide intense support for pupils.
The government has pledged various funding initiatives to provide financial support so schools can meet the needs of their pupils and make certain all students can reach their maximum academic potential. To be sure you stay up to date with DfE guidance or if you require additional information regarding future school funding and initiatives / finance support, please contact us using the button below.
