funding | Schools Week

Investigate trusts amassing ‘substantial reserves’, watchdog tells DfE

A report found mainstream school finances had “held up well” in recent years, despite austerity cuts and other funding pressures

DfE to provide 1,000 air cleaning units for AP and special schools

Unions said all schools should receive air cleaning units based on need, rather than only ones that could afford them

Schools told to hike contributions to boost repairs grant bids

Schools must double their contributions to score top marks in CIF bids

Richer trusts get richer by investing spare cash

A handful of trusts are making six-figure sums through stocks, wealth managers and other investment strategies, while most get by with no such income.

Speed read: ASCL’s blueprint to tackle education’s ‘entrenched injustice’

The school leaders’ union wants wide-ranging reforms, warning studies suggest rich-poor attainment gap ‘may never close’.

DfE army of cost-cutters extended after visiting 1,000 schools

The government’s school resource management adviser (SRMA) programme will run until 2024.

Revealed: the 21 areas set for £15m AP taskforces to prevent crime

The government has confirmed the 21 areas set to receive funding under a scheme to prevent vulnerable pupils in alternative provision “entering a life of crime”. Alternative provision specialist taskforces will be launched across England in “serious violence hotspots”, receiving £15 million between them in Treasury funding. The taskforces will include mental health professionals, family […]

Small academy trusts told to use reserves to fund urgent safety repairs

The government has warned small academy trusts and sixth form colleges they will be denied funding for urgent health and safety repairs if they could use their own reserves instead. The Department for Education published revised guidance on “urgent capital support” (UCS) funding today, tweaking eligibility rules. The UCS pot is earmarked for “urgent condition […]

Study finds pupil premium cuts £43m worse than DfE admits

Schools will miss out on £43 million more in pupil premium funding for the poorest children than admitted by the government, new analysis suggests. The Education Datalab research indicates almost 104,000 children receiving free school meals will not attract extra funding after the government’s “stealth cut”. The Department for Education’s own analysis published last month […]