school finances | Schools Week

Councils set to raid school budgets as £50m improvement grant faces axe

The DfE said axing improvement funds and letting councils top-slice school budgets instead meant a ‘smoother transition’ to full academisation

Government vetoes more academy deals with linked firms

108 academy trust ‘related party transactions’ were blocked in 2020-21, more than twice the previous year’s figures

ESFA probes trust forced to up top-slice after overspend

Documents suggest the Oval trust ‘set a deficit budget, miscalculated income…and overspent’, while a new board came in after a row with the diocese

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

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

Leading academy CEOs demand £5.8bn catch-up cash for poorer pupils

A group of leading academy trust bosses have set out proposals for a £5.8 billion Covid recovery plan, as Gavin Williamson confirmed he was lobbying within government for extra school funding. In an unusual intervention, the chief executives of five large multi-academy trusts have co-signed a letter to the education secretary warning failure to adopt […]

School funding will remain below 2009 levels despite government’s spending boost

School spending will still be lower per pupil by 2023 than more than a decade ago under the last Labour government, a new analysis has estimated. Cash available for schools in England will be between 1 and 2 per cent lower in real terms – accounting for inflation – in 2022-23 than it was in […]

Two-thirds of heads warn schools face cuts despite ‘record’ funding

Two-thirds of primary school leaders say sharp cutbacks could be needed to balance their books in two years’ time, according to a union survey. The NAHT union warned almost a third of those polled had already made cuts in the past year, with some heads revealing they had cut teaching assistant and site manager roles […]

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 […]