school funding | Schools Week

School staff in Devon get £10 each as Covid thank you gesture

A council with a £50 million deficit has given its schools around £65,000 to spend on staff as a “token of appreciation” for their hard work and resilience during the pandemic. Devon County Council (DCC) has awarded its schools £10 per employee to spend “in whatever way they think best to thank teaching and support […]

Schools handed extra cash to take NQTs off-timetable after Covid hits induction

Schools will receive cash to fund additional off-timetable development for their current cohort of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) as a result of Covid disruption to induction. The Department for Education announced on Monday that state schools in England will be eligible for the funding for every NQT due to complete their induction this summer. The […]

Cottages on Durand boarding school site listed for sale as dispute over proceeds drags on

A dispute over proceeds from the sale of a failed state boarding school is dragging on four years after it closed, with two cottages on the West Sussex site now listed for sale at £500,000 apiece. Durand Academy’s satellite boarding site at St Cuthman‘s, near Midhurst, closed in 2017 after the Department for Education withdrew […]

Speed read: ‘Academy trust handbook’ 2021 published as DfE rebrands key guide

The DfE has rebranded the academies financial handbook as the academy trust handbook, with ministers dubbing the latest edition a “one stop shop” for academy leaders. The update has also seen financial notices to improve renamed as “notices to improve”, to reflect that the warnings issued to academies sometimes cover “broader governance issues”. Baroness Berridge, […]

Sports charities demand clarity on future of £320m PE and sport premium

The leaders of 40 charities and sporting organisations have written to the government demanding “urgent clarity” on the future of the £320 million PE and sport premium. With less than six weeks to go until the end of the summer term for most schools, leaders are still waiting to hear whether the funding, worth £18,000 […]

DfE extends pupil premium to children with ‘no recourse to public funds’ after legal threat

Schools will be able to claim additional pupil premium funding for children with “no recourse to public funds” who were given temporary free school meals eligibility last year, following a legal threat. Last April, the Department for Education extended free school meals eligibility to children usually denied them because of their parents’ immigration status as […]

DfE report delays let academy trust bosses ‘get away with it’

The government has admitted that reports on financial scandals in three academy trusts have been gathering dust for more than 18 months – while refusing to confirm when they will be published. School finance experts and campaigners say the delays mean those responsible have not been held to account. The lack of deterrents or lessons […]

Revealed: The school Covid expenses the DfE rejected

Covid could leave a lasting “black hole” in school budgets, experts have warned as new figures lay bare the pandemic’s financial toll. Official figures show schools made thousands of pleas for Covid expenses at the invitation of the Department for Education – which then decided not to reimburse them. Requests included 250 claims totalling £475,691 […]

DfE raids existing budgets for a third of £4.3bn Covid spending

Almost a third of the Department for Education’s extra Covid spending will be taken from existing budgets or underspends in other areas, according to a new report. Education unions said it reinforced their fears over the Treasury’s commitment to education recovery, and accused the government of “creative accounting”. The research, published by the Institute for […]