Academies

The 8 funding streams for new trusts or those looking to grow…

Schools Week's explainer on the extra funding available to trusts, what it is for and how much is available

Schools Week's explainer on the extra funding available to trusts, what it is for and how much is available

17 Jun 2024, 5:00

More from this author

There are eight additional government funding streams available to new or growing trusts, Schools Week analysis has established.

More than £70 million was paid out to academy chains in the past year alone through the channels, but only half of them are open to applications. 

And a whopping 46 per cent of that was handed out through the strategic school improvement capital budget (SSICB) – a largely hidden fund that has no guidance published online (click here for full story).

Here is the full list…

1. Strategic school improvement capital budget

Previously called the school sponsorship and development fund (SSDF), it is used by regional directors to secure sponsors for underperforming schools in cases where the condition or suitability of the premises is a “significant barrier” to agreement.

Open to applications?             No 

Guidance published?              No 

2023 total spend:                    £32,419,894

Last year’s biggest winner: Inspire Learning Partnership (£674,698)

2. Trust capacity fund 

A competitive grant fund available to help form and grow trusts. It focuses on “supporting high-quality trusts, and schools forming trusts, to take on underperforming schools” in priority areas.

Open to applications?             Yes

Guidance published?              Yes 

2023 total spend:                    £17,663,257

Last year’s biggest winner: Learning Academies Trust (£750,000)

3. Sponsored academies pre-opening grant

For sponsoring trusts taking on underperforming council-maintained schools, and those not making necessary improvements. Funding supports costs incurred when establishing the academy and to support school improvement activities.

Open to applications?             No 

Guidance published?              Yes

2023 total spend: £8,255,567

Last year’s biggest winner: Five trusts (£150,000)

4. Free schools project development grant 

In the lead-up to an academy’s launch, the government provides the grant “to cover essential non-capital costs up to the point at which the school opens”.

Open to applications?             Yes

Guidance published?              Yes 

2023 total spend:                    £6,666,941

Last year’s biggest winner: Three trusts (£270,000)

5. Emergency school improvement fund

Trusts apply for the cash “where there is unexpected or imminent risk of education failure, unexpected withdrawal of planned or existing support to address failure or imminent failure, or failure whereby other support options are not feasible”.

Open to applications?             Yes

Guidance published?              Yes 

2023 total spend:                    £2,646,421

Last year’s biggest winner: The Learning Alliance (£224,422)

6. Environmental improvement grant

Funding for schools needing “higher levels of intervention that supports environmental improvements” intended to impact pupil learning spaces and “to make a visual statement that the ‘old school’ has become an academy”.

Open to applications?             No 

Guidance published?              Yes 

2023 total spend:                    £2,080,000

Last year’s biggest winner: Ten trusts (£80,000)

7. Trust establishment and growth fund 

Up to £50,000 is available through TEG to provide start-up funding to “existing trusts wishing to expand or create a new MAT hub or organisations wishing to establish a new trust”.

Open to applications?             Yes

Guidance published?              Yes 

2023 total spend:                    £699,171

Last year’s biggest winner: Nine trusts (£50,000)

8. Academy transfer funding

The funding is provided when an academy is transferring from one trust to another due to intervention, where there are educational, financial, governance or safeguarding failures.

Open to applications?             No 

Guidance published?              No 

2023 spend:    £110,000 (only figures for the first six months of the year are available)

Last year’s biggest winner: The Beckmead Trust (£110,000)

Latest education roles from

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

Group Director of Governance & Company Secretary

New City College

Principal (Harrow College) – HRUC

Principal (Harrow College) – HRUC

FEA

Deputy Director of Apprenticeships

Deputy Director of Apprenticeships

Manchester Metropolitan University

Independent Non- Executive Director (INED)

Independent Non- Executive Director (INED)

League Football Education

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Helping every learner use AI responsibly

AI didn’t wait to be invited into the classroom. It burst in mid-lesson. Across UK schools, pupils are already...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Retire Early, Live Fully: What Teachers Need to Consider First

Specialist Financial Adviser, William Adams, from Wesleyan Financial Services discusses what teachers should be considering when it comes to...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Academies

Free schools update ‘later this year’, and 3 other things we learned from ministers

The education secretary and her team answered MPs' questions in Parliament today

Jack Dyson
Academies

More standalone schools on the brink as deficits grow

Seventy-five trusts – one with a deficit of almost £6 million – raised concerns about their ability to continue...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Specialist MAT given notice to improve after seeking bailout

12-school trust said it had to ask for 'emergency' government cash after 'significant delays' to SEND and free school...

Jack Dyson
Academies

Officials kept mum about academy probe as merger decided

Revelation reopens debate around the transparency of important academy decisions

Jack Dyson

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *