Guidance

16 to 19 special post-16 institution (SPI) revenue funding allocation guide: 2024 to 2025

Updated 13 March 2024

Applies to England

1. Introduction

This guide explains how we have calculated your 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

2. Who this note is for

This guide is for special post-16 institutions (SPIs).

Further information regarding the high needs funding system is available in the high needs funding arrangements 2024 to 2025 guidance.

The changes for 2024 to 2025 section explains the changes in academic year 2024 to 2025 and where these changes are reflected in your allocation statement.

3. Further advice and guidance

This guide and our 16 to 19 funding guidance will help you to understand how we have calculated your funding allocation for 2024 to 2025. We publish these guides on GOV.UK before the start of the academic year.

You should read this note alongside our detailed guidance on:

• allocation calculation toolkit
• funding rates and formula
• business cases
• financial support for students
• how the 16 to 19 funding formula works
• how the high needs funding system works

4. Allocation changes

The allocation statement shows your current allocation based on the data available to us at this point.

We reserve the right to reduce or withdraw your allocation at any stage should issues arise through audit or other processes which:

• significantly affect the data underlying your allocation calculation (such as errors in your individualised learner record (ILR) or school census returns)
• significantly affect contract compliance, or
• if we believe that by making an allocation we will be putting public funds at risk

We also reserve the right to change your allocation if there are significant policy or data changes that impact on the calculated figures.

By exception, we will consider evidenced and credible business cases from institutions where there has been a significant error in the data returned by the institution. If you wish to submit a case, please refer to our guidance for submitting a business case.

Please be aware that once you have submitted your 2023 to 2024 ILR R14 data in October 2024, we will use this to check the accuracy of the R06 data, which was used to calculate your allocated student numbers. If, using the R14 data, we determine that your R06 data was materially inaccurate, we may reduce your allocation in-year. These checks and potential reductions will apply to both programme funding (element 1) and high needs funding (element 2).

In addition, we will use your academic year 2023 to 2024 R06 return to calculate local authority import/export adjustments for the financial year 2024 to 2025. Local authorities will have the opportunity to review the number of high needs students you have recorded in your data and, if we determine that your R06 data was materially inaccurate because of an enquiry raised by a local authority, we may reduce your element 2 allocation for high needs students in-year.

Please note that, for funding purposes, the definition of a high needs student is one where the institution is receiving top-up funding from a local authority because the authority has agreed that the student’s additional support costs are in excess of £6,000.

5. Contact us

If you have questions after reading our guidance, or if there’s anything else you need help with, you can find more support in our customer help centre.

6. Changes for 2024 to 2025

On 27 October 2021, the Chancellor announced a 3-year spending review outcome for 16 to 19 education, which has made available an extra £1.6 billion in 2024 to 2025 financial year compared with 2021 to 2022. This is in addition to the £291 million for 16 to 19 education in 2021 to 2022 and the £400 million that the government provided in 2020 to 2021. 

We have used funding from the final year of the 3-year settlement to fund changes for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

On 4 October 2023, the Prime Minister introduced the Advanced British Standard for 16 to 19 year olds, a new baccalaureate-style qualification that takes the best of A levels and T Levels and brings them together into a single qualification. We have used funding announced alongside this to prepare for the Advanced British Standard to strengthen funding for English and maths. Specifically, we have used this to:

• increase the advanced maths premium payments
• introduce a new core maths premium
• extend the current level 3 maths and English payment to support students who are retaking English and maths

6.1 Funding rate

We have increased the funding rate for students aged 16 and 17 and students aged 18 and over with high needs in band 5 to £4,843. We have built this into the increases in each of the funding bands, which have also increased proportionately.

6.2 Table 1

Band	From	To
Band 5	£4,753	£4,843
Band 4	£3,932	£4,006
Band 3	£3,198	£3,258
Band 2	£2,528	£2,576
Band 1	£4,753 proportion of band 5	£4,843 proportion of band 5

T Level funding rates include the 10% uplift that we have retained for an extra year for the academic year 2024 to 2025.

The figures shown on your allocation statement and in table 2 are the annual equivalent of the 2-year T Level rates for 2024 to 2025.

6.3 Table 2

Band	From	To
Band 9	£7,523	£7,665
Band 8	£6,897	£7,028
Band 7	£6,272	£6,391
Band 6	£5,438	£5,541

6.4 English and maths funding

We will extend the current level 3 maths and English payment to support those students studying other 16 to 19 study programmes or T Levels who are retaking English and maths to gain a GCSE grade 9 to 4 or Functional Skills level 2 in these subjects.

This additional funding is intended to support students’ participation in their study programme or T Level. It ensures that institutions have the resources to provide, where needed, extra hours of education or other support to deliver English and/or maths alongside other qualifications.

This will help raise the standard of attainment ahead of the Advanced British Standard. It will particularly benefit students studying at further education (FE) colleges, helping to close the attainment gap by age 19.

The rates for the English and maths funding will be:

• £375 per student per subject in band 4 and above
• £229 per student per subject in bands 3 and 2
• £375 per full-time equivalent (FTE) per subject in band 1 where students are on programmes of 150 hours or more

All students subject to the condition of funding (CoF) will attract the payment.

6.5 Disadvantage funding

For academic year 2024 to 2025 funding allocations, we will adjust the care leavers’ (disadvantage block 1) rate. We will also adjust the disadvantage block 2 rate in line with the increase to the funding rate. This change reflects the additional cost of teaching and supporting those students who have low prior attainment.

We will increase the disadvantage block 1 rate to:

• £570 for students who are in care or who have recently left care

We will increase the disadvantage block 2 rate to:

• £570 for bands 4 and 5 students
• £347 for bands 2 and 3 students
• £772 for T Level students

Advanced maths premium

We have removed core maths qualifications from the advanced maths premium. We will continue to pay the advanced maths premium for other qualifications in scope in academic year 2024 to 2025 at an increased rate of £900.

We have revised the baseline we used to calculate the premium for advanced maths enrolments recorded between academic year 2019 to 2020 and academic year 2020 to 2021 to remove core maths qualifications.

In April 2023, we contacted institutions affected by this change and confirmed that we will provide temporary funding equivalent to 100% of the funding difference to institutions that experienced a decrease of £20,000 or more in advanced maths premium funding in academic year 2023 to 2024 compared with 2022 to 2023.

In 2024 to 2025, we will again provide one year of temporary funding but at 50% of the funding difference to institutions that would see a decrease in their advanced maths premium funding by £20,000 or more in academic year 2024 to 2025 compared with 2022 to 2023, using the revised baseline.

6.6 Core maths premium

We have introduced a new funding element for core maths in 2024 to 2025. We will pay the core maths premium at a rate of £900.

6.7 Teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant (TPSECG)

We will pay the TPSECG for sixth forms and 16 to 19 schools funded via the 16 to 19 funding formula. As in previous years, we will pay the grant separately to core allocations in the financial year 2024 to 2025.

We will also pay the TPSECG for FE providers for the full academic year 2024 to 2025. We will include this grant in 16 to 19 allocations which we will begin to issue in March 2024.

7. SPI funding allocations

SPIs that will be delivering their first year of Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funded provision are currently completing the ESFA high needs due diligence process. Where successful, we expect to issue allocations to these SPIs by the end of June 2024. We will allocate programme funding (element 1) and high needs funding (element 2) using the place numbers returned to us by local authorities through the 2024 to 2025 high needs place change notification process.

For SPIs that will be delivering at least their second year of ESFA funded provision, we will allocate programme funding (element 1) and high needs funding (element 2) using counts of valid students from 2023 to 2024 ILR R06 data returns. We will use a reference date of 1 February 2024.

For 2024 to 2025, we will continue to use the 16 to 19 funding formula to calculate programme funding (element 1) for SPIs.

For all SPIs, we detail the total high needs place number allocation (element 2) in the ‘high needs student table’ of the funding statement. There is further information on this in the high needs funding section of this guidance.

7.1 Where student numbers exceed allocated places

Most FE institutions and independent learning providers have a single ‘provider local authority’ responsible for returning to us the number of element 2 places required for all the institution’s high needs students in the following academic year.

In the case of SPIs, however, we are responsible for determining the allocations of both element 1 and element 2. We do so based on the previous year’s ILR data.

Element 2 funding is initially included within local authorities’ overall high needs allocations. The funding formula that calculates local authorities’ allocations includes adjustments, also based on ILR data, that remove the element 2 £6,000 per high needs place from their final dedicated schools grant allocations. This is known as the import/export adjustment. This means that we are acting like the ‘provider local authority’ and are responsible for considering the need for further funding where the actual number of high needs students exceeds the high needs places that have been funded. In normal circumstances, the lagged funding methodology will fund SPIs for any additional students in the following year.

If local authorities give places to significantly more students than their allocated places, we may, exceptionally, increase allocations in-year. In these circumstances, we will review the student numbers recorded in the in-year ILR data returns. As this is a data-driven exercise, it is not necessary for SPIs to submit a business case.

For element 1 growth awards, we will also consider under-delivery at the institution in the previous year and the national picture of placements. We will base any additional funding on a standard threshold determined by affordability. It is possible that we will calculate additional funding using marginal rates. We may also require additional eligibility or audit checks before allocating any additional funding. We will notify institutions receiving exceptional in-year funding by April 2025. We do not adjust element 2 growth awards for under-delivery.

8. Programme funding formula

This section explains the various elements of the funding formula that apply to SPI funding allocations, which is shown on page 1 of your allocation statement.

8.1 Retention factor

This remains at 0.983. This was the average factor we used to calculate your 2023 to 2024 allocations.

8.2 Programme cost weighing

This is 1.0702. This was the average factor we used to calculate your 2023 to 2024 allocation.

8.3 English and maths funding

See the English and maths funding section in this guidance.

8.4 Disadvantage funding – block 1

This remains at 3.80%. This was the average factor we used to calculate your 2023 to 2024 allocations.

8.5 Disadvantage funding – block 2

We use a default value of 2 instances per student for all SPIs, which attracts the £570 funding rate.

8.6 Large programme funding

This is not applicable to SPIs.

8.7 Area cost allowance

Some areas of the country are more expensive to teach in than others and the area cost allowance weights the allocation to reflect this. We calculate area cost either from the institution’s head office location or from the institution’s learning delivery location, depending on the geographical spread of provision.

We round the values on your statement to various numbers of decimal places. However, we calculate your funding using un-rounded values. This may result in some slight differences when you work through the calculation yourselves.

9. Student numbers

This section explains how we have calculated the student numbers in your 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. Student numbers include students aged 19 to 24 with education, health and care plans.

9.1 2023 to 2024 ILR R06 students

This refers to student numbers taken from the 2023 to 2024 ILR R06 data return, with a reference date of 1 February 2024.

9.2 Exceptional variations to lagged student number

This is an increase or decrease applied to the lagged student number that we’ve agreed to as an exceptional case.

9.3 Total student numbers for 2024 to 2025

We calculate total student numbers for 2024 to 2025 by:

• ‘2023 to 2024 ILR R06 students’ + ‘exceptional variations to lagged student number’

9.4 Student number methodology used

This is the data source we use to calculate student numbers. For all SPIs, this is the 2023 to 2024 ILR R06 return.

10. Student number methodology

Our funding rates and formula guidance has full details of how we calculate student numbers for different types of institutions. Our default approach is to base allocations on lagged numbers. The lagged approach applies when there is a reasonably consistent level of delivery over time and applies in most but not all circumstances.

Exceptions to the lagged approach include student numbers for new institutions, closing provision, transferred provision (including in relation to subcontracting), exceptional in-year growth and in-year closures. In these situations, we may remove an institution from the lagged approach at any point, which may result in a change to their funding allocation.

11. Breakdown of funding by band

This section explains how we have calculated funding bands in your 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. You can find further information about funding rates in our funding rates and formula guidance.

11.1 T Level bands

The following applies if you have T Level students. If you are not receiving T Level student funding, please refer to the mainstream bands section.

Number of students allocated in 2024 to 2025 – T Level

Student numbers are placed into T Level bands 9 to 6 based on the occupational specialism undertaken by the student taken from a combination of:

• the estimated student participation figures provided by institutions (from 2024 to 2025 these are just the students starting in the 2024 to 2025 academic year)
• students starting their T Level before 2024 to 2025 who are carrying on their programme into academic year 2024 to 2025. We have selected T Level students from your 2023 to 2024 ILR R04  data whose latest T Level programme aim has no actual end date and a planned end date after 31 July 2024

Funding rate

T Level students attract a higher rate of programme funding linked to the minimum delivery hours (determined by the occupational specialism being studied), so will typically be funded in band 6, 7, 8 or 9.

Student funding

This is the total student funding for each band, which we calculate by:

• ‘number of students allocated in 2024 to 2025’ × ‘funding rate’

Total T Level bands

We calculate the total student funding for bands 9 to 6 by:

• ‘student funding T Level band 9’ + ‘student funding T Level band 8’ + ‘student funding T Level band 7’ + ‘student funding T Level band 6’

11.2 Mainstream bands 

Student numbers 2022 to 2023

This is your student numbers for funding bands 1 to 5, as recorded in your 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return.

Proportions used in 2024 to 2025 allocation

All students in SPIs are funded at the band 5 rate.

Number of students allocated in 2024 to 2025

This is the percentage proportion for band 5 applied to the ‘total student numbers for 2024 to 2025’ shown in the ‘student numbers’ table.

Funding rate

This is the base amount of funding for each student in the band.

Student funding

This is the total student funding for each band, which we calculate by:

• ‘number of students allocated in 2024 to 2025’ × ‘funding rate’

Total student funding

This is the total student funding for all bands.

12. English and maths funding

This section explains how we have calculated English and maths funding in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. For more information, please refer to our English and maths funding guide.

12.1 Total instances attracting funding per student

We use the last full year of data to identify eligible students. For example, we will use data from the end of academic year 2022 to 2023 to inform allocations for 2024 to 2025. We classify eligible students as those who are:

a) 16 to 19 students who have passed the funding qualifying period

b) recorded in the ILR as not having prior attainment in English and/or maths GCSE grade 9 to 4 or equivalent. We will not count students with a prior attainment of a GCSE grade 2 or below but who hold a pass in level 2 Functional Skills

c) recorded in the ILR as not having prior attainment in English and/or maths GCSE grade 9 to 4 or equivalent. We will not count students with a prior attainment of a GCSE grade 2 or below but who hold a pass in level 2 Functional Skills

Qualifying students attract an instance of funding for each subject in which they do not hold a GCSE grade 9 to 4 or equivalent at the start of their programme. Those without English or without maths will receive 1 instance and those without English and without maths will receive 2 instances.

If historic data is not available, we use national averages for the relevant institution type.

12.2 Total funded instances

We calculate total funded instances by:

• ‘instances per student’ × ‘total student numbers 2024 to 2025’ (student numbers table)

12.3 Students attracting the higher rate (bands 4 and above), the lower rate (bands 2 and 3) and the FTE rate 

This is the ‘total funded instances’ split between students attracting the higher rate (band 4 and above) and students attracting the lower rate (band 2 and band 3) according to the proportions in the ‘breakdown of funding by band’ table. We calculate this by:

• ‘number of funded instances in each band’ (higher, lower, FTE) × ‘English and maths funding rate’

12.4 Total English and maths funding

We calculate total English and maths funding by:

• ‘students attracting the higher rate’ + ‘students attracting the lower rate’ + ‘students attracting the FTE rate’

13. Distribution of disadvantage funding

This section explains how we have calculated the disadvantage block 1 and block 2 funding in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. For more information on disadvantage funding, please refer to our funding rates and formula guide.

13.1 Disadvantage block 1

Economic deprivation funding

We apply the block 1 average factor of 3.80% to the programme funding total, up to and including English and maths funding.

Care leavers

This is the number of successful 16 to 19 bursary fund claims for 2022 to 2023 for vulnerable students who were ‘in care’ or ‘care leavers’, at a rate of £570 per student.

Total block 1 funding

We calculate total block 1 funding by:

• ‘block 1 funding’ + ‘care leaver funding’

13.2 Disadvantage block 2

Total instances attracting funding per student

For SPIs, we default the instances per student value to 2.

Total funded instances

We calculate total funded instances by:

• ‘instances per student applied in 2024 to 2025’ × ‘total student numbers for 2024 to 2025’ in ‘student numbers’ table

Total funded instances, funded instances attracting the higher, lower, FTE and T Level rate

This refers to the ‘total funded instances for 2024 to 2025’ split between the full-time and part-time bands according to the ‘proportions in breakdown of funding by bands’ table. In SPIs, all students attract the higher rate.

If an SPI has funded T Level students, the number of students attracting the T Level rate is determined by multiplying the ‘instances per student’ by ‘total T Level bands’:

• ‘number of funded instances in each band’ (higher, lower, FTE and T Level) × ‘block 2 funding rate’

Total block 2 funding

We calculate total block 2 funding by:

• ‘students attracting the higher rate’ + ‘students attracting the lower rate’ + ‘students attracting the FTE rate’ + ‘students attracting the T Level rate’

13.3 Minimum top-up, if applicable

If the total disadvantage funding (‘total block 1 funding’ + ‘total block 2 funding’) for an institution is less than £6,000, we top up the disadvantage funding to £6,000.

13.4 Total disadvantage funding

We calculate total disadvantage funding by:

• ‘total block 1 funding’ + ‘total block 2 funding’ + ‘minimum top-up’

14. Large programme uplift

The large programme uplift is not applicable to SPIs in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.   

15. Maths and English CoF

This section explains how we have calculated the maths and English CoF adjustment in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. For more information, please see our condition of funding interactive tool and 16 to 19 maths and English condition of funding guidance.

Note that the CoF is the aspect of 16 to 19 allocations where the most data issues have arisen for SPIs in the past. Please ensure that you submit accurate data for this element of funding, using the above tools as appropriate. If you identify a data error in this element of your allocation, please follow the usual process for raising business cases. 

15.1 Funding rate in 2022 to 2023

We use the 2022 to 2023 funding rates to calculate the CoF adjustment.

15.2 Total students (2022 to 2023 R14)

This is the total number of students in 2022 to 2023, as recorded in your 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return, split by funding bands 1 to 5. Student numbers in this table excludes 19+ continuing students. Therefore, the total may differ from the student numbers shown in the ‘breakdown by funding band’ table.

15.3 Funding rate applied to total students (2022 to 2023 R14)

This is the student funding associated with the total number of students, calculated by:

• ‘total students (2022 to 2023 R14)’ (FTE for band 1) × ‘funding rate in 2022 to 2023’

15.4 Students not meeting CoF (2022 to 2023 R14)

This is the number of students not meeting the CoF in 2022 to 2023, as recorded in your 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return, split by each funding band.

15.5 Funding rate applied to CoF non-compliant students

This is the student funding associated with the students not meeting the CoF. We calculate this by:

• ‘students not meeting the CoF (2022 to 2023 R14)’ (FTE for band 1) × ‘funding rate in 2022 to 2023’

15.6 Total

This shows the sum for ‘total students (2022 to 2023 R14)’, ‘funding rate applied to total students (2022 to 2023 R14)’, ‘students not meeting CoF (2022 to 2023 R14)’ and ‘funding rate applied to CoF non-compliant students’.

15.7 The 5% of rate funding for total 2022 to 2023 R14 students

This is the 5% tolerance before any adjustment is applied, calculated by:

• 5% of total ‘funding rate applied to total students (2022 to 2023 R14)’

15.8 Funding for non-compliant students less 5% of funding

This is the resulting adjustment following the 5% tolerance, calculated by:

• total ‘funding rate applied to CoF non-compliant students’ - ‘5% of rate funding for total 2022 to 2023 R14 students’

15.9 Final CoF adjustment (at 50%)

In order to mitigate the effect of the CoF adjustments, the final adjustment is at 50%. We calculate this by:

• 50% of ‘funding for non-compliant students less 5% of funding’

16. Advanced maths premium funding

This section explains how we have calculated the advanced maths premium in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. We give institutions additional funding to increase the number of students studying for certain advanced maths qualifications. The funding will help institutions remove barriers to advanced maths study and build their capacity to deliver this provision.

16.1 Baseline students

This is the average number of students studying an eligible level 3 maths qualification in academic years 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021, from the ILR R14 data returns.   

16.2 Eligible students

This is the number of students studying an eligible level 3 maths qualification in academic year 2023 to 2024, taken from the 2022 to 2023 ILR R04 data return.

16.3 Eligible minus baseline

We calculate the eligible minus baseline by:

• ‘eligible students’ - ‘baseline students’ or zero, whichever is higher

16.4 Rate

The rate of funding per student for 2024 to 2025 is £900.

16.5 Funding

We calculate this by:

• ‘eligible minus baseline’ x ‘rate’

Adjusted 2022 to 2023 advanced maths premium funding

This is your 2022 to 2023 advanced maths premium allocation without core maths qualifications.

Advanced maths premium transition funding

Transition funding is 50% of the difference between the adjusted 2022 to 2023 and 2024 to 2025 funding when the decrease is £20,000 or more. We will apply this protection for academic year 2024 to 2025 only.

Advanced maths premium total

We calculate the advanced maths premium by:

• ‘advanced maths premium funding’ + ‘advanced maths premium transition funding’

17. Core maths premium

This section explains how we have calculated the core maths premium in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. For more information, please refer to our core maths premium guide.

17.1 Eligible students

This is the number of eligible students studying a core maths qualification in the first year of their 16 to 19 programme. Second year core maths students will not attract the funding. We take this data from the 2023 to 2024 ILR R04.   

Students are eligible for the core maths premium if they:

• are 16 to 19 funded
• have prior attainment equivalent to GCSE grade 9 to 4 in maths
• pass a qualifying period of either 6 weeks for a qualification with a planned length of 24 weeks or more, or 2 weeks for a qualification with a planned length of less than 24 weeks
• are studying an eligible core maths qualification

17.2 Rate

The rate of funding per student for 2024 to 2025 is £900.

17.3 Funding

We calculate this by:

• ‘eligible students’  x ‘rate’

18. High value courses premium

This section explains how we have calculated the high value courses premium (HVCP) in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. HVCP supports providers to increase the number of students studying substantial programmes in particular subjects.

18.1 Qualifying students

This is the number of qualifying students in your 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return.

18.2 Rate

The rate of funding per student for 2024 to 2025 is £600.

18.3 Funding

We calculate this by:

• ‘qualifying students’ × ‘rate’

19. T Level industry placements funding

This section explains how we have calculated T Level industry placements funding in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement. This table is displayed if you have T Level students. 

19.1 Number of funded T Level students

This is the funded T Level students in the allocation.   

19.2 Rate

The funding rate for a T Level industry placement is £550. As T Levels are designed to be 2-year programmes, we pay £275  in year 1 and £275 in year 2 of a student’s T Level.

19.3 Funding

We calculate this by:

• ‘number of funded T Level students’ × ‘rate’

20. Care standards

This section explains how we have calculated care standards funding in the 16 to 19 funding allocation statement. The funding rates and formula guide provides more information about care standards.

20.1 Eligible students

This is the total number of eligible students (≥12) taken from the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return from eligible institutions.

20.2 Care standards funding rate

The care standards funding rate per student is £817.

20.3 Care standards institution lump sum funding

This is a lump sum funding of £12,252 per institution for eligible institutions.

20.4 Care standards funding

We calculate care standards funding by:

• (‘eligible students’ × ‘care standards funding rate’) + ‘care standards institution’

21. High needs funding

This section explains how we have calculated high needs funding in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement.

We have based allocations of high needs place funding on your 2023 to 2024 R06 ILR data return.

21.1 2023 to 2024 R06 total high needs students

This is the high needs student number count split by age 16 to 19 years and 19 to 24 years, as recorded in the 2023 to 2024 ILR R06 data return, with a reference date of 1 February 2024.

21.2 2023 to 2024 R06 total high needs student proportions by age

This is the percentage proportions of students split by age.

21.3 Exceptional variations to lagged high needs student number

This is an increase or decrease applied to the high needs student number that we’ve agreed to as an exceptional case.

21.4 High needs element 2

We apply the ‘2023 to 2024 R06 total high needs student proportions by age’ to ‘2023 to 2024 R06 total high needs students’ to calculate place numbers by age split. We calculate this by:

• ‘2023 to 2024 R06 total high needs students’ (total students) + ‘exceptional variations to lagged high needs student number’

21.5 High needs total

We calculate the high needs total by:

• ‘high needs element 2’ (total students) × ‘rate’

22. Student financial support funding

This section explains how we have calculated student financial support funding in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement.

We have published financial support advice for institutions on the support young people may be able to access to help them participate in education and training.

22.1 Number of funded students/Number of funded T Level students

For ‘element 1: financial disadvantage’ and ‘element 2a: student costs – travel’, the ‘number of funded students’ is the ‘total student numbers for 2024 to 2025’ shown in the ‘student numbers’ table.

For ‘element 2b: student costs – T Level industry placements’, we use your funded T Level student number.

22.2 Instances per student

We use the SPI average for the instances per student values:

• the average for ‘element 1: financial disadvantage’ is 0.26621
• the average for ‘element 2a: student costs – travel’ is 0.13985

22.3 Proportion of students from 60% most deprived areas

For ‘element 2b: student costs – T Level industry placements’, we use student postcodes from the 2022 ILR R14 data return and the IMD 2019 to determine an institution-level instance per student average. We use this average to gauge the proportion of students on T Level industry placements who are likely to be from the top 60% most deprived areas.

22.4 Number of instances

For ‘element 1: financial disadvantage’ and ‘element 2a: student costs – travel’, we calculate the ‘number of instances’ by.

• ‘instances per student’ x ‘number of funded students’

22.5 Rate

This is the funding rate for each element of the discretionary bursary for 2024 to 2025. Bursary funding rates are subject to change year on year.

22.6 Funding

We calculate this by:

• ‘number of instances’ x ‘rate’

22.7 Bursary adjustment in respect of free meals

We calculate each institution’s percentage share of the adjustment proportionally, using data which will inform an institution’s free meals in FE allocation in 2024 to 2025. That is the number of students eligible for and in receipt of free meals in FE in either the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return or the 2021 to 2022 ILR R14 data return if no students were flagged as supported with free meals in FE in the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return.

The total adjustment amount is £15 million. For example, if there are 100,000 free meals for FE students who inform 2024 to 2025 free meals in FE allocations, and institution A recorded 1,000 of those students in their 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data, then institution A will be in scope for an initial adjustment of:

• 1,000 ÷ 100,000 = 1%
• 1% x £15 million = £150,000

Protection is then applied so that no institution:

• experiences a reduction of greater than 25% of their 16 to 19 bursary fund allocation
• experiences a reduction that is greater than the reduction applied in 2023 to 2024
• has a 16 to 19 bursary fund allocation of less than £500

22.8 Discretionary bursary fund sub-total

We calculate the discretionary bursary fund sub-total by:

• ‘element 1: financial disadvantage total’ + ‘element 2a: student costs – travel total’ + ‘element 2b: student costs – T Level industry placements’ - ‘bursary adjustment in respect of free meals’

22.9 Bursary adjustment by exception

This is an increase or decrease applied to your discretionary bursary funding relating to an exceptional situation.

22.10 Discretionary bursary fund total

We calculate the discretionary bursary fund total by:

• ‘discretionary bursary fund sub-total’ + ‘bursary adjustment by exception’

If ‘discretionary bursary fund sub-total’ is greater than £0 but less than £500, then we will uplift the allocation to £500.

22.11 Free meals in FE funding

Total students

This is the number of 16 to 19 students recorded in either the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return, or the 2021 to 2022 ILR R14 data return if no students were recorded as supported with free meals in FE in the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return.

Free meals students

This is the number of students recorded as being eligible for and in receipt of free meals in FE in either the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return, or the 2021 to 2022 ILR R14 data return if no students were recorded as supported with free meals in FE in the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return.

Proportion of students on free meals

We calculate the proportion of students on free meals by:

• ‘free meals students’ ÷ ‘total students’

Total students in 2024 to 2025 funded for free meals

This is the number of students that will attract free meals funding in 2024 to 2025:

• ‘proportion of students on free meals’ × ‘total student numbers for 2024 to 2025’ in the ‘student numbers’ table

Free meals higher rate, lower rate and FTE rate

We calculate ‘free meal students’ at higher, lower and FTE rates by taking the proportions in the ‘breakdown of funding by band’ table and applying the percentage proportions to the ‘total students in 2024 to 2025 funded for free meals’. For SPIs, all students attract the higher rate.

Free meals funding

We calculate free meals funding by:

• ‘free meals students’ (higher) × ‘free meals rates’

The free meals in FE funding rates are subject to change.

Free meals sub-total

We calculate free meals sub-total by:

• ‘free meals higher funding’ + ‘free meals lower funding’ + ‘free meals FTE funding’

Free meals administration

We calculate free meals administration by:

• 5% of ‘total free meals funding’

Free meals adjustment by exception

This is an increase or decrease applied to your free meals in FE funding. This could relate to a merger, conversion to an academy or other exceptional situations.

Total free meals funding

We calculate total free meals funding by:

• ‘free meals sub-total’ + ‘free meals administration’ + ‘exceptional adjustment’

Total student support funding

We calculate total support funding by:

• ‘discretionary bursary fund total’ + ‘total free meals funding’

23. FE teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant (TPSECG)

This section explains how we have calculated allocations to meet increased employer contributions to the FE TPSECG in the 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statement.

23.1 2022 to 2023 financial year annual payments reduced to 16.4% for the full year

The latest available audited payments that institutions made to Capita for FE TPSECG relate to financial year 2022 to 2023, including employer contributions annual payments at the rate of 23.6%.

As the employer contribution rate increased from 16.4% to 23.6% before the 2022 to 2023 financial year, we have adjusted the figure to reflect what the contributions would have been if a rate of 16.4% had remained:

• total contributions at 23.6% ÷ 0.236 × 0.164

23.2 Payments made to Capita for teachers’ pension scheme (TPS), financial year 2022 to 2023, at 28.6% for the full year  

As the employer contribution rate has been increased to 28.6% from April 2024, we have recalculated employer contributions annual payments made for financial year 2022 to 2023 at 23.6% as if they had been made at a 28.6% rate.

• total contributions at 23.6% ÷ 0.236 × 0.286

23.3 The 6.8% uplift for 2023

The 6.8% uplift reflects the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) estimated average increase in earnings for 2023.

23.4 The 3.7%% uplift for 2024

The 3.7% uplift reflects the OBR’s estimated average increase in earnings 2024.

23.5 Revised annual cost

We calculate the revised annual cost by:

• ‘payments made to Capita for FE TPSECG, financial year 2022 to 2023, calculated at 28.6% for the full year’ + ‘6.8% uplift for 2023’ + ‘3.7% uplift for 2024’

23.6 FE TPSECG (difference between payments at 16.4% and revised annual cost)

We calculate the difference between payments at 16.4% and the revised annual cost of FE TPSECG by:

• ‘revised annual cost’ - ‘2022 to 2023 financial year annual payments reduced to 16.4% for the full year’