Guidance

Coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery premium 2022 to 2023: technical note

Updated 23 June 2023

Applies to England

1.  Introduction

This technical note sets out details of how allocations of recovery premium grant (RPG) have been calculated for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

It applies to all eligible schools, as outlined in section 2.

Where this note refers to ‘mainstream and special schools’ it is also referring to mainstream and special academies.

2. Eligible schools

The following types of school are allocated RPG funding based on the number of eligible pupils who attend.

2.1 Local authority maintained schools

This includes:

• mainstream infant, primary, middle, junior, secondary, and all-through schools serving pupils in reception to year group 11
• schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities and general hospital schools
• pupil referral units (PRUs), for children who do not go to a mainstream school

2.2 Academies, free schools, and non-maintained special schools

This includes:

• mainstream academies serving pupils in reception to year group 11
• academies for children with special educational needs or disabilities
• alternative provision (AP) academies, for children who do not go to a mainstream school
• non-maintained special schools

RPG is also provided to local authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the local authority pays full tuition fees – see section 3.5.

3.  Pupil eligibility

3.1  ‘Ever 6’ free school meals children in mainstream schools

The first three instalments of the RPG for mainstream schools will include pupils recorded in the October 2021 school census who have a recorded period of free school meals (FSM) eligibility since (and including) January 2016, as well as those first recorded as eligible in October 2021.

The fourth instalment will include pupils recorded in the October 2022 census who have a recorded period of FSM eligibility since (and including) January 2017, as well as those first recorded as eligible in October 2022.

For the purposes of this note, these pupils are collectively referred to as ‘FSM Ever 6’.

Note: this does not include pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units. See section 3.5.

3.2  Children of families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) in mainstream schools who are eligible for free school meals

The first 3 instalments of RPG for mainstream schools will include children of families with NRPF who are eligible for FSM, and for whom successful claims have been submitted to ESFA. Details on the claims criteria for these pupils is being published separately.

The fourth instalment will include NRPF children recorded in the October 2022 census as eligible for FSM.

For the purposes of this note, these pupils are collectively referred to as ‘NRPF pupils’.

Note: this does not include pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units. See section 3.5.

3.3  Previously looked-after children (PLAC) in mainstream schools

The first 3 instalments of RPG for mainstream schools will include children recorded in the October 2021 school census who were looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted, or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order).

The fourth instalment will include such children recorded in the October 2022 school census.

Note: this does not include pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units. See section 3.5.

3.4 Looked-after children (LAC)

RPG is allocated to local authorities based on the number of LAC supported by the authority. LAC are defined in the Children Act 1989 as those who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority.

The first 3 instalments will include children who were looked after for at least one day, as recorded in the March 2021 LAC data return (SSDA903) and aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2020.

The fourth instalment will include children looked after for at least one day during the year ending March 2022, as recorded in the March 2022 LAC data return (SSDA903) and aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2021.

3.5 Pupils in special schools, special educational needs (SEN) units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies and general hospital schools

For special schools and SEN units in mainstream schools, the first 3 instalments of the RPG will include all pupils recorded in the October 2021 school census. The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the October 2022 census.

For PRUs and AP academies, the first 3 instalments of the RPG will include all pupils recorded in the January 2022 school census. The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the January 2023 census.

For general hospital schools, the first 3 instalments of the RPG will include all pupils in the January 2022 school level annual school census (SLASC). The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the January 2023 SLASC.

ESFA will also allocate funding to each local authority for pupils in independent special schools, for whom the authority pays full tuition fees. Non-maintained special schools will receive RPG direct from the ESFA.

4.  Rates for eligible pupils

The RPG per pupil rates are set out below.

In addition to the per pupil rates, we are also applying a floor whereby:

• no eligible primary or middle deemed primary school will receive less than £2,000
• no eligible secondary, all-through special, AP or hospital school will receive less than £6,000

Pupil eligibility	RPG per pupil
Pupils recorded as eligible in reception to year 6 in mainstream schools, who are not in SEN units	£145
Pupils recorded as eligible in year 7 to year 11 in mainstream schools, who are not in SEN units	£276
Pupils in reception to year 6 in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies and hospital schools	£290
Pupils in year 7 to year 11 in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies and hospital schools	£552

Where national curriculum year groups do not apply to a pupil, the pupil will be eligible for RPG if aged 4 to 15 as recorded in the October 2021 (and October 2022 for the fourth instalment) school census for mainstream and special schools, and in the January 2022 (and January 2023 for the fourth instalment) school census for PRUs and AP academies and hospital schools.

5. Allocations

Updated allocations will be published shortly before each instalment is paid (see section 6 for the payment schedule).

Where a pupil in a mainstream setting is recorded as LAC and FSM Ever 6, and for all LAC in special settings, the pupil is included only in the LAC count for the local authority allocation. This means the school’s RPG allocation will not include a payment for that pupil.

RPG will be allocated on the basis of sole and dual main registrations only. Any transfer of funds between a dual main school and a dual subsidiary school is a matter for the two schools.

Schools federated, or to be federated, under the provisions of section 24 of the Education Act 2002, during the academic year beginning 1 September 2022, shall have grant allocated to them as if they were not federated.

6.  Payment schedule

We will pay RPG to local authorities in quarterly instalments by:

• 30 September 2022
• 30 December 2022
• 31 March 2023
• 30 June 2023

We will pay RPG to academies (including free schools) in quarterly instalments by:

• 10 October 2022
• 10 January 2022
• 21 April 2023
• 10 July 2023

7.  New schools, schools not fully open and schools that close

Allocations for new schools will be published in April 2023. New schools will receive all of their allocation in the third and fourth RPG instalments.

For new mainstream and special schools that opened after October 2021, we will use the October 2022 school census to calculate RPG allocations.

For new mainstream and special schools that open after the October 2022 census, we will use data from the January 2023 school census.

We will also use the January 2023 school census for PRUs and AP academies that open after the January 2022 school census.

In each case, the allocation will be prorated to the proportion of the 2022 to 2023 academic year that the school is open.