Recovery premium: conditions of grant for academies
Updated 21 June 2022
Applies to England
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1. Introduction
The Secretary of State for Education has set the following terms and conditions in relation to the recovery premium grant (RPG) payable to academies (including free schools) for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.
2. Rates for eligible pupils and schools
Pupils in year groups reception to 11 belonging to one or more of the following groups are eligible for the recovery premium grant:
- pupils recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the past six years, as well as pupils with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
- looked-after children (LAC) defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority
- children no longer looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, a special guardianship order, or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order)
The RPG per-pupil rate is as follows:
| Disadvantaged pupils | Recovery premium per pupil |
|---|---|
| Eligible pupils in mainstream academies, who are not in special educational needs (SEN) units | £145 |
| Eligible pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units in mainstream academies* | £290 |
| Eligible pupils in special academies, alternative provision academies and hospital academies | £290 |
*As a proxy for those deemed eligible in SEN units, the proportions of FSM6, post-LAC and eligible NRPF pupils at the school overall is applied to the total number of pupils in special units as captured on the 2021 to 2022 local authority proforma tool (APT).
In addition to the per-pupil rates, we are also applying a floor whereby:
- no eligible primary or middle deemed primary academy will receive less than £2,000
- no eligible secondary, all-through special, alternative provision or hospital academy will receive less than £6,000
3. Eligibility
3.1 Ever 6 free school meals children
For mainstream and special academies, the first three payments of the recovery premium will include pupils recorded in the October 2020 school census who have had a recorded period of FSM eligibility since January 2015, as well as those first recorded as eligible at October 2020. The fourth payment of the recovery premium will include pupils recorded in the October 2021 census who have a recorded period of FSM eligibility since January 2016, as well as those first recorded as eligible at October 2021.
For alternative provision academies, the recovery premium will include pupils recorded in the January 2021 school census who have had a recorded period of FSM eligibility since May 2015, as well as those first recorded as eligible at January 2021. The fourth payment will include pupils recorded in the January 2022 census who have a recorded period of FSM eligibility since 2016, as well as those recorded as first eligible in January 2022 For the purposes of these grant conditions, these pupils are collectively referred to as Ever 6 FSM.
RPG will be allocated on the basis of sole and dual main registrations only.
Where national curriculum year groups do not apply to a pupil, the eligible pupil will receive RPG if aged 4 to 15 as recorded in the relevant school census for mainstream and special schools and in the January 2021 school census for alternative provision academies. The fourth payment will be based on the January 2022 school census.
3.2 Children with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
For recovery premium, eligibility is being extended to pupils eligible for free school meals under the temporary extension set out in the guidance: coronavirus (COVID-19): temporary extension of free school meals eligibility to NRPF groups. As these pupils are not registered as eligible in the school census, eligibility will be based on claims submitted for such pupils in respect of additional pupil premium funding.
The first three instalments of the recovery premium will be based on the claims process undertaken in respect of the 2021 to 2022 pupil premium, as referred to in the pupil premium: conditions of grant 2021 to 2022 for academies and free schools. Further information on the fourth instalment of the recovery premium in respect of these pupils will be published shortly.
3.3 Children adopted from care or who have left care
For mainstream and special academies, the first three instalments of the recovery premium will include pupils recorded in the October 2020 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). These are collectively referred to as post-LAC in these conditions of grant. The fourth instalment of the recovery premium will include pupils recorded in the October 2021 school census.
For alternative provision academies, the first three instalments of the recovery premium will include post-LAC pupils recorded in the January 2021 school census, and the fourth instalment will include post-LAC pupils recorded in the January 2022 school census.
4. Allocations and payments to academies
Payments will be made in quarterly instalments.
For mainstream and special academies, the first three instalments will be paid according to an allocation of recovery premium based on the number of pupils in the October 2020 school census who have had a recorded period of FSM eligibility since January 2015, as well as those first recorded as eligible at October 2020.
The three instalments will be paid in:
- October 2021
- January 2021
- May 2022
The fourth instalment will be paid according to an allocation of the recovery premium based on the number of pupils in the October 2021 school census who have had a recorded period of FSM eligibility since January 2016, as well as those first recorded as eligible October 2021.
The fourth instalment will be paid in:
- July 2022
For alternative provision academies, the first three instalments of the recovery premium will be paid according to an allocation based on the number of pupils in the January 2021 school census who have had a recorded period of FSM eligibility since May 2016, as well as those first recorded as eligible at January 2021. The fourth instalment will be paid according to an allocation based on the January 2022 census.
Academies as of 1 September 2021 will receive all their payments directly from ESFA.
If a school or PRU becomes an academy during the academic year their subsequent payments following their conversion will be paid direct by ESFA.
ESFA will allocate RPG to academies based on the rate set out in section 2.
If the resulting allocation for an academy is less than the relevant floor amount in section 2, the allocation will be increased to the floor amount.
5. Terms on which RPG is allocated to academies
The grant may be spent in the following ways:
- for the purposes of the academy, that is, for the educational benefit of pupils registered at that school
- for the benefit of pupils registered at other maintained schools or academies
- on community services whose provision furthers the benefit of pupils at the school
The grant does not have to be completely spent by the academy in the academic year beginning 1 September 2021. Some or all of it may be carried forward to future financial years. Any funding that is carried forward must be spent according to the conditions in this document.
6. Use of evidence
Schools must demonstrate how their decisions on recovery premium spend are informed by research evidence, making reference to a range of sources including the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) toolkit. In line with the EEF’s Pupil Premium guide activities should include those that:
- support the quality of teaching, such as staff professional development
- provide targeted academic support, such as tutoring
- tackle non-academic barriers to success in school, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support
7. Accountability
All academies are required to publish an updated pupil premium strategy annually and your trust funding agreement may contain additional details. All schools are also required to include information on how they have used their recovery premium on the same template. All schools must use the templates to publish their 2021 to 2022 pupil premium and recovery premium strategy, by the end of December 2021.
The Department for Education will undertake monitoring checks on a sample of schools’ published reports. Given their role in ensuring schools spend funding appropriately and in holding schools to account for educational performance, trustees should scrutinise schools’ plans for and use of their pupil premium and recovery premium funding.
8. Pupil numbers used to calculate RPG
ESFA will calculate the allocation using:
- the number of Ever 6 FSM pupils (not eligible for the LAC and post-LAC premium) as well as eligible no recourse to public funds pupils (NRPF)
- post-LAC pupils
For new mainstream and special academies that opened between October 2020 and October 2021, we’ll use the October 2021 school census. For new mainstream and special academies that open after the October 2021 census, we’ll use data from the January 2022 school census.
We’ll use the January 2022 school census for all four instalments for alternative provision academies opened after the January 2021 school census.
New academies that open in the 2021 to 2022 academic year will receive RPG for the proportion of the academic year for which they are open.
Allocations for new academies will be published in April.
New academies will receive their first payment in May, which will include any funding due by that date, and their final instalment in July.
9. Looked-after children (LAC)
ESFA will allocate a provisional amount of £145 to local authorities in September 2021. This amount is per looked-after child (for at least one day) as recorded in the March 2020 children looked-after data return (SSDA903), and aged 4 to 15 as of 31 August 2019.
In future, we’ll update this allocation based on the number of looked-after children (for at least one day) during the year ending March 2021, as recorded in the March 2021 children looked-after data return (SSDA903), and aged 4 to 15 at 31 August 2020.
This will increase to £290 the allocations for LAC pupils in AP/special academies and special units, by matching to the October 2020 school census. Where a looked-after pupil has previously been recorded as claiming free school meals this update may have an impact on some academies’ allocations.
The final payment in June 2022 will be adjusted to match to the October 2021 census, and for alternative provision academies this will adjusted again to match the January 2022 census.
10. Variation
The basis for allocation of grant may be varied by the Secretary of State from those set out above, if requested by the school or local authority.
11. Other terms
If an academy fails to comply with the terms set out in the paragraphs above the Secretary of State may withhold the whole, or any part of, subsequent instalments of the premium paid to the academy.
This will be notified in writing to the school and any such sum that has been notified shall be withheld from subsequent instalments of the premium.
12. Overpayments
Any overpayment of the premium shall be recovered against GAG funding by ESFA on behalf of the Secretary of State.
13. Further information
The books, other documents and records relating to the academy proprietor’s accounts must be made available for inspection by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Comptroller and Auditor General may, under section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness with which the academy proprietor has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.
The academy proprietor must provide such further information as may be required by the Secretary of State for the purpose of determining whether, or to what extent, it has complied with the terms set out in this document.
Failure to provide this information may result in the Secretary of State withholding subsequent instalments of the premium.