High needs funding arrangements: 2024 to 2025
Information for local authorities, schools and colleges about high needs funding arrangements for the 2024 to 2025 financial and academic year.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
High needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide
Read the operational guide to:
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find out how the high needs funding streams work for all types of provision
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help local authorities plan their 2024 to 2025 financial year high needs funding
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help schools, colleges and providers plan their 2024 to 2025 academic year
Special free schools adjustment: a guide for local authorities
This guide explains how local authorities’ dedicated schools grants (DSG) are adjusted for new and growing special free schools.
Pupil referral unit (PRU) and alternative provision (AP) academy additional funding allocations for 2024 to 2025
This document has been produced to assist local authorities in continuing to make the 3.4% additional allocation to maintained alternative provision (AP) schools (normally referred to as pupil referral units or PRUs) and AP academies (including AP free schools) for financial year 2024 to 2025. This is in accordance with the relevant DSG conditions of grant for 2024 to 2025 (yet to be published) and guidance on implementing that requirement in annex 2 of the high needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide
High needs place change process
Read the guidance for an overview of the place change process for the 2024 to 2025 academic year, including how to determine place numbers and a timeline.
How to complete the high needs place change workbook
Local authorities should use these instructions to help complete the high needs place change workbook for providers in their area.
Hospital education funding: guidance
Read the hospital education funding guidance to find out how local authorities can apply for changes to their hospital education funding for the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
High needs place, pupil and student numbers in the school census and individualised learner record (ILR): 2022 to 2023 academic year
The data workbook shows:
- the number of pupils in special academies and special free schools recorded in the spring 2023 school census. It also shows the place numbers for the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 academic years
- the post-16 high needs student numbers for further education colleges, independent learning providers, 16 to 19 academies and 16 to 19 free schools, as recorded in the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return. It also shows the place numbers for the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 academic years (see the ‘ILR actuals and published places’ tab)
- the post-16 high needs student numbers for special post-16 institutions (SPIs) as recorded in the 2022 to 2023 ILR R14 data return. It also shows the place numbers for the 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 academic years (see the ‘SPI actuals & published places’ tab)
High needs place change request outcomes: 2024 to 2025 academic year
The high needs place change notification outcomes inform the funded place numbers for the 2024 to 2025 academic year in academies, free schools, further education (FE) colleges and independent learning providers.
Local authorities and providers can raise a query with us about their place numbers for the 2024 to 2025 academic year if they are not as expected.
Read the enquiry window section of the high needs place change process document to find out how to submit an enquiry.
The enquiry window opens on Wednesday, 17 January 2024 and closes on Friday, 2 February 2024.
High needs place process: alternative provision (AP) free school guidance for 2024 to 2025
Guidance on completing and returning the AP free school high needs places workbook.
Import/export adjustments 2024 to 2025: for local authorities to notify ESFA of data errors
As with previous years, local authorities can notify us if the January 2024 school census or February 2024 individualised learner record (ILR) R06 data used in the import/export adjustment was incorrect at the time returns were submitted by the school or college. This guidance explains the process for local authorities to notify us of data errors which may impact on their dedicated schools grant funding.
Further information
Read the schools operational guide: 2024 to 2025 to help plan the local implementation of the funding system for the 2024 to 2025 financial year.
Read the high needs funding 2023 to 2024: operational guide for information about the 2023 to 2024 academic and financial year funding arrangements.
You can read the national funding formula for schools and high needs for further details of the NFF funding system for 2024 to 2025.
View the provisional national funding formula allocation tables for schools, high needs and central school services blocks for 2024 to 2025.
View the high needs: allocated place numbers for a list of allocated high needs place numbers.
Updates to this page
Published 17 July 2023Last updated 19 December 2024 + show all updates
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We have updated the 'High needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide to provide reference to the core schools budget grant (CSBG) for 2024 to 2025, in the following sections: - section 3.1 High needs funding allocations to local authorities for 2024 to 2025 - we have added a final paragraph and link to the CSBG 2024 to 2025 GOV.UK page - section 10: Historic teachers' pay and pensions funding - we have added reference to CSBG and included a link to the CSBG 2024 to 2025 GOV.UK page - section 14.5: Maintained special schools, special academies and special free schools: Table 4 - we have updated wording in column 3 for TPAG and TPECG rows. We have also added a row for CSBG funding for 2024 to 2025
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We have updated the high needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide in the following sections: - Section 4: Improving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) - we have amended wording/links, to now direct readers to the overarching Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan GOV.UK page for further information. - Section 13.1: Organising and funding AP - we have combined paragraphs 1 and 2 and removed the link/reference to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan.
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We have now added guidance on the high needs import/export process for 2024 to 2025.
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We have updated the high needs funding 2024 to 2025 operational guide to add section 2.1: March 2024 updates, which details the following updates made to the guide: - further information and links to the teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG 2024) for 2024 to 2025 thoughout the guide, specifically: Section 3.1 High needs funding allocations to local authorities for 2024 to 2025 Section 10: Historic teachers' pay and pensions funding Table 4: Main funding streams for special schools' core staffing anf other running costs - updated Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan information following the Spring Budget 2024 - updated 16 to 19 national funding rate for 2024 to 2025 academic year
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We have updated links throughout the 'High needs funding arrangements: 2024 to 2025' guide to the newly published 'School and Early Years Finance and Childcare (Provision of Information About Young Children)(Amendment)(England) Regulations 2024 ' which came into force 13 February 2024.
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We have confirmed the high needs place change numbers for 2024 to 2025 and the window for local authorities and providers to submit an enquiry.
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We have undertaken a December 2023 update to the high needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide to reflect current policy and to finalise funding arrangements in 2024 to 2025. We have updated the high needs pupil and student numbers for 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024.
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We have added guidance for completing the alternative provision free schools high needs place change data collection return.
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Following the publication of the digital disapplication request form on 11 October we have updated the 'High needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide' in the following sections with links to the digital form and accompanying guidance: - sections 6.1, 16, 16.1 and 17.4
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We have added the high needs place change process for 2024 to 2025; How to complete the place change workbook 2024 to 2025; Hospital education guidance: 2024 to 2025; and High needs pupil numbers in the school census: 2022 to 2023 academic year.
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We've published the 'Special free schools adjustment: a guide for local authorities' and added references/hyperlinks to this within the 'High needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide'.
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First published.