High needs funding arrangements: 2025 to 2026
Information for local authorities, schools and colleges about high needs funding arrangements for the 2025 to 2026 financial and academic year.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
High needs funding: 2025 to 2026 operational guide
This operational guide:
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helps local authorities plan their 2025 to 2026 financial year high needs funding
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helps schools, colleges and other education providers plan for the 2025 to 2026 financial and academic year
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explains how the high needs funding streams work for all types of provision
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.
High needs place change process
Read the guidance for an overview of the place change process for the 2025 to 2026 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 2025 to 2026 financial year.
High needs place, pupil and student numbers in the school census and individualised learner record (ILR): 2023 to 2024 academic year and 2024 to 2025 academic year
The data workbook shows:
- the number of pupils in special academies and special free schools recorded in the spring 2024 school census. It also shows the place numbers for the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 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 2023 to 2024 ILR R14 data return. It also shows the place numbers for the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 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 2023 to 2024 ILR R14 data return. It also shows the place numbers for the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 academic years (see the ‘SPI actuals & published places’ tab)
High needs place process: alternative provision (AP) free school guidance for 2025 to 2026
Guidance on completing and returning the AP free school high needs places workbook.
Further information
Read the schools operational guide: 2025 to 2026 to help plan the local implementation of the mainstream schools funding system for the 2025 to 2026 financial year.
You can read the national funding formula for schools and high needs policy document for further details of the national funding formula (NFF) allocations for mainstream schools and high needs for 2025 to 2026.
You can view the provisional national funding formula allocation tables for schools, high needs and central school services blocks for 2025 to 2026.
Read the high needs funding 2024 to 2025: operational guide for information about the 2024 to 2025 academic and financial year funding arrangements.
View the high needs: allocated place numbers for a list of allocated high needs place numbers.
Updates to this page
Published 7 October 2024Last updated 17 December 2024 + show all updates
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We have updated the high needs pupil and student numbers for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025.
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We have published the following documents: - High needs funding: 2025 to 2026 operational guide - Special free schools adjustment: a guide for local authorities 2025 to 2026
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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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First published.