PE and sport premium conditions of grant 2015 to 2016: academies and free schools
Updated 22 October 2015
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-2015-to-2016/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-the-academic-year-2015-to-2016-for-academies-and-free-schools
1. Introduction
The primary PE and sport premium 2015 to 2016 (“the premium”) will be paid by the Secretary of State for Education (“Secretary of State”) to the academies and free schools as stated in section 14 of the Education Act 2002. In accordance with Section 16 of that Act, the Secretary of State lays down the following terms and conditions on which financial assistance is given in relation to the premium payable for the academic year 2015 to 2016.
The premium for the 2015 to 2016 academic year is paid in 2 instalments from the Secretary of State to academies and free schools as follows:
| Financial year | 2015 to 2016 academic year: | Payment date |
| 2015 to 2016 | September 2015 to March 2016 | 2 November 2015 |
| 2016 to 2017 | April to August 2016 | 3 May 2016 |
2. Purpose of the premium
The premium must be used to fund additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport, for the benefit of primary-aged pupils, in the 2015 to 2016 academic year, to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles. Information on how much PE and sport premium funding primary schools receive and advice on how to spend it has been published.
3. Basis of allocation
Allocations for the academic year 2015 to 2016 are calculated using the number of pupils in years 1 to 6 , as recorded in the January 2015 census, as follows:
- Schools with 17 or more pupils receive £8,000 plus £5 per pupil
- Schools with 16 or fewer pupils receive £500 per pupil
In the case of a school which has opened or is due to open during the 2015 to 2016 academic year, the above formula will apply based on pupils recorded on the autumn 2015 school census.
4. Terms on which the premium is allocated to schools
The premium must be spent by schools on making additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport for the benefit of all pupils to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles. The Secretary of State does not consider the following expenditure as falling within the scope of additional or sustainable improvement:
- employing coaches or specialist teachers to cover planning preparation and assessment (PPA) arrangements - these should come out of schools’ core staffing budgets
- teaching the minimum requirements of your existing PE curriculum
Academies and free schools must publish, on their website, information about their use of the premium by 4 April 2016. Schools should publish the amount of premium received; a full breakdown of how it has been spent (or will be spent); what impact the school has seen on pupils’ PE and sport participation and attainment and how the improvements will be sustainable in the future. Schools should also consider how their use of the premium is giving pupils the opportunity to develop a healthy, active lifestyle.
5. Variation
The basis for allocation of the premium may be varied by the Secretary of State from those set out above, if so requested by the academy or free school or at the discretion of the Secretary of State.
6. Other conditions
If an academy or free school fails to comply with the conditions set out in the paragraphs above, including but not limited to a school misusing the premium, the Secretary of State may require the repayment of the whole or any part of the premium paid to the academy or free school or the withholding of subsequent instalments of the premium. This will be notified in writing to the school and any such sum that has been notified shall be recovered against general annual grant (GAG) funding by the EFA on behalf of the Secretary of State or withheld from subsequent instalments of the premium. Any such recoveries will be undertaken in line with the academy trust’s funding agreement.
7. Overpayments
Any overpayment of the premium shall be recovered against GAG funding by the EFA on behalf of the Secretary of State.
8. Further information
The books and other documents and records relating to the recipient’s accounts (for the purposes of this grant ”recipient” is the academy or free school) shall be open to inspection by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Comptroller and Auditor General may, pursuant to Section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the recipient has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.
The academy or free school shall 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 conditions set out in this document. Failure to provide this information may result in the Secretary of State requiring repayment of the whole or any part of the premium paid to the academy or free school, according to the method outlined in paragraph 9, or the withholding of subsequent instalments of the premium.