Corporate report

School funding reform: next steps towards a fairer system

This publication explains planned reforms to the schools funding system from 2013 to 2014 and how these reforms simplify the funding system.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Documents

School funding reform: next steps towards a fairer system

Details

The way that schools are currently funded locally is highly complex. Whilst receiving broadly equivalent budgets, maintained schools, sponsored academies, converter academies and free schools, University technical colleges (UTCs) and studio schools all have their funding calculated in different ways and these are often based on complicated formulae that take account of many different factors.

There is also lots of variation across the country in the services that are funded centrally. For example, some primary schools receive funding in their budgets for school meals whereas for others, the budget is held centrally by the local authority.

This publication outlines planned reforms to the schools funding system from 2013 to 2014 and how these reforms aim to simplify the funding system. The publication also invites views on areas where there are different options regarding possible reform.

Visit the DfE website for more information about the local authority formula tool

Visit the DfE website for more information about school funding reform

Updates to this page

Published 26 March 2012

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