Guidance

Schools block funding formulae 2023 to 2024: Analysis of local authorities’ schools block funding formulae

Published 17 July 2023

Applies to England

1. Summary

This document provides a summary of the local funding formulae submitted by each local authority to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in January 2023. The local formulae specify how each local authority has allocated their dedicated schools grant (DSG) schools block funding for 2023 to 2024.

This document provides charts and brief commentary on the ranges of unit funding amounts authorities have selected in 2023 to 2024, and the proportions of schools block funding distributed under each of the permitted factors.

There is an accompanying datafile, which is explained in the ‘Information about the datafile spreadsheet’ section. Small details of funding formulae may change subsequently, compared to the figures presented here, as a result of late amendments.

Note that in the charts shown throughout the document, the range of values along the x-axis includes the value at the lower end and excludes the maximum value. So, for example, a band labelled 4% to 6% will include values of exactly 4% but will exclude values of exactly 6%.

We also published a summary of local authorities’ funding formulae for 2022 to 2023.

2. Background

This year was the sixth year of the NFF.

The NFF means that school funding is distributed based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. Detailed information about the NFF can be found in the ‘Schools block national funding formula: technical note’.

For 2023 to 2024, each local authority’s schools block DSG allocation was calculated based on the notional NFF allocations for schools in their area. Local authorities then set their own funding formula in order to distribute their schools block allocation. This document provides an overview of the 2023 to 2024 formula factor values chosen by local authorities as of 12 May 2023. For 2023 to 2024, schools are funded using a maximum of 15 factors.

Schools supplementary grant funding was incorporated into core budget allocations for 2023 to 2024, having previously been allocated to schools as a separate grant in 2022 to 2023. This meant that funding was rolled into the schools national funding formula (NFF) for 2023 to 2024, leading to an increase in unit values for the factors included in the report.

3. Main points

Overall, the data reflects further progress towards the NFF in its sixth year. When allowing for the area cost adjustment (ACA)^{[footnote 1]} it shows that, of 151^{[footnote 2]} local authorities in England, 106 have moved every one of their factor values in their local formulae to within 2.5% of NFF values^{[footnote 3]}. All local authorities were compliant with the tightening requirements that were set for 2023 to 2024, on each of the mandatory factors.

There are 133 local authorities that have set their minimum funding guarantee (MFG) to mirror the minimum 0.5% per-pupil increase in funding provided through the NFF funding floor.

Excluding City of London and Isles of Scilly, the data also reflects that 150 local authorities have delivered the minimum per-pupil funding levels of £4,405 per pupil for primary schools, and £5,715 per pupil for secondary schools. The exception was Kent, who gained approval to set a lower value in the context of their safety valve agreement.

4. Commentary

This chapter looks at each of the principal formula factors in turn. It sets out:

• the values local authorities have chosen for those factors in their local formulae
• how these have changed from previous years
• where relevant, how they compare to the values in the NFF, as set out in the ‘Schools block national funding formula: technical note’
• the proportion of funding allocated through each factor.

Comparisons to the NFF are not precise, due to the effect of the ACA, which reflects variation in local costs. Individual factor values in the NFF do not include the impact of the ACA, which is applied (at a rate of 1 to 1.189) as a separate element within the overall NFF calculation. By contrast, the values of factors in local authorities’ local formulae implicitly include the effect of the ACA.

5. Basic per-pupil funding

This is a mandatory factor which every local authority must use in their 2023 to 2024 formula. Local authorities are permitted to choose different basic entitlement rates for primary pupils, for key stage 3 (KS3) pupils and for key stage 4 (KS4) pupils.

The majority (72%) of primary amounts selected by local authorities are in the range of £3,250 to £3,500, although there are a few significant outliers of over £4,000. 19 of the 20 local authorities with the highest primary amounts are in London. The distribution of the primary amounts shows further movement towards the NFF rate of £3,394.

The NFF primary per-pupil value increased from £3,217 in 2022 to 2023 to £3,394 in 2023 to 2024. Many local authorities that were following the NFF values in 2022 to 2023 have, therefore, followed this approach in their local formulae in 2023 to 2024, meaning that when ACA is included the majority of local authorities have allocated between £3,250 and £3,500.

5.1 Figure 1: basic entitlement primary

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
£3,000 to £3,250	0	90
£3,250 to £3,500	109	30
£3,500 to £3,750	22	13
£3,750 to £4,000	7	9
£4,000 to £4,250	7	5
£4,250 to £4,500	5	1
£4,500 to £4,750	2	2
£4,750 to £5,000	0	0
Above £5,000	1	2

The distribution of the KS3 and KS4 amounts shows a move towards the NFF rates of £4,785 and £5,393. For KS3 basic entitlement, 68% of local authorities are allocating between £4,750 and £5,000 per pupil, and for KS4, 70% are allocating between £5,250 and £5,500 per pupil. Again, the local authorities with the largest secondary basic entitlement amounts are mostly in London.

The NFF KS3 per-pupil value increased from £4,536 in 2022 to 2023 to £4,785 in 2023 to 2024, and for KS4 they increased from £5,112 to £5,393. Many local authorities that were following the NFF values in 2022 to 2023 have, therefore, followed this approach in their local formulae in 2023 to 2024, bringing their primary per-pupil value above £4,750 for KS3 and £5,250 for KS4 when ACA is included.

5.2 Figure 2: basic entitlement KS3

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
£4,000 to £4,250	0	0
£4,250 to £4,500	0	7
£4,500 to £4,750	11	104
£4,750 to £5,000	104	17
£5,000 to £5,250	13	9
£5,250 to £5,500	11	7
£5,500 to £5,750	6	2
£5,750 to £6,000	2	2
£6,000 to £6,250	3	1
£6,250 to £6,500	0	2
Above £6,500	3	1

5.3 Figure 3: basic entitlement KS4

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
£4,750 to £5,000	0	4
£5,000 to £5,250	0	99
£5,250 to £5,500	107	14
£5,500 to £5,750	11	15
£5,750 to £6,000	15	5
£6,000 to £6,250	6	8
£6,250 to £6,500	6	3
Above £6,500	8	4

Across all local authorities, 135 are mirroring the NFF basic entitlement almost exactly when adjusted for ACA. 137 have used a value within 2.5% of the NFF values of £3,394 for primary, 143 within 2.5% of the NFF KS3 value of £4,785 and 139 within 2.5% of the NFF KS4 value of £5,393).

Figure 4, shows the proportion of schools block funding that local authorities are allocating through the basic per-pupil funding factor. Overall, the proportion of funding being allocated through the basic entitlement ranges from 62% to 85%, with 83% of local authorities allocating between 70% and 80%. Across all local authorities, 74.2% of funding is being allocated through basic entitlement, compared to 74.3% of funding in the 2022 to 2023 formulae and 75.5% in the NFF.

5.4 Figure 4: percentage of funding through basic per pupil funding

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Less than 60%	0	0
60% to 65%	1	1
65% to 70%	17	15
70% to 75%	79	71
75% to 80%	47	57
80% to 85%	9	8
85% to 90%	0	0
90% to 95%	0	0
95% to 100%	0	0

6. Free school meals (FSM)

FSM became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023 the factor was optional and 151 local authorities chose to use it.

The majority (72%) of primary amounts selected by local authorities are in the range of £250 to £500, although there are a few significant outliers of over £1,000. The distribution of the primary amounts shows further movement towards the NFF rate of £480.

6.1 Figure 5: primary free school meals

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	7
Below £250	6	3
£250 to £500	110	113
£500 to £750	33	24
£750 to £1,000	2	0
Above £1,000	2	5

The majority (73%) of secondary amounts selected by local authorities are in the range of £250 to £500, although there are a few significant outliers of over £1,000. The distribution of the secondary amounts shows further movement towards the NFF rate of £480.

6.2 Figure 6: secondary free school meals

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	6
Below £250	5	3
£250 to £500	112	115
£500 to £750	32	23
£750 to £1,000	2	1
Above £1,000	2	4

Figure 7, shows the proportion of schools block funding that local authorities are allocating through the FSM factor. Overall, the proportion of funding being allocated through the FSM ranges from 0.1% to 10%, with 84% of local authorities allocating between 1% and 3%. Across all local authorities, 2.1% of funding is being allocated through the FSM factor, compared to 2.1% of funding in the 2022 to 2023 formulae and 2% in the NFF.

6.3 Figure 7: percentage of funding through free school meals

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	6
0% to 1%	6	6
1% to 2%	62	61
2% to 3%	66	61
3% to 4%	16	14
4% to 5%	0	0
Above 5%	3	4

7. Free school meals ever 6 (FSM6)

This factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023 the factor was optional and 149 local authorities chose to use it.

The majority (75%) of primary amounts selected by local authorities are in the range of £500 to £750, although there are a few significant outliers of over £1,000. The distribution of the primary amounts shows further movement towards the NFF rate of £705.

7.1 Figure 8: primary FSM6

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	3
Below £250	2	2
£250 to £500	2	4
£500 to £750	115	136
£750 to £1,000	30	3
Above £1,000	4	4

The majority (94%) of secondary amounts selected by local authorities are in the range of £1,000 to £1,500. The distribution of the primary amounts shows further movement towards the NFF rate of £1,030.

7.2 Figure 9: secondary FSM6

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	3
Below £500	2	3
£500 to £1,000	6	132
£1,000 to £1,500	144	12
Above £1,500	1	2

Figure 10, shows the proportion of schools block funding that local authorities are allocating through the FSM6 factor. Overall, the proportion of funding being allocated through FSM6 ranges from 0.3% to 10%, with 58% of local authorities allocating between 3% and 5%. Across all local authorities, 3.9% of funding is being allocated through basic entitlement, compared to 3.4% of funding in the 2022 to 2023 formulae and 4% in the NFF.

7.3 Figure 10: percentage of funding through FSM6

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	3
0% to 1%	1	2
1% to 2%	3	3
2% to 3%	29	46
3% to 4%	40	50
4% to 5%	49	30
Above 5%	31	18

8. Deprivation

There are three mandatory deprivation factors that every local authority must use in their 2023 to 2024 formula. Local authorities must distribute their deprivation funding using a combination of the 3 indicators:

• children eligible for FSM
• children eligible for FSM in any of the last 6 years
• Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) data.

Before 2023 to 2024, local authorities could choose to allocate deprivation funding through any combination of the three factors. 2023 to 2024 is the first year when all 3 deprivation factors are mandatory in local formulae.

IDACI ranks are taken from the English Indices of deprivation (IoD) for 2019 published by what was the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. IDACI is a measure of income deprivation and identifies the proportion of children in out-of-work households or on low incomes.

Since 2021 to 2022 we have used 2019 data from the IDACI in place of 2015 data. Pupils are assigned to IDACI bands based on rank rather than score. For example, band A consists of pupils in the most deprived 2.5% of lower super output areas (LSOAs). The size of each of the bands was created for 2021 to 2022 and they were set to maintain a similar proportion of pupils nationally in each band as there were in 2020 to 2021.

The IDACI scores are grouped into 7 bands as per the table below:

IDACI rank	IDACI band value
1 to 821	A
822 to 2,463	B
2,463 to 4,105	C
4,106 to 5,747	D
5,748 to 9,032	E
9,033 to 12,316	F
Over 12,316	G

Figure 11 indicates that there is some variation between local authorities in the amount of funding allocated through this element of the factor. Overall, the proportion of funding being allocated through IDACI is 3.5%, the same as in 2022 to 2023. This compares to 3.8% distributed through the factor in the NFF.

8.1 Figure 11: percentage of funding allocated through the IDACI factor

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	1	2
0% to 2%	32	32
2% to 4%	53	53
4% to 6%	47	44
6% to 8%	20	21
8% to 10%	0	0
Above 10%	0	0

Because of the 3 different deprivation factors, it is not immediately straightforward to calculate per-pupil funding amounts on a comparable basis. For the purpose of this analysis, total funding allocated through the 3 deprivation factors is divided by the number of pupils eligible for FSM, to obtain an estimate of the deprivation funding per FSM pupil.

Figure 12 indicates that there is some variation between local authorities in the amount of deprivation funding allocated per FSM pupil, although 98% are allocating between £1,500 and £3,000 per FSM pupil.

8.2 Figure 12: total explicit deprivation funding per FSM pupil unit

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Below £1,000	0	0
£1,000 to £1,250	1	1
£1,250 to £1,500	0	2
£1,500 to £1,750	5	14
£1,750 to £2,000	27	39
£2,000 to £2,250	42	46
£2,250 to £2,500	51	35
£2,500 to £2,750	18	11
£2,750 to £3,000	7	3
£3,000 to £3,250	2	0
£3,250 to £3,500	0	0
Above £3,500	0	1

There is considerable variation in the proportion of schools block funding which local authorities are allocating to schools through the deprivation factors, ranging from 0.4% to 17.8%.

There is some variation in allocation within local authorities from last year, but across all local authorities, the allocation has increased to 9.6% in 2023 to 2024 compared with 9% in 2022 to 2023 and 9.8% in the NFF.

8.3 Figure 13: percentage of funding allocated through the deprivation factor

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	0
0% to 2%	1	2
2% to 4%	2	3
4% to 6%	20	24
6% to 8%	28	29
8% to 10%	24	29
10% to 12%	36	31
12% to 14%	23	18
14% to 16%	11	13
16% to 18%	8	3
18% to 20%	0	0
Above 20%	0	0

9. Low prior attainment

This factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024 for all local authorities; previously this was an optional factor.

For primary pupils, the indicator is the number of children in years 1 to 6 assessed under the new early years foundation stage profile as not achieving a good level of development.

For secondary pupils, a new national curriculum and assessment was introduced in the 2015 to 2016 academic year, which all years have now been assessed under. The proportion of pupils who fall into the low prior attainment bracket is higher for higher year groups, so a national weighting has been applied to each of these years to prevent them overly influencing the funding levels. Separate weightings have been applied to each year. Please see section 10 of the ‘Schools operational guide 2023 to 2024’ for further details.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, no national tests were carried out in 2020 or 2021, so for pupils in years 2, 3, 8 and 9, no assessment data was available. In this case, the relevant 2019 assessment data for the school was used as a proxy for the proportion of eligible pupils. Where a school had no pupils that were assessed in 2019, local authorities could use the 2022 assessment data as a proxy for the missing cohort, or the corresponding local authority average ratios for 2019.

The distribution of the low prior attainment rates for both primary (figure 14) and secondary pupils (figure 15) show further movement towards the NFF values of £1,155 and £1,750 respectively.

There are 133 local authorities mirroring the NFF on low prior attainment (134 have selected a primary value within 2.5% of the NFF value of £1,155 and 134 have selected a secondary value within 2.5% of the NFF value of £1,750).

9.1 Figure 14: primary low prior attainment — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Below £500	1	1
£500 to £750	2	5
£750 to £1,000	5	7
£1,000 to £1,250	116	123
£1,250 to £1,500	27	13
£1,500 to £1,750	0	1
£1,750 to £2,000	1	1
Above £2,000	1	1

9.2 Figure 15: secondary low prior attainment — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Below £1,000	3	5
£1,000 to £1,250	0	1
£1,250 to £1,500	2	2
£1,500 to £1,750	14	106
£1,750 to £2,000	122	29
£2,000 to £2,250	10	7
£2,250 to £2,500	0	0
Above £2,500	2	2

Figure 16 shows that 92% of local authorities are allocating between 5% and 10% of their schools block funding through this factor, compared with 93% last year. Across all local authorities, the percentage of funding allocated through the factor is 6.3%, the same as in 2022 to 2023 and 6.4% in the 2023 to 2024 NFF.

9.3 Figure 16: percentage of funding allocated through the low prior attainment factor

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	0
0% to 1%	0	0
1% to 2%	0	0
2% to 3%	2	4
3% to 4%	5	4
4% to 5%	5	7
5% to 6%	33	30
6% to 7%	90	78
7% to 8%	17	27
8% to 9%	0	1
9% to 10%	1	0
Above 10%	0	1

10. English as an additional language (EAL)

This factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. In previous years, local authorities had a choice of indicator datasets they could use for this factor. However, for 2023 to 2024 it was mandatory to use the same data as the NFF, on the number of pupils with EAL who entered the compulsory school system in the last 3 years. However, all except a handful of authorities were already using this dataset for the EAL factor anyway.

For 2023 to 2024 it is also mandatory for local authorities to use EAL3, which is the number of pupils with EAL who entered the compulsory school system in the last 3 years.

For the primary indicator, 94% of local authorities are allocating between £500 and £750 per pupil. For the secondary indicator 84% are allocating between £1,500 and £1,750 per pupil.

There are 133 local authorities mirroring both the primary and secondary NFF value for EAL (136 have selected a value within 2.5% of the NFF primary EAL value of £580 and 135 have selected a value within 2.5% of the NFF secondary EAL value of £1,565).

10.1 Figure 17: primary EAL — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	1
Below £250	1	0
£250 to £500	7	5
£500 to £750	144	143
£750 to £1,000	1	2
Above £1,000	0	1

10.2 Figure 18: secondary EAL — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	2
Below £1,000	4	3
£1,000 to £1,250	2	2
£1,250 to £1,500	2	5
£1,500 to £1,750	129	127
£1,750 to £2,000	14	11
£2,000 to £2,250	1	1
£2,250 to £2,500	0	0
Above £2,500	1	1

Fewer pupils attract funding through the EAL factor than through many other factors. Across all local authorities, just 1% of funding was allocated through this factor, almost unchanged from 2022 to 2023 and the same as in the 2023 to 2024 NFF.

10.3 Figure 19: percentage of funding allocated through the EAL factor

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	1
0% to 1%	82	86
1% to 2%	46	42
2% to 3%	19	18
3% to 4%	6	5
4% to 5%	0	0
Above 5%	0	0

11. Mobility

This factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023 the factor was optional and 128 local authorities chose to use it.

Most local authorities have used values close to the NFF values of £925 for primary pupils and £1,330 for secondary. There are 127 local authorities mirroring the NFF on low prior attainment when the ACA adjustment is accounted for (127 have selected a primary value within 2.5% of the NFF value of £945 and 128 have selected a secondary value within 2.5% of the NFF value of £1,360).

The indicator for this factor is the number of pupils with a non-typical^{[footnote 4]} entry date in the last 3 years and it is payable when the number of pupils exceed 6% (for example, if a school has 10% mobile pupils, funding is applied to 4%).

Primary per-pupil amounts range from £98 to £2,000, and the secondary per-pupil amounts from £140 to £2,000.

11.1 Figure 20: primary mobility — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	24
Below £250	10	1
£250 to £500	1	1
£500 to £750	1	2
£750 to £1,000	111	98
£1,000 to £1,250	29	24
£1,250 to £1,500	0	0
£1,500 to £1,750	0	1
£1,750 to £2,000	1	0
Above £2,000	0	1

11.2 Figure 21: secondary mobility — per-pupil values chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	24
Below £250	7	1
£250 to £500	2	0
£500 to £750	1	1
£750 to £1,000	0	1
£1,000 to £1,250	3	2
£1,250 to £1,500	125	108
£1,500 to £1,750	14	13
£1,750 to £2,000	1	1
Above £2,000	0	1

Only one local authority allocated more than 0.5% of their schools block funding through the mobility factor, and only 16 are allocating more than 0.25%. Across all local authorities, 0.13% of schools block funding is being allocated through this factor, compared to 0.11% in 2022 to 2023 and 0.1% in the 2023 to 2024 NFF.

11.3 Figure 22: percentage of funding allocated through the mobility factor

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	1	24
0% to 0.25%	136	116
0.25% to 0.5%	15	11
Above 0.5%	1	1

12. Total funding through the pupil-led factors

Basic per-pupil entitlement, the 3 deprivation factors, prior attainment, EAL, and mobility are pupil-led factors in 2023 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023 looked-after children could also be used to allocate pupil-led funding in the local formulae.

Although there is considerable variation across local authorities in the per-pupil amounts and the proportions of funding allocated through each factor, overall there is strong consistency in the proportions of funding allocated through the pupil-led factors as a whole.

12.1 Figure 23: local authority level percentage of funding allocated through pupil-led factors

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Below 80%	0	0
80% to 82%	0	0
82% to 84%	0	0
84% to 86%	3	3
86% to 88%	5	12
88% to 90%	25	31
90% to 92%	42	43
92% to 94%	65	55
94% to 96%	13	8
96% to 98%	0	0
98% to 100%	0	0

A requirement for the 2023 to 2024 formulae is that each local authority must allocate a minimum of 80% of schools block funding through these pupil-led factors^{[footnote 5]}.

All local authorities are allocating more than 80% of their funding through a combination of the pupil-led factors, the lowest being 84.2%. In total 86% of local authorities are allocating between 88% and 94% of their funding through these factors.

Across all local authorities, a total of 91.57% of funding in 2023 to 2024 formulae is being allocated through the pupil-led factors. This compares to 91.15% in 2022 to 2023.

Figure 24 shows the percentage of funding allocated through pupil-led factors since 2013 to 2014. Note that the table runs from 89% to 92%.

12.2 Figure 24: national level percentage of funding allocated through pupil-led factors

Year	Percentage
2013 to 2014	89.5%
2014 to 2015	89.6%
2015 to 2016	89.7%
2016 to 2017	89.8%
2017 to 2018	89.6%
2018 to 2019	90.6%
2019 to 2020	90.5%
2020 to 2021	90.4%
2021 to 2022	90.9%
2022 to 2023	91.2%
2023 to 2024	91.6%

13. Lump sum

The lump sum factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. In 2022 to 2023 the factor was optional.

In the 2023 to 2024 formulae, local authorities must use this factor to allocate a lump sum of the same amount to all schools of the same phase, up to a maximum of £175,000. Separate lump sums can be specified for primary schools and secondary schools. All-through schools receive the lump sum specified for secondary schools. Middle schools receive a weighted combination of the 2, based on the number of year groups of each phase present at the school. For a school which amalgamated during the 2022 to 2023 financial year, local authorities must allocate it additional lump sum funding, so that it receives 85% of the combined lump sums that its predecessors would have received under the 2023 to 2024 formula.

13.1 Figure 25: primary lump sum — amounts chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Up to £100k	0	2
£100k to £110k	1	2
£110k to £120k	2	1
£120k to £130k	99	109
£130k to £140k	22	21
£140k to £150k	14	7
£150k to £160k	9	2
£160k to £170k	2	1
Over £170k	4	7

13.2 Figure 26: secondary lump sum — amounts chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Up to £100k	1	4
£100k to £110k	1	2
£110k to £120k	2	1
£120k to £130k	100	109
£130k to £140k	20	20
£140k to £150k	13	6
£150k to £160k	9	2
£160k to £170k	2	0
Over £170k	5	8

Although the lump sum was an optional factor in 2022 to 2023, all local authorities chose to include it in their 2023 to 2024 funding formulae^{[footnote 6]}.

There has been a continued shift in the distribution of the lump sum values used, with more local authorities choosing to use the NFF amount of £128,000 or a value close to it. However, there is still substantial variation in the value of the lump sums selected for both primary and secondary schools. The maximum value of £175,000 was chosen by 2 local authorities for their primary lump sum amount and 3 for their secondary lump sum (this compares with 5 selecting the maximum primary lump sum and 6 the maximum secondary lump sum in 2022 to 2023). When adjusted for ACA the NFF rate of £128,000 has been used by 93 local authorities for primary schools and 92 local authorities for secondary schools compared with 84 for primary and 85 for secondary in 2022 to 2023 using the NFF rate of £121,300.

There are 130 local authorities mirroring the NFF on the lump sum (133 have selected a primary lump sum value within 2.5% of the NFF lump sum of £128,000 and 131 have selected a secondary lump sum value within 2.5% of the NFF).

There are 147 local authorities that have selected equal primary and secondary lump sum amounts, which is the approach taken in the NFF. There are 2 who have selected a greater secondary lump sum than primary; and a further 4 have selected a greater primary lump sum than secondary.

Note that in figures 25 and 26, the lump sum choices with exactly a multiple of £10,000 are shown in the category for which that is the top of the band. For example, a local authority with a primary lump sum of £140,000 would be included in the ‘£130k to £140k’ category.

Overall, local authorities are allocating roughly the same proportion of their schools block funding through the lump sum factor this year: 6.3% compared to 6.4% last year. The NFF allocates 6.4% of funding through the lump sum in 2023 to 2024.

13.3 Figure 27: percentage of funding allocated through the lump sum

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	0
0% to 2%	0	0
2% to 4%	5	8
4% to 6%	81	73
6% to 8%	48	52
8% to 10%	15	17
10% to 12%	4	2
Above 12%	0	0

14. Sparsity

Whether a school is deemed to be sparse depends on 2 considerations:

• its sparsity distance
• the average number of pupils per year group

A school’s sparsity distance is derived from those pupils for whom it is their closest school (irrespective of whether they attend it). For all those pupils, the average distance to their second nearest school is calculated. Since 2022 to 2023 road distances are used. These were calculated using the postcode of each pupil and their second closest school they are eligible to attend, as determined by road distances. For 2021 to 2022 and earlier straight-line distances were used.

The sparsity factor may be applied to schools where the average distance to pupils’ second nearest school is at least 2 miles (for primary schools, middle schools and all through schools) or 3 miles (for secondary schools). Schools must also have an average number of pupils per year group no larger than:

• 21.4 pupils for primary schools
• 120 pupils for secondary schools
• 69.2 pupils for middle schools
• 62.5 pupils for all-through schools

Local authorities can narrow the eligibility criteria for the factor by increasing the average distance to the second nearest school and/or reducing the average pupil number maximum thresholds, but they cannot widen the eligibility criteria.

Local authorities can set different sparsity lump sum amounts for each of these 4 phases of school, up to a maximum of £100,000 per school. They can also choose in each case whether to apply a ‘taper’ so that the funding given to a sparse school depends on how many pupils they have (so that the smaller schools receive higher sparsity funding) or that all sparse schools receive the same specified sparsity lump sum. Local authorities are also allowed to apply to use the rules set out in the ‘Schools block national funding formula: technical note’. Where the school has more pupils than half of the year group threshold, a weighting is applied to the lump sum amount meaning affected schools only receive a portion of the lump sum.

From 2022 to 2023 an optional distance taper was also introduced which entitles those schools up to 20% below the distance threshold to a reduced sparsity lump sum if they also meet the pupil number threshold. The amount they are entitled to is tapered based on the difference between their actual sparsity distance and their distance threshold. For example, where a local authority is using the default 3-mile distance threshold for secondary schools a secondary school with a sparsity distance of 2.7 miles would be entitled to 50% of the sparsity lump sum.

Additional sparsity funding of £50,000 can also be allocated to very small, sparse secondary schools.

14.1 Figure 28: primary sparsity lump sum — amounts chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	76
£0 to £10k	26	3
£10k to £20k	2	0
£20k to £30k	1	2
£30k to £40k	2	0
£40k to £50k	2	4
£50k to £60k	99	64
£60k to £70k	19	2
£70k to £80k	1	0
£80k to £90k	0	0
£90k to £100k	1	1

14.2 Figure 29: secondary sparsity lump sum — amounts chosen

Per-pupil amounts	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Not chosen	0	77
£0 to £10k	12	0
£10k to £20k	14	0
£20k to £30k	0	1
£30k to £40k	1	0
£40k to £50k	1	2
£50k to £60k	2	0
£60k to £70k	1	3
£70k to £80k	2	48
£80k to £90k	103	19
£90k to £100k	17	2

The sparsity factor became mandatory in 2023 to 2024. The factor was optional in 2022 to 2023 and 76 local authorities chose to use it.

Of the 73 local authorities that have sparse schools, 65 are using primary and secondary sparsity lump sums within 2.5% of the NFF values.

Of those that have sparse schools, the proportion of their schools block funding which they are allocating through is up to 2.2%. Across all local authorities, 0.22% of funding has been allocated through this factor, equal to the percentage of funding in the 2022 to 2023 formulae and compared to 2% in the 2023 to 2024 NFF.

14.3 Figure 30: percentage of funding allocated through the sparsity lump sum

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	74	87
0% to 0.1%	31	20
0.1% to 0.2%	7	6
0.2% to 0.3%	11	10
0.3% to 0.4%	5	6
0.4% to 0.5%	4	4
0.5% to 0.6%	2	3
0.6% to 0.7%	1	0
0.7% to 0.8%	4	3
0.8% to 0.9%	3	1
0.9% to 1%	2	4
Above 1%	9	8

15. Minimum per-pupil funding levels (MPPL)

The NFF provides local authorities with a guaranteed minimum per-pupil funding of £4,405 for primary pupils, £5,503 for KS3 pupils, £6,033 for KS4 pupils (which amounts to £5,715 for secondary pupils in schools with pupils in all 5 secondary year groups) in 2023 to 2024, based on the school’s total core funding.

In 2023 to 2024, local authorities must use this factor to set a guaranteed MPPL. The per-pupil values are also mandatory.

15.1 Figure 31: percentage of funding allocated through the MPPL

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	29	24
0% to 0.25%	37	17
0.25% to 0.5%	31	20
0.5% to 0.75%	24	21
0.75% to 1%	13	19
1% to 1.25%	11	14
1.25% to 1.5%	2	5
1.5% to 1.75%	5	13
1.75% to 2%	0	5
2% to 2.25%	0	5
2.25% to 2.5%	1	5
2.5% to 2.75%	0	1
2.75% to 3%	0	2
Above 3%	0	1

Although every local authority is required to use the factor, only 124 actually allocated funding through it. This is because all schools in the other 29 local authorities were already receiving over the minimum level through the other funding factors. Overall, only 19 local authorities allocated more than 1% of their funding through the MPPL factor compared to 51 in 2022 to 2023.

16. Other formula factors

Information for each local authority on the formula factors not discussed in this note (London fringe, split sites, rates, private finance initiative (PFI) funding, and exceptional circumstances) can be found in the accompanying datafile.

17. Primary: secondary funding ratios

Local authorities’ 2023 to 2024 schools block funding formulae have been used to calculate the relative differences in per-pupil funding allocated to secondary pupils compared to primary pupils. For instance, a ratio of 1:1.24 indicates that secondary age pupils in a local authority receive, on average, 24% more funding per head than primary age pupils.

With the exception of the City of London, which has a single maintained primary school (and no secondary pupils), the ratios of secondary to primary per-pupil funding under 2023 to 2024 formulae are shown in figure 32.

17.1 Figure 32: primary: secondary ratios: 1 to x

1:x	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Up to 1.15	1	1
1.15 to 1.20	4	4
1.20 to 1.25	16	16
1.25 to 1.30	50	59
1.30 to 1.35	57	48
1.35 to 1.40	20	19
1.40 to 1.45	3	3
1.45 to 1.50	0	0
Above 1.50	1	1

The overall ratio nationally across all local authorities is 1:1.296, a slight increase from the 2022 to 2023 formulae where it was 1:1.293. For 7 local authorities, their ratio in 2023 to 2024 has decreased by more than 0.01 compared with last year, while for 15 local authorities, their ratio has increased by more than 0.01. For the remaining 130 local authorities, their ratio changed by less than 0.01 either way.

These ratios have been calculated for each local authority from the information they submitted to ESFA as follows:

1. The funding for primary pupils and funding for secondary pupils is split. For the factors with separate primary and secondary indicators (for example, basic entitlement and deprivation); this split is simply the amount of funding allocated through each type of indicator. For the other factors, the amount of funding allocated to each school in the local authority area is split between primary and secondary in proportion to the number of pupils in each phase at the school.
2. These amounts are aggregated to estimate the total funding for primary pupils and the total funding for secondary pupils.
3. These amounts are then divided, respectively, by the number of primary schools block-funded pupils on roll, and the number of secondary schools block-funded pupils on roll.
4. This gives per-pupil funding amounts for primary and secondary phases, and the ratio of the 2 is taken.

This calculation excludes the effects on schools’ funding of applying the MFG and excludes any capping or scaling factors applied by local authorities. This ensures that the total funding allocated through their formulae is affordable within the total DSG schools block they have been allocated for financial year 2023 to 2024. For academies, the calculation is based on the amount of schools block funding they would receive in 2023 to 2024 if they were a maintained school.

18. Minimum funding guarantee (MFG)

The MFG protects the per-pupil funding of schools from one year to the next. For 2023 to 2024 local authorities can set a rate between 0% and 0.5%. This allows local authorities to mirror the NFF funding floor protection of 0.5%, which 135 local authorities chose to do.

In 2022 to 2023 local authorities could select an MFG threshold between 0.5% and 2% whereas the NFF funding floor threshold was 2%

All local authorities are required to set an MFG threshold of at least 0%, meaning that schools will not see a decrease in their per-pupil level of funding in 2023 to 2024. Figure 33 shows that only 18, or 12%, of local authorities have chosen an MFG threshold below the NFF funding floor of 0.5%.

18.1 Figure 33: MFG threshold values chosen

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0% to 0.5%	18	0
0.5% to 1%	135	27
1% to 1.5%	0	15
1.5% to 2%	0	14
2% or above	0	96

19. Notional special educational needs (SEN)

Funding for notional SEN is not a separate formula factor. In their funding formulae for 2023 to 2024, local authorities specify what percentage of funding allocated through each factor contributes to schools notional SEN budget.

Figure 34 shows how, at overall local authority level, the notional SEN budget in 2023 to 2024 varies as a percentage of the total schools block formula allocation (before the application of MFG, capping and scaling). Some 115 (75%) local authorities are allocating between 5% and 15% of schools block funding as notional SEN.

The overall percentage of formula allocation which is designated as the notional SEN budget across all local authorities is 11.5%, compared to 11.3% in 2022 to 2023. The median notional SEN allocation is 11%. However, as figure 34 shows, like last year there is a wide variation across local authorities.

19.1 Figure 34: percentage of funding allocated to notional SEN

Percentage	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
0%	0	0
0% to 5%	9	9
5% to 7.5%	21	22
7.5% to 10%	34	34
10% to 12.5%	39	39
12.5% to 15%	21	24
15% to 17.5%	19	16
17.5% to 20%	6	5
Above 20%	4	3

Figure 35 shows the number of local authorities for which each factor is being used to determine schools’ notional SEN budgets. In the 2023 to 2024 formulae, the deprivation factors are the most commonly contributing to notional SEN with all 153 local authorities using it.

The majority of local authorities are also assigning a percentage of their basic entitlement and prior attainment funding into notional SEN. For the formula factors not displayed on the chart (such as split sites) only a few local authorities are using these for notional SEN. Full details on the use of factors to calculate notional SEN in 2023 to 2024 can be found in the accompanying data.

Overall, the pattern of factors used to calculate notional SEN is similar to 2022 to 2023.

19.2 Figure 35: formula factors used to allocate notional SEN

Factor	2023 to 2024	2022 to 2023
Basic entitlement	122	138
Deprivation	153	152
English as an additional language	43	100
Looked-after children	0	9
Prior attainment	148	148
Mobility	33	96
Lump sum	31	95
Sparsity	6	3
MPPF	15	14
MFG	10	10

20. Growth fund

Subject to the approval of their schools forum, local authorities are able to retain some of their schools block funding centrally (that is, rather than allocate it to their individual schools) for a growth fund. This can only be used:

• for the purposes of supporting growth in pre-16 pupil numbers to meet basic need pressures
• to support additional classes needed to meet the infant class size regulation
• to meet the costs of new schools

Local authorities must use the fund on the same basis for the benefit of both maintained schools and academies in their area.

Of the 153 local authorities, 132 are retaining a growth fund in 2023 to 2024, compared with 133 in 2022 to 2023. The total value of these growth funds is £138.3 million compared with £145.7 million in 2022 to 2023. Growth fund amounts for individual local authorities range from £326.17 to £8.2 million. It is worth noting that local authorities may also be spending on growth by adding pupil numbers to individual schools.

21. Falling rolls fund

Local authorities were also able to retain funding centrally to support schools currently experiencing falling rolls to prepare for an expected future population bulge, again subject to the approval of their schools forum. The falling rolls fund should be restricted to population increases expected in 2 to 3 years in necessary schools which are classed by Ofsted as good or outstanding.

Only 20 local authorities are retaining a falling rolls fund in their 2023 to 2024 formulae, with a total value of £6.9 million compared to 23 local authorities allocating £10.1 million in 2022 to 2023. Falling rolls fund amounts for individual local authorities range from £8,836.76 to £1.5 million.

22. Information about the datafile spreadsheet

Alongside this document, we have published a detailed datafile in Microsoft Excel format showing the 2023 to 2024 funding formula used by each local authority, as they stood at 14 April 2023.

23. ‘Proforma’ tab

This shows the full data for a selected local authority. Go to the purple cell near the top of the page next to the ‘LA Name’ label, then select a new local authority from the dropdown menu.

24. ‘Final MI data 2024’ tab

This gives the proforma data values for each local authority in a large table, using these column headings.

25. MPPL

The amounts of the guaranteed MPPL for primary, KS3, KS4 and secondary pupils.

26. Reception uplift

Which local authorities have opted to increase the count of primary pupils to which the basic entitlement primary indicator applies, to include pupils with deferred entry into reception later in the year. The other column in this section shows the number of pupils this applies to.

27. Basic entitlement

This section shows:

• the per-pupil funding amounts local authorities have chosen for the primary and secondary indicators in their 2023 to 2024 formulae
• the number of pupils in mainstream maintained schools and academies in the local authority as a whole, to which each indicator applies
• the total amount of schools block funding allocated to maintained schools and academies through each factor
• the proportion of schools block funding allocated through the FSM, FSM6 and IDACI factors.
• the proportion of the factor’s funding which contributes towards notional SEN budgets

28. Deprivation, prior attainment, EAL, mobility

These sections also show the per-pupil amounts chosen, the number of pupils, the total/proportion of funding allocated to schools through the FSM, FSM6 and IDACI factors, and contribution to notional SEN budgets.

29. Lump sum

Lump sum funding is shown in 2 places in the datafile:

1. in the group of columns called ‘lump sum’ (most funding through the lump sum factor is shown here)
2. in the ‘Exceptional circumstances’ section, in columns 2 to 5 (all of which have a column title ‘Additional lump sum’)

The data in ‘Exceptional circumstances’ relates specifically to additional lump sum funding which local authorities are allocating to schools which amalgamated during the 2022 to 2023 financial year. As explained previously, local authorities must allocate such schools additional lump sum funding, so that they receive 85% of the combined lump sums of their predecessors. Local authorities could also apply to continue protection for schools which amalgamated during the 2021 to 2022 financial year.

The data is presented in this way because local authorities recorded any additional lump sum funding for previous year amalgamations in a different section of their formula submission. Therefore, the total amount of funding that each local authority is allocating through the lump sum factor is obtained by summing the values in the ‘Lump Sum total’ and ‘Additional lump sum total’ columns. Similarly, the proportion allocated through the lump sum factor is obtained by summing the values in the ‘Lump Sum proportion’ and ‘Additional lump sum proportion’ columns.

30. Sparsity

Sparsity funding is also shown in 2 places in the datafile:

1. in the group of columns called ‘Sparsity’ (most funding through the sparsity factor is shown here).
2. in the ‘Exceptional circumstances’ section, in the group of 3 columns (headed ‘Additional sparsity lump sum’) — the data here relates specifically to additional sparsity funding which local authorities are allocating to very small, sparse secondary schools.

31. London fringe payments, split sites, rates, PFI funding, exceptional circumstances

These sections of the datafile show the total funding and proportions of funding allocated to schools through each factor.

32. Schools block

The ‘Total Funding Schools Block Formula Excl MFG Funding Total (£)’ column gives the total amount of money allocated to mainstream maintained schools and academies in 2023 to 2024 under local authorities’ basic funding formulae. This section also includes any additional funding allocated through the guaranteed minimum per-pupil level of funding.

33. MFG

The MFG protects the per-pupil funding of schools from one year to the next and, for 2023 to 2024, local authorities can choose to set a rate between 0 % and 0.5%. The column ‘Minimum Funding Guarantee (£)’ is the total funding local authorities are allocating to their schools, over and above the amounts derived through their basic formula, to ensure this condition is met.

In addition, local authorities are allowed to set capping and scaling factors to ensure that the amount of funding allocated through their formula (and including any additional funding to ensure the MFG is met) fits within the total DSG schools block available to them. Any change in the per-pupil funding amount in 2023 to 2024 compared with 2022 to 2023 for an individual school can be capped at a level specified by the local authority: these caps are given in the column ‘Capping Factor’. Any school which sees its per-pupil funding increase by more than the level of the cap will see any additional increase scaled back, to some extent. For example, in this column a 0% cap means that the local authority will start scaling back any increase in per-pupil funding. A capping factor of 2% means that any rise in per-pupil funding of more than 2% will be scaled back.

The column ‘Scaling Factor’ indicates the amounts by which schools’ increases in per-pupil funding over the level of the cap will be reduced. So, for example, a 100% scaling factor means that all increases in per-pupil funding above the level of the cap will be removed, in other words, the cap is a strict limit on the increase in per-pupil funding in 2023 to 2024 compared to 2022 to 2023. Similarly, a 50% scaling factor means that schools will lose half of any per-pupil funding increase above the level of the cap. Local authorities showing 0% values in both the ‘Capping Factor’ column and the ‘Scaling Factor’ column are not restricting per-pupil increases in order to stay within their available funding.

The ‘Total deduction if capping and scaling factors are applied (£)’ column shows the total amounts that have been taken off school budgets due to the application of the capping and scaling factors. Clearly, any school requiring additional funding in addition to that specified by a local authority’s basic formula in order to meet the MFG will not also be subject to capping and scaling reductions. Any entry of ‘0’ in this column means that capping and scaling has not led to any deductions in funding compared to the basic formula for any schools in the local authority area.

34. Totals

The ‘Total Funding for Schools Block Formula (£)’ column shows the total schools block funding allocated to mainstream maintained schools and academies in each local authority under their 2023 to 2024 formulae, after additions for MFG funding and deductions from capping and scaling. The total funding figure is higher than the total schools block formula funding plus the net MFG total as it also includes any adjustments made to schools 2022 to 2023 budgets in 2023 to 2024 not included in this publication.

Note that the totals will not exactly match the total DSG schools block funding for 2023 to 2024 that has been allocated to each local authority. This is for a number of reasons. The funding formulae specify the funding allocated to individual schools, and so exclude local authority level allocations such as the growth fund and falling rolls fund, which are shown in the correspondingly named columns.

In addition to this in some cases local authorities can move funding to the high needs block and the funding formulae will reflect any brought forward over and underspends, and local authorities supplementing DSG from other funding sources.

For the other columns in this section:

• ‘% Distributed through Basic Entitlement’ – the proportion of schools block funding being allocated through the basic entitlement factor in each local authority, prior to MFG and capping and scaling
• ‘% Pupil Led Funding’ – the proportion of schools block funding being allocated through the pupil-led factors (for example, basic entitlement, deprivation, looked-after children, prior attainment, English as an additional language, and mobility), prior to MFG and capping and scaling
• ‘Primary/Secondary Ratio’ – the local authority’s primary to secondary funding ratio; a figure of 1.24, for example, denotes a ratio of 1:1.24, meaning that secondary age pupils in a local authority receive, on average, 24% more funding per head than primary age pupils

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1. The NFF applies an area cost adjustment (ACA) to each of the individual factors. The data shown in this document does not include the ACA adjustment. When comparing the factors used by each local authority against the NFF the ACA adjustment, where applicable, should be taken into account. ↩

2. All comparisons to the NFF exclude both City of London and Isles of Scilly as these are not included in the NFF calculations. For comparisons to the NFF there are 151 local authorities. In all other cases, the Isles of Scilly and City of London are included as well. ↩

3. In 2022 to 2023 74 were within 1% of the NFF values. ↩

4. For year groups 1 to 11, ‘typical’ means that the first census on which a pupil is recorded as attending the school (or its predecessors) is the October census. ‘Not typical’ means that the first census a pupil is recorded as attending the school is a January or May census. For the reception year, ‘typical’ means the first census is either October or January. ↩

5. The Isles of Scilly has only a single school and City of London has no secondary schools and do not formally receive DSG schools block funding in the same way as the other local authorities, so the 80% requirement, which is set out in the DSG conditions of grant, does not apply to them. ↩

6. City of London and Haringey did not include a secondary lump sum in their formulae for 2022 to 2023. ↩