Section 251: 2026 to 2027
Information for local authorities, schools and the general public about local authority education funding and expenditure plans for 2026 to 2027.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Section 251 is part of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
Local authorities submit statements of planned and actual expenditure on education and children’s social care.
We use the data for:
- publishing statistics
- constructing benchmarking tables
- answering parliamentary questions
- responding to other data requests
Comparing information is important for schools forums and others in discussions about budget levels and use of funds.
The document ‘Budget return: section 251 XML generator for 2026 to 2027’ is not accessible because it uses merged cells and the colour contrast of some text. This means it does not meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines success criteria:
- 1.3.2: meaningful sequence
- 1.4.3: contrast
We are working to fix it by 25 March 2027.
Section 251 budget data files
The budget data files show the data submitted by local authorities during the section 251 budget 2026 to 2027 collection.
They are the primary source of information about local authorities’ spending plans for the 2026 to 2027 financial year for education, children’s services, high needs and early years.
‘Budget data: high needs places and funding by maintained school 2026 to 2027’ (MS Excel spreadsheet) shows local authorities’ planned expenditure on high needs places in maintained schools.
‘Budget data: local authority planned expenditure on early years budgets 2026 to 2027’ (MS Excel spreadsheet) shows local authorities’ planned expenditure on early years provision.
‘Budget data: local authority planned expenditure on education and children’s services for financial year 2015 to 2016 to financial year 2026 to 2027’ (MS Excel spreadsheet) shows a time series of local authorities’ planned expenditure against the reporting lines described in the budget guidance.
Section 251 benchmarking data
These Microsoft Excel files use formatting that will not display correctly when opened in a web browser. To view the files correctly, open them in the desktop app.
The benchmarking tables for planned expenditure are drawn from the published section 251 budget statements for the 2026 to 2027 financial year. They are primarily intended for schools forums and local authorities.
The tables provide detailed information about each local authority’s planned education expenditure, enabling comparisons between local authorities.
Benchmarking data: local authority per capita net (MS Excel macro-enabled spreadsheet) shows section 251 net budget data on a per capita basis (per pupil or per head of population).
Benchmarking data: local authority per capita gross (MS Excel macro-enabled spreadsheet) shows section 251 gross budget data on a per capita basis (per pupil or per head of population).
Benchmarking data: pupil numbers 2026 to 2027 (MS Excel spreadsheet) shows the pupil and population numbers used to calculate the per capita data in the other tables.
Benchmarking data: changes in local authority planned expenditure between 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 (MS Excel macro-enabled spreadsheet) shows year-on-year changes in selected areas of planned expenditure, enabling comparisons across financial years.
Benchmarking data: local authority planned expenditure, additional information table (MS Excel macro-enabled spreadsheet) shows additional information on planned expenditure, including dedicated schools grant allocations and the percentage of schools receiving the minimum funding guarantee.
Benchmarking data: local authority planned expenditure 2026 to 2027, explanatory note and Benchmarking data: local authority planned 2026 to 2027, guidance on using the tables provide information on how to use these tables.