Schools revenue funding settlement for 2016 to 2017
Written ministerial statement by Childcare and Education Minister Sam Gyimah about funding arrangements for schools in 2016 to 2017.
Today I am announcing details of school revenue funding for 2016 to 2017. My announcement includes the dedicated schools grant (DSG), the education services grant (ESG) and the pupil premium.
The distribution of the DSG to local authorities will continue to be set out in 3 spending blocks for each authority: a schools block, a high needs block and an early years block.
The schools block has been allocated on the basis of the schools block units of funding announced in my statement to the House on 16 July 2015. To protect schools from significant budget reductions, we will continue with a minimum funding guarantee that ensures no school sees more than a 1.5% per pupil reduction in its 2016 to 2017 budget (excluding sixth-form funding and ESG) compared to 2015 to 2016, and before the pupil premium is added.
We have been able to provide an additional £92.5 million for the DSG high needs block. The high needs block supports provision for pupils and students with SEN and disabilities (SEND), from their early years to age 25, and alternative provision for pupils who cannot receive their education in schools.
The DSG early years block comprises funding for the 15-hour entitlement for 3- and 4-year-olds; participation funding for 2-year-olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds; and the early years pupil premium. The rates per child for this block will be maintained at their 2015 to 2016 level.
The ESG retained duties rate will remain at £15 per pupil. We have applied an efficiency saving to the ESG general funding rate for 2016 to 2017, and the rate will reduce from £87 per pupil to £77 per pupil. We will continue to provide a protection to limit the reduction of academies’ budgets as a result of changes to the ESG.
The pupil premium per pupil amounts for 2016 to 2017 will be protected at the current rates, which are:
| Pupils | Per-pupil rate |
|---|---|
| Disadvantaged pupils: primary | £1,320 |
| Disadvantaged pupils: secondary | £935 |
| Pupil premium plus: looked-after children (LAC) and those adopted from care or who leave care under a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (formerly known as a residence order) | £1,900 |
| Service children | £300 |
A looked-after child is defined in the Children Act 1989 as one who is in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English or Welsh local authority.
Pupil premium allocations for financial year 2016 to 2017 will be published in June 2016 following the receipt of pupil number data from the spring 2016 schools and alternative provision censuses.
As announced in the Chancellor’s spending review statement, we will introduce a national funding formula from 2017. We will consult on proposals in the new year.
Details of these arrangements have been published on GOV.UK