Academies revenue funding allocations

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We areasked asking academies and their trusts to access their digital GAG statement and provide feedback using the feedback form.

To access your digital statement, you will need to have a DfE Sign-in account and add the MYESF service and the ‘View allocation statements’ sub-service to your account.

To request access to a service, or sub-services:

1.       Go to ‘services’.

2.       Select ‘request access to a service’.

3.       Select the service you’d like to access and click ‘continue’.

4.       Select the sub-services you’d like to access (if applicable).

5.       Review the request details before sending your request.

6.       Click ‘request service’.

Your request will be sent to an approver, who will either approve or reject your request.

If you are an approver in DfE Sign-in, you can add the service and sub-service yourself.

Academy funding in 2024 to 2025: an overview of funding for the current academic year

We calculate most of an academy’s revenue funding using the pupil numbers taken from either the autumn census return or an agreed estimate of pupil numbers, as outlined in the academy’s funding agreement.

Academies funded on estimates may be subject to the pupil number adjustment process; visit our academies funded on estimates page for more information. We used pupil numbers from either the autumn 2023 census or the agreed estimate of pupil numbers for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

For 2024 to 2025, we’ll continue to use the national funding formula (NFF) for schools and for high needs, to allocate budgets to local authorities.

It is important to note that the NFF school-level allocations that we published in July 2023 were notional allocations only. In 2024 to 2025, local authorities have continued to set a local formula which has determined individual school and academy budgets in their authority. As in previous years, local authorities submitted this local formula to us so that we could produce and issue academies allocation statements.

The general annual grant (GAG)

Most funding for academies comes from the general annual grant (GAG). This is made up of:

school budget share – calculated on the same basis as for maintained schools in the same local authority. GAG guidance for 2024 to 2025 explains how we calculate the school budget share.

The minimum funding guarantee (MFG) is a protection against changes in per pupil school budget share (SBS) funding between the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 academic years. The amount of protection will vary according to the impact of local changes in the funding formula and the effect of these on individual per pupil rates.

In 2024 to 2025, local authorities have the flexibility to set local MFG between +0.0% and +0.5% per pupil in order to offer higher levels of protection locally.

Where appropriate, the GAG may also include funding for high needs places and start-up funding for new institutions.

Guidance has been issued for schools opening as academies to estimate their revenue funding.

16 to 19 funding

Information about how colleges, schools and academies receive their 16 to 19 allocations is available on our 16 to 19 funding allocations guidance page.

High needs funding

Local authorities commission education provision for pupils that attract high needs funding. This means academies receive high needs funding from both ESFA and local authorities.

We have published information on high needs funding arrangements for 2024 to 2025.

Academies revenue payments

ESFA pays academies’ GAG in 12 equal instalments in accordance with the terms set out in the academy’s funding agreement. A monthly remittance note accompanies each payment. Revenue funding: payments to academies explains how academies are paid and how to change bank details.

Revenue funding outside the general annual grant

There are a number of other funding streams available to academies. These are described on the Revenue funding: payments to academies page where you will also find links to published allocations and information about payment timings for these grants.