Introduction

Introduction

The Department for Education (ESFADfE) funds academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and special academies) on the same basis as maintained schools. We base allocations and payments to academies on an academic year, compared with financial year for maintained schools.

Annual allocations

2025 to 2026 academic year

On the 28 November, the Minister of State for School Standards made a written statement setting out the schools, high needs, and central school services national funding formulae (NFF) for 2025 to 2026.

You can view the provisional 2025 to 2026 NFF allocation tables and technical notes along with the policy document detailing the changes.

General annual grant (GAG) allocation statement for 2025 to 2026 timetable

ForWe thosehave academiesnow openissued priorall to February 2025, we’ll begin issuing 2025 to 2026 general annual grant allocation statements towardsfor thethose endacademies ofopen Februaryat 20251 andJanuary expect to finish by the end of March 2025.

Allocation statements for academies opening between February 2025 and March 2025 will be issued by the end of April 2025.

We’ve published the academy general allocation guide for the 2025 to 2026 academic year for mainstream academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools, special and alternative provision academies and special free schools.

How to access your GAG statement

As we trialled last year, we will be issuing digital statements online at Manage your education and skills funding (MYESF).(MYESF). You will receive an automated email when your statement is ready to view.

To access your statement, and receive automated emails, 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. If you have not already set this up, please follow the instructions below.

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.

Trust access

Academy trusts users can view statements for all the academies in their trust by logging in to MYESF using their Trust UKPRN DfE sign-in account details.

2024 to 2025 academic year

Provisional 2024 to 2025 NFF allocation tables and technical notes have been published, along with the policy document detailing the changes.

It is important to note that, as in previous years, individual schools’ and academies’ actual funding may be different to the amounts shown in these tables. This is because local authorities continue to set a local formula, in consultation with local schools’ forums, and within the framework of the schools operational guide for 2024 to 2025, to determine individual schools’ budgets in their areas.

General annual grant (GAG) allocation statements for 2024 to 2025 timetable

We have now issued all general annual grant allocations for 2024 to 2025 for those academies open prior to February 2024. The allocation statements are available to view and download on Document exchange in the ‘Documents received from ESFA’from ESFA’ section.

Allocation statements for academies opening between February 2024 and March 2024 have been issued.

We’ve published the academy general allocation guide for the 2024 to 2025 academic year for mainstream academies, free schools, UTC’s and studio schools, special and alternative provision academies and special free schools.

We have published the digital guidance document to be used alongside the new digital general annual grant statements.

New digital format for the general annual grant (GAG) statement

We tested a new digital format for the GAG statement to inform our approach for 2025 to 2026.

We uploaded digital general annual grant (GAG) statements to the Manage your education and skills funding (MYESF).(MYESF). These replicated the 2024 to 2025 GAG statements that we uploaded as PDF documents to Document exchange earlier in the year, but in a digital format. This had no impact on allocations or payments for 2024 to 2025.

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

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)(MFG) is a protection against changes in per pupil school budget share (SBS)(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 hasWe beenhave issued guidance 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 ESFADfE and local authorities.

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

Academies revenue payments

ESFA paysWe pay 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.