3

It is not possible to tell whether individual academy schools are receiving the government’s guaranteed...

Recommendation
It is not possible to tell whether individual academy schools are receiving the government’s guaranteed minimum per-pupil funding levels. In 2018–19, the Department introduced minimum levels of schools block per-pupil funding for all schools in England. In January 2020, the Prime Minister guaranteed that every school would receive minimum funding of £3,750 per primary pupil and £5,000 per secondary pupil in 2020–21. Local authorities are legally required to ensure that their maintained schools receive the minimum per-pupil funding levels. By contrast, multi-academy trusts are allowed to pool funding centrally, and do not have to provide each of their individual academy schools with the minimum per-pupil funding. We asked how parents would know whether their child’s academy school 6 School Funding has received the minimum funding levels. The Department says that the schools financial benchmarking website provides a range of data on income and spending for individual academy schools. However, we note that the website combines funding from a range of sources, and does not show specifically the schools block per-pupil funding that each academy receives. Recommendation: The Department should publish each year, starting with the year ending 31 August 2021, details of the schools block per-pupil funding that each academy school has received.
Government Response

A response document is linked to this report, dated 14 December 2021. Response attribution to this recommendation has not been verified. Read the response document.

Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.9 yrs
Report published 22 Oct 2021