The funding that schools receive is largely determined by how many pupils they have. Under the national funding formula, the Department allocates 73.5% of schools block funding based on pupil numbers. A further 17.9% of funding relates to the number of pupils with characteristics that indicate additional need, including deprivation and low prior attainment. The remaining 8.6% of funding is linked to school characteristics, and is intended to help cover costs that do not necessarily vary with pupil numbers.30