Twenty-First Report - School Funding

The government did not address the recommendation to publish an assessment of the likely impact of moving to a hard national funding formula on individual schools before its implementation, instead reiterating that the NFF distributes funding fairly and fixes a broken system.

The government rejects the recommendation, stating it does not collect this information and it would not be practicable to do so. It suggests existing data on the Schools Financial Benchmarking website is sufficient for analysis.

The government accepted the recommendation, committing to continue considering how different funding streams interact to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms in future funding decisions, noting significant additional investment in 16-19 education.

The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by March 2022 with an updated assessment of support for schools with decreasing pupil numbers.

The government agrees to the recommendation and will submit written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering the £30,000 starting salary for teachers, although exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations.

The government response restates the committee's initial observation about taking evidence for the report, without addressing any specific findings or recommendations.

The government agrees and will publish an analysis of the impact of transitional steps towards a hard National Funding Formula on individual schools and different types of schools in July 2022, updated annually.

The government acknowledges concerns about the national funding formula (NFF) and reiterates its belief that the NFF distributes funding fairly. It further states it has published a consultation on moving to a direct, single national formula, with a gradual transition proposed from 2023-24 and annual impact analyses to be published.

The government agreed with the Committee's observation that the national funding formula (NFF) fixed a broken system and fairly distributes funding. It committed to publishing an analysis of the impact of its proposed transitional step towards a hard NFF in July 2022, with annual updates.

The government explains that the National Funding Formula (NFF) fairly distributes funding based on school and pupil needs, and the shifting patterns reflect the NFF catching up with changes in deprivation levels since the early 2000s.

The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to monitor funding impacts, committing to publish an annual analysis of the impact of transitional funding steps on individual and different types of schools, with the first due in July 2022.

The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation to collect information on minimum per-pupil funding levels from academy trusts, stating it does not collect such data and it would not be practicable. It instead pointed to the Schools Financial Benchmarking website as the best source for analysing academy expenditure.

The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation regarding multi-academy trust funding distribution, stating it does not collect information on how trusts provide minimum per-pupil funding to their schools, and it would not be practicable. It advised using the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for expenditure analysis.

The government disagreed with an implicit recommendation regarding multi-academy trust funding freedoms, stating it does not collect information on how trusts distribute funding to their schools in this form, and it would not be practicable. It advised using the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for expenditure analysis.

The government rejects the recommendation to publish specific per-pupil funding details for academy schools, stating it is not practicable to collect this information but will continue to review the Schools Financial Benchmarking website for transparency.

The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating its commitment to investing in 16-19 education, including school sixth forms, with an additional £1.6 billion by 2024-25, and will continue to consider how funding streams interact to support financial sustainability.

The government acknowledges concerns about cross-subsidy and commits to continued investment in 16-19 education, noting additional funding made available. It states that the department will continue to consider how different funding streams interact to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms.

The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to explicitly considering how different funding streams interact in future funding decisions for 5-16 and post-16 provision, aiming to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms.

The government acknowledges the committee's observation on funding allocation and states it has published a consultation on moving to a direct, single national funding formula. It proposes a gradual transition from 2023-24 and will publish an annual analysis of its impact, with the first due in July 2022.

The government agrees to the recommendation to carry out an evidence-based assessment of support for schools with falling rolls and will provide an update to the Committee by March 2022.

The government explained that existing National Funding Formula elements support schools with falling rolls, and local authorities are responsible for managing school places efficiently, with discretion to use Dedicated School Grant funds for this purpose. The department will provide an updated assessment of support for schools with decreasing pupil numbers by March 2022.

The government response describes how local authorities may use falling rolls funds under existing policy, but does not address the committee's specific concern about the Department's confidence in the fund's sufficiency or the adequacy of support.

The Department for Education has provided an update on the progress of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, rather than immediately completing and publishing the review itself.

The government acknowledges the issues around SEND support and funding, stating it has provided an update on the SEND review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation to improve outcomes and value for money in the system.

The Department outlined progress on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review, confirming plans to publish proposals for a full public consultation, which will involve future input from stakeholders.

The government acknowledges the ongoing SEND review and states it has provided an update on progress and plans for publication, committing to publish proposals for full public consultation to shape how the department meets its goals for SEND.

The government states it has provided an update on the SEND review and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, committing to improving outcomes and value for money in the SEND system.

The government acknowledges the ongoing SEND review, stating it has provided an update on progress and plans to publish proposals for full public consultation, without committing to a specific completion date for the review.

The government acknowledges its intention to move to a 'hard' national funding formula, stating it has recently published a consultation on completing reforms to the NFF, proposing direct funding allocation based on a single national formula.

The Department noted it has recently published a consultation document, 'Completing our Reforms to the NFF', which proposes moving to a direct funding allocation for schools based on a national formula.

The government acknowledges the commitment to a £30,000 starting salary for teachers, stating it will provide written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022 outlining its intended approach, though exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations and government response.

The government states it will provide written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach for delivering the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. However, the exact delivery is subject to the STRB's recommendations and the government's response.

The government agrees with the recommendation and will submit written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering the £30,000 starting salary. However, the exact delivery remains subject to STRB recommendations and the government's response.

The government agreed with the Committee's observation regarding its commitment to a £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It committed to providing written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering this commitment, subject to STRB recommendations.