As reported by The Department for Education (DfE), it has allocated up to £40 million of additional funding for the 2023 to 2024 academic year to provide support to individual schools facing financial difficulties, in addition to the £525 million schools will receive through the teachers’ pay additional grant.
This funding will be used to expand existing financial support for academies and maintained schools, with £20 million going to local authorities with significant maintained school deficits and the remaining £20 million to top up support for academies. Local authorities have flexibility in using this funding to support schools in need, and this document offers guidance on how the funding should be utilised.
The support includes financial assistance for schools in deficit, which may take the form of deficit arrangements licensed by the local authority or cash sums to eliminate deficit balances. The funding is not limited to schools affected by the 2023 teachers’ pay award but aims to aid schools facing substantial financial challenges. Local authorities can associate conditions with the funding, potentially mandating the use of resource management tools and services, with the most severe cases involving the withdrawal of delegation. The funding can be used to support various types of maintained schools, including special schools, pupil referral units, and nursery schools.
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