A look at the allocation of funding and terms and conditions for schools and other eligible settings for 12 to 15 vaccination programme funding
Healthy 12-to-15 year-olds in England are now being offered two doses of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, 12 weeks apart; these vaccinations are available through school immunisation services or by booking through the national booking service to attend a vaccination site outside of school hours.
At this critical point in the vaccine programme it is particularly important that schools and immunisation teams work closely together to maximise the effectiveness of the vaccination programme. The DfE will provide schools with a one-off payment to support them in hosting vaccinations and ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccine is accessible to pupils. As a condition of this funding, schools are asked to ensure they have a single point of contact to liaise with the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) and local health teams, as was the case with the previous phase of the vaccine rollout.
Eligibility
The following institution types will be eligible for this funding:
State-funded secondary schools (not including specialist 16-19 establishments, sixth forms or FE).
State-funded, middle-deemed, secondary, and all-through schools with 12-15 year old pupils.
State-funded special schools (with 12–15-year-old pupils).
Independent special schools (with 12–15-year-old pupils) and pupil referral units (with 12–15-year-old pupils).
Alternative provision academies (with 12–15-year-old pupils).
Other independent institutions (with fee-paying pupils and students) are not eligible for this funding.
Further education providers are not eligible for this funding.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will only provide funding to institutions which engage with the vaccination programme and with SAIS teams/local health teams, as necessary, to ensure 12–15-year-old pupils have access to COVID-19 vaccination. Institutions will have discretion as to how, specifically, they spend this funding to support the vaccination programme beyond the stipulation that a single point of contact must be in place. The expectation is that institutions should engage with this scheme immediately, aligning with SAIS visits and incurring expenditure, as appropriate, in advance of receiving this funding in April 2022.
Allocations
All schools will receive £1,000 plus an additional £1.14 per pupil aged 12-15 as based on the published January 2021 school census figures, where these are available for a school in scope. The flat rate of £1,000 reflects a payment for a member of staff to lead on supporting the programme plus some additional headroom to cover incidental costs that schools may incur. The largest schools will receive around £2,500 and the smallest schools just over £1,000. The ESFA will process payments to schools on behalf of NHS England. Payments will be made to schools in April 2022.
Recovery of funding
This funding is being provided under sections 14-to-16 of the Education Act 2002 and the DfE reserve the right to audit the expenditure. The DfE will seek to recover funding that has been paid in error. The recipient must notify DfE immediately, through the ESFA enquiry form, where it becomes aware of any instance of error, suspected fraud or financial irregularity in the use of the funds.
Monitoring, assurance and data requirements
NHS England has a responsibility to make sure that public funds are properly managed in line with the conditions attached to the funding; NHS England reserve the right to check that funds have been spent appropriately. The DfE may adjust an institution’s allocation if an institution has not engaged with their SAIS or local health teams. NHS England and the Department for Education reserve the right to request assurance of this grant funding and will provide further details as necessary
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