Schools receive different government budgets because the National Funding Formula (NFF) considers various factors like the number of pupils, pupil characteristics (e.g., those with additional needs or receiving free school meals), and the school’s location
HERE ARE SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT DECIDE A SCHOOLS BUDGET –
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National Funding Formula (NFF):The government uses the NFF to allocate funding to local authorities, which then distribute the money to schools within their area
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Local Authority Discretion:While the NFF sets the overall funding for each local authority, local authorities have the flexibility to decide how to distribute that money among schools in their area using their own locally-agreed formulae.
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Factors Influencing Funding:The NFF takes into account factors like the number of pupils, the school’s location, and the proportion of pupils receiving free school meals, among other factors.
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School Flexibility:Schools have flexibility in how they spend their allocated funding, with most money going towards staff salaries, but also used for classroom materials, energy, and other costs.
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Capital Funding:Capital funding is for buildings and infrastructure, and is separate from the core school budget.
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Minimum Funding Guarantee:The Minimum Funding Guarantee ensures that schools are guaranteed a certain amount of per-pupil funding each year.
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Special Educational Needs (SEN) Funding:Schools also receive funding to support pupils with SEN, with the amount allocated per child up to £6000.
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Private Schools:Private or independent schools are not funded by the government and raise their funding through fees
SPIKE’S OPINION: I wrote this article because I was really surprised by the difference in funding for schools. This information came about while advertising our Spike’s School Packages. Some schools had well over a 100 pounds to spend on our games and a visit to their school while others had nothing! Is this really fair? What is the budget like in your school? I’m sure most people will agree that all schools could do with more money (yes, even private schools!) how can more money be raised so it is the students who benefit?
