Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding allocations her Department provides for schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector.

The Department allocates various funding streams in respect of pupils of compulsory school age (5-16) in schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector. Some of these streams also apply to pupils aged above 16. For the purposes of this response, maintained schools, academies (including free schools), and community technical colleges are considered to be part of the state sector. Where funding is provided to schools outside the state sector, it is predominantly provided to non-maintained special schools (NMSS) and, in some cases, to independent schools in respect of pupils for whom a Local Authority pay full tuition fees.

High needs place funding is allocated to non-maintained special schools (NMSS) directly by the Department and paid at £10,000 per place. Further details on high needs place funding is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-allocated-place-numbers. The total place funding for NMSS for the 2022/23 academic year was £38 million. Local Authorities also spend a portion of their high needs block allocations on placements in NMSS and independent schools. Further detail at Local Authority level is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/section-251-materials.

The Pupil Premium grant provides additional funding for NMSS for raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities to help them reach their potential, and provides support for pupils with parents in the regular armed forces. The Pupil Premium grant is also provided for eligible pupils in independent schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.

The Department provides funding for tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme. It is provided to NMSS, and to Local Authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-ntp-allocations-for-2023-to-2024-academic-year.

The PE and Sport Premium is a ring-fenced grant to primary schools, and other educational establishments with primary aged children, including NMSS. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.

The Recovery Premium is a time limited grant which is providing over £300 million of additional funding for schools in the 2021/22 academic year and £1 billion across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years. It is provided to NMSS, and to Local Authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the Local Authority pays full tuition fees. Details on allocations and conditions of the grant are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-recovery-premium-funding-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.

NMSS receive Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) funding, as they have a duty to provide free school meals to eligible pupils. This includes the provision of UIFSM to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Provisional allocations to NMSS for UIFSM amounted to £34,000 for the 2022/23 academic year.

The Department also provides capital funding for schools outside the voluntary aided and state sector. In March 2022, the Department announced £1.4 billion in High Needs Provisional Capital Allocations to support Local Authorities to deliver new places for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years and improve existing provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or who require Alternative Provision. It is for Local Authorities to determine how to use this funding to address their local priorities, but they can use this funding for new places in any school or institution in their area, including NMSS. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-provision-capital-allocations.

The Department further allocates condition funding to NMSS to support them in keeping their buildings safe and well maintained. Details of funding allocations are available at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1155676%2FSchool_capital_funding_allocations_for_2023_to_2024.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK. In the 2023/24 financial year, NMSS were allocated £3,000,000 in school condition allocations to invest in the condition of their buildings, and £410,000 in devolved formula capital for smaller capital projects.