Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to increase funding for rural schools.

Through the dedicated schools grant, the department is increasing funding for mainstream schools to £48.7 billion in 2025/26. This is an increase of 2.15% per pupil in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25.

The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for mainstream schools based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The NFF recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve. As such, small and remote schools can attract additional funding through the sparsity factor. In 2025/26, the department is allocating £100 million in respect of small and rural schools through the sparsity factor.

The department will take the time needed to consider changes to various funding formulae going forward, ensuring that we get any changes right, and recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.