QuickRead: Funding in maintained schools

Save time with our 1-page summary of how maintained schools are funded and your role in overseeing finance in your school. Download a copy to share with your colleagues.

Last reviewed on 9 May 2024
School types: MaintainedSchool phases: AllRef: 5492
Contents
  1. How is my school funded?
  2. What's my role in school finance?

How is my school funded?

The Department for Education (DfE) uses the national funding formula (NFF) to work out how much funding your school is entitled to.

The DfE distributes this funding to your local authority (LA) and your LA then applies its own local funding formula, through which it allocates your school’s budget.

The government is in the process of moving to a ‘direct’ NFF

When this happens, your school’s budget allocation won’t run through your local authority’s local funding formula. Instead, it’ll be decided by central government. It’s a gradual move with no confirmed timeframe for completion. Your LA must move closer to the direct model for the 2024-2025 financial year. This is explained in the article linked above.

You also get funding through other streams

Find more details on