Coronavirus: additional funding for your school
The DfE has introduced several new grants and funding opportunities to help your pupils catch up after the pandemic. Read our quick guide to the different funding sources, including what you can and can't use each of them for.
Secondary school looking to claim for summer school funding?
If you ran a summer school as part of the government's programme in summer 2021, claim your funding using this form this September.
Your budget funding from the government hasn't been affected by coronavirus – you'll still receive your:
- Core funding allocations
- Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding
- Funding for alternative provision
This is explained by the DfE in the ‘Sector-specific guidance’ section here.
Coronavirus catch-up premium
This was a one-off premium for all maintained schools, academies and free schools for the 2020/21 academic year, to help pupils catch up for lost learning.
Any unspent funding can be carried forward into the 2021/22 academic year and beyond – read our summary here.
Recovery premium
This is an additional amount of money that builds on your usual pupil premium funding.
The main points are summarised below. You can read more details in the DfE's recovery premium funding guidance.
Who's eligible?
If you're eligible for pupil premium, you'll also be eligible for the recovery premium. This includes:
- Maintained schools
- Academies
- Free schools
- Maintained special schools, special academies and free schools
- Non-maintained special schools
- PRUs
- Alternative provision (AP) academies and free schools
- Maintained hospital schools and academies
Which pupils will attract funding?
The same pupils who receive pupil premium funding:
- Pupils eligible for free schools meals (FSM)
- Pupils who've been eligible for FSM at any point in the last 6 years
- Looked-after children (LAC)
- Post-LAC
What should we use the funding for?
Use the funding in the same way you'd use your pupil premium, for example to:
- Support the quality of teaching
- Provide targeted academic support
- Deal with non-academic barriers to success, such as attendance, behaviour and social and emotional support
You can use the funding for all your pupils, not just those who attract the funding. Direct your spending to where you think it's most needed.
How much will we get?
Each eligible pupil in mainstream education will receive £145.
Each eligible people in special education, or in a special unit of a mainstream school, will receive £290.
No eligible primary school will receive less than £2,000.
No eligible secondary school will receive less than £6,000.
How do we get the grant?
You'll receive 4 payments during the 2021/22 academic year. The dates will depend on your school type:
Maintained schools
Payments will be sent to local authorities on the last working day of each month in:
- September 2021
- December 2021
- April 2022
- June 2022
Academies
Payments will be made on the first working day of each month in:
- October 2021
- January 2022
- May 2022
- July 2022
What do we need to report?
You must report how you use your recovery premium as part of your pupil premium strategy statement.
Ofsted inspectors may also want to discuss how you've used your recovery premium funding, during their visits.
School-led tutoring grant
This is a new, ring-fenced grant for all state-funded schools and academy trusts with pupils eligible for pupil premium.
The grant should be used to fund locally-sourced tutoring provision for disadvantaged pupils, for example by:
- Using existing teachers and TAs
- Bringing in private tutors or returning teachers
Read more about the school-led tutoring grant here.
