This article focuses on funding for maintained mainstream schools. If this isn’t for you, find out how funding works in:
How the national funding formula (NFF) works
Local authorities (LAs) allocate your school's core budget using a local funding formula
The DfE uses the national funding formula (NFF) to work out your school’s 'notional' core funding allocation, which it distributes to your LA.
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 different system, called the 'hard' or 'direct' NFF – read more about this below.
Formulas vary between LAs. To see the latest publication of your LA's local funding formula, download the spreadsheet called 'local
