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National funding formula: a summary

Understand which factors are included in the national funding formula (NFF), and what the current transitional state of the NFF means for your school.

Last reviewed on 11 May 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 34002
Contents
  1. How the formula works
  2. You're not guaranteed the amount published by the government
  3. LAs must transition further towards the direct NFF in 2026-27

Note: this article is for mainstream, state-funded schools in England, and summarises the national funding formula (NFF) 2026-27 policy paper.

The NFF is in a transitional state, in line with current Department for Education (DfE) plans. Read more about what this means in the section about the direct NFF below.

How the formula works

The NFF is the series of building blocks the DfE uses to work out your school’s core funding allocation.

Each year, the DfE publishes a ‘notional budget’ at school level, but the end amount your school receives might be different (see below to find out why).

The structure of the NFF is summarised in this diagram:

NFF Factors 26-27
Image taken from the NFF 2026-27 policy paper (page 17). It's not to scale.

Find more