Revenue funding: payments to academies
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This guide explains how academies are paid and how to change bank details.
Introduction
Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for paying academies in accordance with the terms set out in the academy’s funding agreement. The general annual grant (GAG) is the name for an academy’s main revenue funding. We issue a monthly remittance note for each payment. The remittance is sent electronically to the academy’s nominated email address.
Remittance advice note
We’ve produced a brief guide to help academies understand their remittance advice note.
Pre-16 and 16 to 19 revenue funding
We fund academies on an academic year basis. We send the GAG payments via BACS to arrive in the academy’s nominated bank account on the first working day of each month. We distribute GAG funding in broadly equal instalments throughout the year. This ensures consistency across all state-funded schools. The first payment for the academic year is in September.
Our guidance on academies revenue funding allocations provides information on how we calculate an academy’s allocation.
We upload academy payment schedules to Information Exchange. They’re saved in the Document Exchange ‘revenue funding’ folder under the relevant academic year. Academies can access Document Exchange by logging into Information Exchange, and choosing the Document Exchange tab at the top of the page.
Academy payments schedule for main revenue funding streams 2020 to 2021
Revenue funding stream | Grant type | Frequency |
---|---|---|
Pre- and post-16 GAG funding | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
Start up funding (SUG) A | Academic year | 3 front loaded instalments (proportioned as 50% / 25% / 25%) |
Start up funding (SUG) B | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
Post opening grant per pupil resources (POGPPR) | Academic year | 3 front loaded instalments (proportioned as 50% / 25% / 25%) |
Post opening grant leadership diseconomies (POG LD) | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
16 to 19 funding | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
16 to 19 bursary funding | Academic year | 2 instalments: two-thirds in September and one-third in April |
Pupil premium | Financial year | 4 instalments: July and October payments for academies open as at the previous April, January payment extended to academies open to September and April payment extended to academies open to January. Academies who open in February and March are paid by the local authority for the full year |
Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) | Academic year | 1 instalment: July (made up of prior year final and current year provisional payments) |
Free school meals supplementary funding | Academic year | 1 instalment: March |
PE and sports premium | Academic year | 2 instalments: November and May |
Teachers’ pay grant | Academic year | 2 instalments: November and May |
Teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) | Academic year | 2 instalments: November and May |
Pupil premium
Pupil premium is additional funding given to publicly-funded schools in England and provides funding for two policies:
- raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and closing the gap with their peers
- supporting children and young people with parents in the regular armed forces
We calculate pupil premium on a financial-year basis and pay in quarterly instalments. We’ll make payments in July, October, January and April.
We pay pupil premium grant separately to GAG payments.
You can find out more about how to use and account for the pupil premium in this guidance where you can also find links to the published allocations.
Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM)
All pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state-funded schools in England are eligible for free school meals. This includes academies, free schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision, as well as maintained schools.
We’ve published the UIFSM conditions of grant and provisional allocations for 2020 to 2021. We expect to publish final allocations for 2020 to 2021 in June 2021.
PE and sport grant allocations
The PE and sport grant is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to improve physical education (PE) and sport in primary schools.
You can find further information in guidance on the PE and sport premium.
Free school meals supplementary funding
The free school meals supplementary grant provides schools with extra funding to help them meet the higher costs of providing extra meals before the lagged funding system catches up. This follows the introduction of Universal Credit, which increases the number of pupils eligible for free school meals.
We’ve published the allocations for 2019 to 2020 and expect to publish the allocations for 2020 to 2021 in February 2021.
Teachers’ pay grant
The teachers’ pay grant provides support with respect to the teachers’ pay awards of 2018 and 2019. You can find out more about the methodology in this guidance as well as what will happen when the grant is included in the national funding formula (NFF) from the financial year 2021 to 2022. You can also find view the published allocations.
Teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG)
The teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) supports schools and local authorities with the cost of the increase in employer contributions to the teachers’ pension scheme.
You can find out more about the methodology in this guidance as well as what will happen when the grant is included in the national funding formula (NFF) from the financial year 2021 to 2022. You can also view the published allocations.
Changes to bank details
If you wish to change the bank details held by ESFA for payment, please complete the academy bank details form.
Queries about payments
For any other queries about payments, please contact the ESFA enquiry service:
ESFA enquiries
Contact formhttps://form.education…
For all enquiries for the Education and Skills Funding Agency
Published 11 March 2014
Last updated 9 November 2020 + show all updates
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We’ve updated this page to add up-to-date information for 2020 to 2021.
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We’ve updated this page with information for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.
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We’ve updated this for the 2017 to 2018 academic year
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Updated information and links to further guidance for the 2016 to 2017 academic year.
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Updated with 2015 to 2016 academic year information
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Year 7 catch-up premium link added
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Updates to universal infant free schools meals (UIFSM) and pupil premium sections added.
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The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has published a new form for academies to use to notify EFA of any changes to their bank details.
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Information about PE and sport grant allocations revised
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Conditions of grant for UIFSM and pupil premium 2014 to 2015 payments added
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New email address added for academies changing their bank account details.
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Summer schools conditions of grant for the 2014 to 2015 academic year added.
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Updated payment dates, information added about pupil premium payments, universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), summer schools and PE and sport grant allocations.
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Updated to provide a link to the claim form for national non-domestic rates for 2014 to 2015
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First published.
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