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<p>We recognise that schools, colleges and nurseries are facing inflationary pressures,
and we continue to monitor the impact of rising energy costs on education providers,
paying close attention to financial health of the sector. Cost increases should be
seen in the wider context of funding across these providers, and investments secured
at the 2021 Spending Review.</p><p>The department has announced additional funding
for the early years entitlements worth £160 million in financial year 2022/23, £180
million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the current year. This
is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for
the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as
well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children.</p><p>The core schools
budget, for pupils aged 5-16 and 0-25 in the case of high needs funding, will see
a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding
to £53.8 billion. Overall, this represents a 5% real terms per pupil boost, helping
schools meet the pressures we know they are facing. We know that the vast majority
of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs. This means that even while energy
costs are rising, inflation in this area would have an impact on only a small portion
of a school’s budget overall.</p><p>The department has made available an extra £1.6
billion for 16-19 education in 2024/25 compared with the 2021/22 financial year. This
includes an up-front cash boost which will see the rate of funding per student increase
by over 8% in the 2022/23 academic year. We are simplifying funding, removing the
separate Teacher’s Pay Grant for schools’ post-16 provision and using this funding
to increase the national rate of funding for a Band 5 student to £4,542. We will match
this increase for other providers, including colleges to help with pressures across
the further education sector. The very significant increase to the national funding
rate and the other funding increases alongside this demonstrates our commitment to
16-19 education and will help with college income. We are also continuing to invest
in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget, £1.34
billion in financial year 2021/22.</p><p>All schools can access a range of School
Resource Management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources.
Our SRM tools include two recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services
relating to energy, which can be accessed via the 'Find a DfE-approved framework for
your school' service on GOV.UK.</p><p>We know that every school’s circumstances are
different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact
their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). Where colleges
are at risk of running out of cash, emergency funding is considered by the ESFA on
a case-by-case basis and based on a thorough assessment of each college's circumstances
and the minimum funding needed to minimise disruption to students.</p>
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