Guidance

How to complete the authority proforma tool (APT): instructions for local authorities for 2023 to 2024

Published 20 December 2022

Applies to England

1. Introduction

Every year, local authorities are required to detail their schools block funding (SBF) formulae in accordance with the arrangements set out by the Secretary of State for Education.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has developed the authority proforma tool (APT) to assist local authorities to model, and then confirm, how they plan to do this for the funding year.

This guidance is designed to be used in tandem with the ‘Authority proforma tool – purpose and process: instructions for local authorities for 2023 to 2024’ publication.

2. APT changes

This section addresses any changes to last year’s APT or important factors you need to consider while completing the APT.

Several changes have been made for the 2023 to 2024 APT. The main points to note are:

• as set out in ‘completing the reforms to the National Funding Formula (NFF): government consultation response’ we are taking a gradual approach to transition. DfE requires that in the 2023 to 2024 academic year local authorities use all, and only, NFF factors in their local formulae and that they move their factor values 10% closer to the NFF factor values. As a result, the looked-after children factor has been removed and English as an additional language (EAL) has been restricted to EAL3
• the schools supplementary grant (SSG) has been included in the DSG for 2023 to 2024. To ensure schools do not lose funding as a result of this change, additional funding has been added to each school’s minimum funding guarantee (MFG) baseline. The amount added reflects the number of pupils included in the school’s MFG baseline
• we have added a new worksheet for local authorities to provide details of all schools located on split sites. This information will be used for calculating eligibility for split site funding in the 2024 to 2025 NFF
• we have added a new row to the ‘Commentary’ worksheet for local authorities to record details of any amounts relating to the former local authority school improvement monitoring and brokering (LAMB) grant entered on the ‘De Delegation’ worksheet

3. How to complete the APT

This guidance is designed to support you to complete the APT on a step-by-step basis, with the option of following either a detailed or high-level overview of these steps (depending on your experience).

Please note that the APT has been created using Microsoft Excel to make it as user friendly and wide reaching (software wise) as possible.

4. High-level overview

The following is a high-level overview of how to complete and use the APT, designed as a reference guide for experienced users.

Please use the following alongside the individual worksheet descriptors in ‘Authority proforma tool (APT): purpose and process - instructions for local authorities for 2023 to 2024’.

4.1 Step 1

On receipt of the APT, you should initially review these 6 pre-populated worksheets:

• ‘Schools Block Data’
• ’22-23 submitted baselines’
• ’22-23 HN places’
• ‘Proposed Free Schools’
• ‘IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’
• ‘Factor value limits’

The list of schools shown in the first 2 worksheets reflect the maintained schools and academies in the local authority as at the date of the October 2022 school census, and the maintained schools and academies that were listed on the final local authority APT return for 2022 to 2023 respectively.

You should review the list of maintained schools and academies to be funded in the 2023 to 2024 financial year, as it may have changed since this data was compiled.

The ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet contains the latest information we hold on the number of pre-16 high needs places in each mainstream school and each academy with a special unit or resourced provision in the local authority. The information for academies relates to the 2022 to 2023 academic year, as collected via the high needs templates you submitted to us. The information for maintained schools has been taken from the 2022 to 2023 section 251 budget data. This data is for information purposes only and does not feed into any calculations in the APT.

The ‘Proposed Free Schools’ worksheet contains details of any free schools proposed to open after the October 2022 census date, but before the end of the 2023 to 2024 academic year. You should use the information held on this worksheet to enter the school’s details on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and, where the school is not open for the whole year, the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

The ‘IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’ worksheet shows the rates figure entered on the 2022 to 2023 APT (see step 8).

The ‘Factor value limits’ worksheet has been added in 2023 to 2024 to help ensure you enter values which comply with the requirement to move each factor 10% closer to the NFF. It contains details of the minimum and maximum values which can be used for each factor, in line with the requirement to move each value 10% closer to the NFF. Full details of how these amounts have been calculated are set out in ‘Annex F – tightening factor values’.

These values are used to validate the entries made on the ‘Proforma’ worksheet.

4.2 Step 2

You should use the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet to record changes to the list of schools shown in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet, where this data does not reflect the maintained schools and academies to be funded from the schools block in 2023 to 2024. You should record the following in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet:

• new schools to be added to the list
• closed schools to be removed from the list
• schools which have amalgamated or will amalgamate
• new academy conversions
• any schools listed on the ‘Proposed free schools’ worksheet

You can also use this worksheet to record where a school’s number on roll (NOR) data, or proportion of pupils to which the per pupil formula factors apply in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet, are unrepresentative of the situation of the school in 2023 to 2024.

4.3 Step 3

Changes recorded in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet will automatically be reflected in the schools list, shown down the left-hand side of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

This schools list is also automatically replicated on all of the other worksheets of the APT, so it is important that you review the list shown in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet to ensure that it reflects the maintained schools and academies expected to be funded in 2023 to 2024 . In many cases, entries on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet will change the order of the schools list on subsequent worksheets. If this is not updated first it can mean subsequent changes reorder the schools list and entries made against particular schools are no longer correct.

The list of schools shown here is now referred to in this section as the ‘2023 to 2024 list’.

4.4 Step 4

You will need to populate the blue user input cells of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet and enter additional information relevant to each school, such as rates or agreed MFG exclusions.

You should only undertake this once all of the required entries on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet have been completed.

The ‘Adjusted Factors’ worksheet will automatically display the NOR and number of pupils eligible for each permitted pupil-led factor, based on information contained in the ‘Schools Block Data’, ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ and ‘Local Factors’ worksheets. No data entry is required here, but you may wish to review this worksheet when modelling different options.

4.5 Step 5

Next, you should review the ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet. Schools in the 2023 to 2024 list that are also shown in the pre-populated ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet are automatically populated with the 2022 to 2023 baseline data.

4.6 Step 6

In the blue user input cells, you will need to enter information relating to baselines for new schools that were entered on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and also any amendments required from reviewing the ‘22-23 submitted baselines’ worksheet.

You have now entered all of the raw input data necessary to set the APT up for modelling different funding formula options.

Navigate to the ‘Proforma’ worksheet and enter your local authority’s schools block funding formula, including:

• the unit funding values, such as age-weighted pupil units (AWPUs)
• the lump sums

4.7 Step 7

Next, carry out the following:

• in the ‘De Delegation’ worksheet, enter the de-delegation unit values
• in the ‘Education Functions’ worksheet, enter the unit value for the education functions for maintained schools

4.8 Step 8

Navigate to the ‘New ISB’ worksheet, which will display the resultant allocations for the individual schools in your 2023 to 2024 list, including minimum funding guarantee (MFG) funding and capping/scaling, where applied.

The final 2 columns on the ‘New ISB’ show the NFF national non-domestic rates (NNDR) allocation and the total funding for each school after this has been deducted.

4.9 Step 9

Review the ‘Validation’ worksheet and check that the current funding formula has passed the various data checks. Ensure that nothing has been entered in error or missed out.

The elements of this page which highlight whether you have failed to provide some required commentary can be ignored for modelling purposes.

4.10 Step 10

We anticipate that you will use and refer primarily to the ‘Local Factors’, ‘Proforma’, ‘De Delegation’, ‘New ISB’ and ‘Validation’ worksheets to explore and analyse different options for their 2023 to 2024 funding formulae.

4.11 Step 11

The ‘Commentary’, ‘School level SB’ and ‘Recoupment’ worksheets do not need to be used for modelling different funding formulae options for the 2023 to 2024 financial year, although you may find them helpful.

The ‘Recoupment’ worksheet displays all of the academies in the 2023 to 2024 list and allows you to estimate the amount of DSG funding that we will recoup. The worksheet is predominantly automatically populated from data entered elsewhere in the APT, although you are still required to enter details of growth funding adjustments.

4.12 Step 12

When the modelling is complete, you should ensure that all applicable blue cells have been filled in. You should also ensure that you have completed the contact details in rows 5 to 7 of the ‘Cover’ worksheet and that all the checks in the ‘Validation’ worksheet have been passed.

For all validation checks to pass, you must include an explanation in the ‘Commentary’ worksheet, ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and elsewhere, if you have included any additional factors.

Please also ensure that you delete any extra worksheets you may have added to the APT (for modelling purposes) and remove any macros you may have added as the data collection portal will not allow you to upload a macro enabled workbook. If you wish to provide further information, then the files should be uploaded separately. You must also remove any links to external files before uploading the completed APT. If these actions are not carried out, you will be required to resubmit your APT.

4.13 Step 13

The ‘School level SB’ worksheet allows you to display the funding that an individual school will receive under the formula entered in the APT. There is also space for you to include your local authority’s logo or crest on this page and you may find it helpful for generating a summary of 2023 to 2024 financial year funding, which you can then share with schools in your area.

For further details of the 2023 to 2024 funding arrangements, please refer to the ‘Schools operational guide: 2023 to 2024’.

5. Detailed overview

The following is the detailed overview of how to complete and use the APT, designed as a reference guide for inexperienced users.

We recommend that you save a copy of the APT locally, on receipt, before you start to edit it. This is so you have a backup of an unedited copy, should any corruptions occur. In addition, continue to save the workbook often so that you do not lose any edits you have made along the way.

Once saved, open up the workbook and you will notice workbook ‘tabs’ along the bottom of the screen. Each worksheet has a colour which represents the following:

• yellow – non-editable/pre-populated
• blue – editable (this is where you will need to enter your data)
• purple – automatic calculation outputs/non-editable

Worksheets coloured blue or purple can contain both editable and non-editable cells and these will follow the same colour scheme listed above.

5.1 ‘Cover’ worksheet

This worksheet contains a lot of reference material and information on the rest of the workbook; however, you will see that there are a number of blue cells between rows 2 and 32, some requiring your input.

In cell C5, enter your name (you can enter additional contact names in cells E5 and I5 as well).

In cell C6 enter your email address (if you have entered additional contact names, you should enter their email addresses in cells E6 and I6 as well).

In cell C7 enter your contact telephone number (if you have entered additional contact names, you should enter their contact telephone numbers in cells E7 and I7 as well).

You are now required to ‘select’ whether ‘political ratification’ has been completed in cell B12. Do this by checking the box next to the statement that reads, ‘By submitting this APT, I confirm that the appropriate political ratification has been completed’. If it has not been completed, you must enter the date when it will be done in cell C14.

In cells E17 to E32 please enter contact details for each of the national non-domestic rates (NNDR) billing authorities within your local authority.

5.2 Pre-populated (reference) worksheet review

There are 6 pre-populated worksheets that require an initial review, as the data inside will dictate your next actions. These worksheets cannot be edited. They are:

• ‘Schools Block Data’
• ‘22-23 submitted baselines’
• ‘22-23 HN places’
• ‘Proposed Free Schools’
• ’IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’
• ‘Factor value limits’

You will need to review the lists of maintained schools and academies to be funded in the 2023 to 2024 financial year, found in the first of these worksheets, as it may have changed since this data was compiled (from the October 2022 census).

5.3 ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet

The list of schools and their associated values, as shown in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet, shows maintained schools and academies in the local authority area, as of the October 2022 school census.

5.4 ‘22-23 submitted baselines’ worksheet

In this worksheet, you will find the complete list of schools which you submitted in last year’s APT return and a snapshot of the final budget figures. The worksheet also includes an adjustment to reflect the rolling in of the SSG. This has been calculated using the baseline NOR to ensure the per-pupil protection is correct.

5.5 ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet

This worksheet contains the latest information we hold on the number of pre-16 high needs places in each mainstream school and each academy with a special unit or resourced provision in the local authority. The information for academies relates to the 2022 to 2023 financial year, as collected via the high needs templates you submitted to us. The information for maintained schools has been taken from the 2022 to 2023 section 251 budget data.

Note – this data is for information purposes only and does not feed into any calculations in the APT.

5.6 ‘Proposed free schools’ worksheet

This worksheet contains the details of any free schools proposed to open after the October 2022 census date, but before the end of the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Dummy reference numbers have been included for each of the schools. Use the actual reference number, if it is known at the point the APT is completed, when entering the school on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet.

5.7 ‘IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’ worksheet

This worksheet contains details of the rates figures for each school taken from the 2022 to 2023 APT (and used in the 2023 to 2024 NFF calculations). You should use the information to complete column X of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

Please note that this worksheet is protected and you cannot amend it.

5.8 ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet

After you have reviewed the pre-populated worksheets and identified any amendments you will need to move onto entering data into the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet.

You should use this worksheet to record changes to the list of schools shown in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet if this list does not accurately reflect the maintained schools and academies to be funded in 2023 to 2024 . It is important to note that when you enter details for a school on this worksheet, subsequent worksheets may be reordered. If you have made any entries on these sheets before an entry is made on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’, you will need to check that they are still aligned to the correct schools.

Note – the NOR figures for a school contained in the pre-populated ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet are a direct headcount of pupils in reception (R) to year 11, taken from the October 2022 school census. Therefore, they will include pupils in a high needs unit or resourced provision at the school. Similarly, the NOR figures for any school you enter into the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet should include all pupils in years R (aged 4+) to 11, including those who will be educated exclusively through a high needs place at the school.

The scenarios that can be selected from the dropdown list of column A in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet are:

• school closed prior to 1 April 2023
• new school opening prior to 1 April 2023
• new school opening on or after 1 April 2023
• new academy/free school
• amalgamation of schools by 1 April 2023
• conversion to academy status prior to 4 January 2023
• change in pupil numbers/factors
• other

Note – when you select an option from the dropdown list, one or more cells on that row will automatically change to a blue background. This means that, as you have selected this particular reason, you may now need to complete the other blue cells on that row. If you omit any information, the calculations in the subsequent worksheets may be incomplete. This is not applicable for the ‘change in pupil numbers/factors’ and ‘other’ options, where only changes should be recorded.

5.9 Points to note when you complete

a) The instructions below have been written assuming that you are starting at the first input for each scenario; therefore, if this is not the case, please use the next available blank row.

b) Subsequent worksheets in the APT are using the ‘LAEstab’ as a lookup reference, so you must ensure that you input these correctly. The ‘LAEstab’ must be 7 digits long.

c) If you need to create a temporary ‘LAEstab’ for a new school, the first 3 digits must be your local authority number and the last 4 digits must be numeric. We would recommend the last 4 digits are 2 sequential digits followed by the final two digits of the funding year (if the local authority reference is 999 then 9990124 for the first new school and 9990224 for the second). Dummy references have been provided on the ‘FreeSchools’ worksheet where the actual reference is unknown. You must avoid using valid reference numbers when entering dummy references.

d) When entering the unique reference number (URN) for a school, this must be 6 digits long.

e) If you need to create a temporary URN for a new school the first 3 digits must be the local authority number and we recommend the last 3 digits are a single sequential digit followed by the final 2 digits of the funding year (if the local authority reference is 999 then 999124 for the first new school and 999224 for the second). Dummy references have been provided on the ‘FreeSchools’ worksheet where the actual is not known.

f) When entering updates to the number of pupils on roll, you must complete all of the columns ‘R’ to ‘AC.’ If there are no pupils in a category you must enter ‘0’. Do not leave cells blank. If you enter a change to pupil numbers, which is a result of an additional year group being added or one being removed, you must enter the number of year groups.

g) When entering an increase to the number of pupils at a school open for the whole of the financial year the number should be apportioned to reflect the proportion of the year the pupils will be at the school. For new schools open for part of the financial year, you should enter the actual number of pupils on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and you should enter the proportion of the year the school will be open for on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

h) You should leave all entries relating to the proportion of pupils eligible for a factor blank, unless they have changed from the proportion entered on the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet or the entry relates to a new school.

5.10 School closed (or that will close) prior to 1 April 2023

In cell A6, please select ‘school closed prior to 1 April 2023’ from the dropdown list.

Only select this option if a school appears in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet but has since closed, or is due to close, prior to the start of the financial year 2023 to 2024 (prior to 1 April).

You should not record schools closing during the 2023 to 2024 financial year (post-1 April) in this worksheet, instead you should adjust the opening/closing proportion for the school, as appropriate, in column O’ of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

In cell G6, enter the local authority establishment (LAEstab) number of the school.

In cell BJ6, provide a narrative to explain the changes.

No other entries are required.

5.11 New school opening prior to 1 April 2023

In cell A6, select ‘New school opening prior to 1 April 2023’ from the dropdown list.

Only select the option for brand new maintained schools or for a school converting from the private sector. Do not select this option to record a new academy or free school.

In cell F6, enter the URN for the new school (if this is unknown, please create a temporary one).

In cell G6, enter the local authority establishment number (LAEstab) of the new school (if this is unknown, please create a temporary one).

In cell H6, provide the new school’s name.

In cell I6, select the new school’s phase.

In cell J6, select the academy type.

You now need to enter details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the ‘Additional entries’ section).

5.12 New school opening on or after 1 April 2023

In cell A6, select ‘New school opening after 1 April 2023’ from the dropdown list.

Only select the option for brand new maintained schools or for a school converting from the private sector. Do not select this option to record a new academy or free school.

In cell F6, enter the URN of the new school (if this is unknown, please create a temporary one).

In cell G6, enter the LAEstab of the new school (if this is unknown, please create a temporary one).

In cell H6, provide the new school’s name.

In cell I6, select the new school’s phase.

In cell J6, select the academy type.

You now need to enter details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the ‘Additional entries’ section).

5.13 New academy or free school opening

In cell A6, please select ‘New academy/free school’ from the dropdown menu.

Please select this option if a new academy or free school (including a free school not opening in accordance with section 6a of the Education and Inspections Act 2006) is planned to open.

In cell F6, please enter the URN of the new academy/free school (if this is not known, please create a temporary one).

In cell G6, please enter the LAEstab number of the new academy/free school (if this is not known, please create a temporary one).

In cell H6, please provide the new academy/free school’s name.

In cell I6, please select the new academy/free school’s phase.

In cell J6, please select the academy type.

You now need to enter details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the Additional entries section).

5.14 Amalgamation of schools by 1 April 2023

In cell A6, select ‘Amalgamation of schools by 1 April 2023’ from the dropdown menu.

You should select this category if 2 or more academies are amalgamating before, or on, 1 April 2023. You should also use this option where 2 or more maintained schools are amalgamating into a single maintained school before, or on, 1 April 2023.

You should not select this category to record the merger of 2 or more maintained schools into an academy or the merger of an academy and a maintained school.

In cell B6, enter the first predecessor school’s LAEstab. It is essential that the predecessor LAEstab is entered and is correct, so that the duplicate school does not appear in the lists in the subsequent worksheets of the APT.

In cell C6, enter the second predecessor school’s LAEstab.

In cell D6, enter the third predecessor school’s LAEstab, where applicable.

In cell E6, enter the fourth predecessor school’s LAEstab, where applicable.

If the predecessor schools’ LAEstabs are not entered, the schools will still appear on subsequent worksheets, even where the reference is unchanged.

In cell F6, enter the URN of the resulting school, even if the resulting school is keeping the URN of one of the existing schools (or enter a temporary number).

In cell G6, enter the LAEstab of the resulting school, even if the resulting school is keeping the LAEstab of one of the existing schools (or enter a temporary number).

In cell H6, provide the new school’s name.

In cell I6, select the new school’s phase from the dropdown list.

In cell J6, select the academy type.

You now need to enter details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the ‘Additional entries’ section).

Note – when inputting the data into columns K to BH for the resulting school, it is important that none of the highlighted cells are left blank. This is to ensure that the APT’s calculations of the school’s allocations are based on all relevant data. This is particularly critical if the resulting school has kept the LAEstab of one of its predecessors, as if there are any blank cells in columns K to BH, the APT will use the predecessor’s data from the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet.

For resulting schools with new LAEstabs, blank cells will be treated as zero.

5.15 Conversion to academy status prior to 4 January 2023

In cell A6, select either ‘conversion to academy status prior to 4 January 2023’ from the dropdown menu.

You should select this category to record a school that has converted to academy status prior to 4 January 2023, the merger of 2 or more maintained schools into an academy, or the merger of an academy and a maintained school.

You should not record academies converting from 4 January 2023 onwards in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, these must be shown throughout the worksheet as the predecessor school.

In cell B6, enter the first predecessor school’s LAEstab number. It is essential that the predecessor LAEstab is entered and is correct, so that the duplicate school does not appear in the lists in the subsequent worksheets of the APT. This is also true if the successor school will have the same reference as one of the predecessor schools.

In cell C6, enter the second predecessor school’s LAEstab, where applicable.

In cell D6, enter the third predecessor school’s LAEstab, where applicable.

In cell E6, enter the fourth predecessor school’s LAEstab, where applicable.

If the predecessor school’s LAEstabs are not entered, the schools will still appear on subsequent worksheets, even where the reference is unchanged.

In cell F6, enter the URN of the resulting school, even if the resulting school is keeping the URN of one of the existing schools (or enter a temporary number).

In cell G6, enter the LAEstab of the resulting school, even if the resulting school is keeping the LAEstab of one of the existing schools (or enter a temporary one).

In cell H6, provide the new school’s name.

In cell I6, select the new school’s phase from the dropdown list.

In cell J6, select the resulting academy type.

You now need to enter details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the ‘Additional entries’ section).

Note – when inputting the data into columns K to BH for the resulting school, it is important that none of the cells are left blank. This is to ensure that the APT’s calculations of the school’s allocations are based on all relevant data. This is particularly critical if the resulting school has kept the LAEstab of one of its predecessors, as if there are any blank cells in columns K to BH, the APT will use the predecessor’s data from the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet.

For schools with new LAEstabs, blank cells will be treated as containing the value of zero.

5.16 Change in pupil numbers/factors

In cell A6, select ‘change in pupil numbers/factors’ from the dropdown menu.

Select this option where a school is shown in the ‘Schools block data’ worksheet as due to be funded for all or part of 2023 to 2024, but either:

• the NOR has changed since the October 2022 census
• the proportion for one or more of the indicators have changed since the October 2022 census, compared to the pre-populated data

Note that our approval is required for any variations in the NOR except for:

• new and growing schools, where estimated numbers are required by regulations
• when local authorities wish to increase the numbers for a school whose admission limit has increased or where there has been a reorganisation

Further guidance on the circumstances under which you can amend the pupil numbers or factor data for a school is given in ‘Annex D – common issues.

Note – (with the exception of London fringe) although a number of cells turn blue to show an entry is required, input is only required if a change is to be recorded. The APT’s formulae in the subsequent worksheets will automatically pick up the relevant data from the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet if no entry is made.

In cell F6, enter the URN of the affected school.

In cell G6, enter the LAEstab of the affected school.

In cell H6, provide the affected school’s name.

In cell I6, select the affected school’s phase.

In cell J6, select the resulting academy type.

You now need to enter amended details for all relevant pupil numbers and demographic information in cells K6 to BH6 (see the ‘Additional entries’ section).

5.17 Other

In cell A6, select ‘Other’ from the dropdown menu.

Select this option for any reasons which are not covered by the other selections.

When completing the details for this selection, consult the guidance which best applies to the circumstances and also the comments in each column heading.

5.18 Additional entries

If the local authority is only partially within the London fringe area then, in cell K6, select whether the school is located in the London fringe:

• no = ‘1’
• yes = ‘1.0156360164’

or

• the alternative value representing the area cost adjustment (ACA) differential:

Local authority	Multiplier
Buckinghamshire	1.0184
Essex	1.0348
Hertfordshire	1.0314
Kent	1.0377
West Sussex	1.0579

In order to mirror the NFF we recommend using the alternative values in the table above for the London fringe.

Middle schools only – in cell L6, select the number of primary year groups in the school (this is used to calculate the lump sum). Note – if you leave this cell blank for a middle school, that school will not be given a lump sum.

Middle schools only – in cell M6, select the number of secondary year groups in the school (this is used to calculate the lump sum). Note – if you leave this cell blank for a middle school, that school will not be given a lump sum.

All schools (including middle schools) – in cell N6, select the number of primary year groups in the school.

All schools (including middle schools) – in cell O6, select the number of secondary year groups in the school.

In cell P6, select the number of key stage 3 year groups in the school. This is used to calculate the minimum per-pupil level of funding (MPPL).

In cell Q6, select the number of key stage 4 year groups in the school (this is used to calculate the MPPL).

If you are recording any changes to pupil numbers you must complete all columns R to AC (including zeroes). You should also review the number of year groups in columns L to Q to ensure they correctly reflect the year groups populated.

If you are entering an adjusted NOR for schools adding pupils partway through the year, then these should be apportioned to reflect the proportion of the year they will be present. If you are entering pupils for a school opening partway through the year the number should not be apportioned. In this case, you should enter an opening/closing proportion on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

In cell R6, enter the total (sum of primary and secondary) (NOR) at the school.

In cell S6, enter the primary NOR (if applicable) at the school.

In cell T6, enter the reception NOR (if applicable) at the school.

In cell U6, enter the total NOR in year groups 1 to 6 at the new school.

Note – this figure will only be used for the calculation of the eligible proportion of pupils for the primary low prior attainment (LPA) factor.

In cell V6, enter the total secondary NOR (sum of key stage 3 and key stage 4) at the school.

In cell W6, enter the total key stage 3 NOR (sum of year group 7, 8 and 9) at the school.

In cell X6, enter the total key stage 4 NOR (sum of year group 9 and 10) at the school.

In cell Y6, enter the year group 7 NOR at the school.

In cell Z6, enter the year group 8 NOR at the school.

In cell AA6, enter the year group 9 NOR at the school.

In cell AB6, enter the year group 10 NOR at the school.

In cell AC6, enter the year group 11 NOR at the school.

In cell AD6, enter the additional reception pupils expected to join the school between October 2022 and January 2023.

In cell AE6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary FSM for the school.

In cell AF6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary FSM6 for the school.

In cell AG6, please enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary FSM for the school.

In cell AH6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary FSM6 for the school.

In cell AI6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI) band G for the school.

In cell AJ6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band F for the school.

In cell AK6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band E for the school.

In cell AL6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band D for the school.

In cell AM6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band C for the school.

In cell AN6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band B for the school.

In cell AO6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary IDACI band A for the school.

In cell AP6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band G for the school.

In cell AQ6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band F for the school.

In cell AR6, please enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band E for the school.

In cell AS6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band D for the school.

In cell AT6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band C for the school.

In cell AU6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band B for the school.

In cell AV6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary IDACI band A for the school.

The total proportion across IDACI bands A to G for each phase must equal 1.

In cell AW6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary English as an additional language (EAL) for pupils in the English education system for up to 3 years (EAL3) for the school.

In cell AX6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary EAL3 for the school.

In cell AY6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of LPA under the early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) for the school. Your average for year 4 is provided in cell AY2.

In cell AZ6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary year group 7 LPA for the school.

In cell BA6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary year group 8 LPA for the school. As the key stage 2 tests were cancelled in 2021, your average for year 10 is provided in cell AZ2. If you choose to use a local estimate based on 2022 key stage 2 results, you will need to adjust for the different weightings applied to years 7 and 8 (you should multiply the proportion by the year 7 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E32 and divide by the year 8 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E33.

In cell BB6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary year group 9 LPA for the school. As the key stage 2 tests were cancelled in 2020 your average for year 10 is provided in cell AZ2. If you choose to use a local estimate based on 2022 key stage 2 results, you will need to adjust for the different weightings applied to years 7 and 9 (you should multiply the proportion by the year 7 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E32 and divide by the year 9 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E34.

In cell BC6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary year group 10 LPA for the school.

In cell BD6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary year group 11 LPA for the school.

In cell BE6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of primary mobility for the school.

In cell BF6, enter the relevant factor proportion (0 to 1) of secondary mobility for the school.

In cell BG6, enter the average distance (in miles) to the second nearest primary school from the school.

In cell BH6, enter the average distance (in miles) to the second nearest secondary school from the school.

Note – for the sparsity funding, all middle and all-through schools are recorded in the secondary column.

In cell BI6 the default entry will be ‘No’ as, generally, the figures in columns R to AC should reflect the actual pupil numbers expected at the school during the next year. However, it is understood that in some instances you may provide a guaranteed level of funding based on their assessment of the number of pupils needed in particular year groups to make the new school viable. These estimated pupil numbers include an element of diseconomy costs. Therefore, if this is the case, please ensure that you select ‘Yes’ in cell BI6.

If no entries (other than ‘0’) have been made into columns R to AC, cell BI6 should be left blank.

In cell BJ6, enter a narrative for the entries made for the school. This is required in all cases.

If your entries in any of the columns R to AC have been apportioned to reflect part-year attendance of the pupils at the school, then:

• in cell BK6, enter ‘Yes’
• in cell BL6, enter ‘No’
• in cell BM6, enter the number of months during the financial year the pupils will attend the school (if you record these figures as days or weeks, convert the amount to months)

We recommend entering these values as formulae. For example, if the pupils were present for 7 months then enter ‘=7/12’. This ensures that the proportion is not rounded.

Please note that apportioned pupil numbers should not be entered for schools opening during the year (unless the school is adding more pupils after the opening date). For new schools the pupil numbers are automatically apportioned when the opening/closing proportion is entered on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

If the entries made in any of the columns R to AC have been apportioned to reflect multiple changes during the year, then:

• leave cell BK6 blank
• in cell BL6, enter ‘Yes’
• leave cell BM6 blank

In this instance, please ensure you provide as much detail as possible in the comments, to enable us to calculate the correct academic year pupil numbers.

In cell BN6, enter the total (sum of primary and secondary) academic year NOR where apportioned financial year pupil numbers have been entered for the school (columns R to AC).

In cell BO6, enter the academic year primary NOR where apportioned financial year pupil numbers have been entered for the school (columns R to AC).

In cell BP6, enter the academic year secondary NOR where apportioned financial year pupil numbers have been entered for the school (columns R to AC).

You will see that columns BR to CP have now been populated to calculate the total number on roll during the 2023 to 2024 academic year for the school.

The academic year pupil numbers and the adjusted numbers are not used in any further calculations in the APT and are for validation purposes only.

5.19 Further action for new schools

Once all required cells in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet have been populated, you need to enter the proportion of the 2023 to 2024 financial year for which the new school will be open. Enter this into column O of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet (see Annex B – local factors). Where a value other than 1 is entered we recommend entering the value as a formula (for example, for a school open for 7 months you would enter it as ‘=7/12’).

Note – this figure will be given as 1.00 (indicating that the school is open for the whole of the year) by default, unless changed.

Note – you are required to complete the formula budget for all academies and free schools. Any pre-opening costs or funding for diseconomies of scale would normally come from the growth fund, although we recognise that in some cases diseconomies costs are provided by guaranteeing funding for a particular number of pupils. DfE will continue to fund pre-opening and diseconomies of scale costs for free schools which are not opening in accordance with section 6a of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

5.20 ‘Local Factors’ worksheet

Once you have edited the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet to reflect any changes to the schools list/details of the schools, you will need to address any local changes which may apply.

The list of schools (and associated details), as shown in columns L, M and N, are automatically populated from the data in the Schools Block Data and ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheets.

Note – do not attempt to add any schools to this sheet. Any changes to the school list need to be recorded using the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet.

Important – before entering any data here, check that the school list shown in columns L, M and N display the correct maintained schools and academies you expect to be funded in the 2023 to 2024 financial year.

If, after having entered some data in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet, you then record further adjustments in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, the order of the ‘Local Factors’ schools list may have changed, but the data you have entered in the blue cells will stay in the same place. As such, some or all of that data may now appear against the wrong school or academy.

The blue cells in columns O, P and Q contain default values, which you will need to change if the default is not correct.

Note – when you select an option from the dropdown list in column Q, columns R to V on that row will automatically change to blue. This shows that, as you have selected this particular option you may now need to complete the other blue cells on that row. If you omit any information, the calculations in the subsequent worksheets may be incomplete.

Note – the instructions below have been written assuming you are starting at the first input for each scenario; therefore, if this is not the case please use the next available blank row.

Due to the potentially complex nature of the data entry rationale, the criteria and methodology for each column has been separated out from these instructions. These can be found in Annex B – local factors. Please refer to the details in Annex B – local factors when working though the below steps. In addition, only enter the following when changes are required.

In cell O6, the figure should be ‘1.00’ unless the school is opening or closing, in which case you should then enter the proportion of the 2023 to 2024 financial year the school will be open. We recommend you enter this as a formula. For example, if the school was open for 7 months then enter ‘=7/12’ to prevent rounding of the value.

In cell P6, select from the dropdown list whether the school has opened in the last 7 years and has not yet reached its full number of year groups. This does not include existing schools which have just extended their age range or added a new phase. Where a school has a predecessor school, the date of opening is that of the predecessor school.

In cell Q6, select whether the school has a special unit or resourced provision designated by the local authority for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), funded on the basis of places and top-up funding.

Note – other types of unit (for example, those for pupils with medical or behavioural needs who might otherwise be in alternative provision) should not be included as they are not normally funded on the same basis.

If you select ‘Yes’ in this cell, you will note that cells R6 to V6 now also require an entry.

In cell R6, enter the total number of pre-16 high needs places in the 2022 to 2023 financial year.

In cell S6, enter the number of primary high needs places in the 2022 to 2023 academic year, excluding those pupils who are not registered in that school or are in a nursery class.

In cell T6 enter the number of key stage 3 high needs places in the 2022 to 2023 academic year, excluding those pupils who are not registered in that school.

In cell U6 enter the number of key stage 4 high needs places in the 2022 to 2023 academic year, excluding those pupils who are not registered in that school.

In cell V6, select the reason for the variance in 2022 to 2023 place numbers, compared to the information previously provided to us, as shown in the ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet (as the data for maintained schools is no longer collected the ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet has been populated using the 2022 to 2023 section 251 budget data for those schools). The reasons are:

• places reserved for pupils not main registered at the school
• places reserved for nursery pupils
• places reserved for post-16 pupils
• new high needs unit opening mid-year
• existing high needs unit closing mid-year
• place numbers updated since the number previously supplied to us
• other

If, you selected ‘new high needs unit opening mid-year’, ‘existing high needs unit closing mid-year’ or ‘other’, ensure you provide further information in cell AV6.

In cell W6, enter the actual cash value you wish to allocate for split site funding, with the adjustment for part-year funding taken into account.

In cell X6, enter the 2022 to 2023 estimated NNDR figure from ’IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’. This is so the NFF NNDR funding given for 2023 to 2024 is identified separately and deducted for academies and schools in the central payments system. The rates figure for all schools from the 2022 to 2023 APT are included on the ’IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’ worksheet. If cell X6 is left blank, it will be treated as ‘0’. If the value entered differs from the amount shown, you must provide an explanation of the difference in cell AV6.

In cell Y6, enter any necessary adjustments to account for any difference between the previously estimated 2022 to 2023 rates and the now known actual values (this can be a positive or negative value). We do not expect to see any adjustments for maintained schools where billing authorities are on the new central payments system, or for any academies, irrespective of the billing authority approach. We expect mainly to see adjustments for in-year re-evaluations in this cell. You should also enter any inflationary increases to the 2023 to 2024 rates in this column. Adjustment for schools converting to academy status (80% rating relief) should not be entered here.

If a value is entered in this cell, also ensure a narrative is provided in cell AV6.

In cell Z6, enter the actual value payable for 2023 to 2024 private finance initiative (PFI) – see ‘Annex B – local factors’ with the adjustment for part-year funding taken into account. If left blank, it will be treated as ‘0’.

In cell AA6, enter any necessary adjustments to account for any difference between the previously estimated 2022 to 2023 schools budget share (SBS) and the now known actual values (this can be a positive or negative value). If a value is entered in this cell, also ensure a narrative is provided in cell AV6. Where an entry is made here, the MFG baseline will be adjusted automatically. A further entry is only required on the ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet if the adjustment reflects a change to the 2022 to 2023 NOR. In these cases, the NOR figure should be adjusted to reflect the correct number of pupils funded after the adjustment has been made.

In cell AB6, enter the additional lump sum actual value payable (see ‘Annex B – local factors’), with the adjustment for part-year funding taken into account, for any schools which have merged during the 2022 to 2023 financial year.

Must have our pre-approval – in cell AC6, please enter the additional sparsity actual value payable (see ‘Annex B – local factors’), with the adjustment for part-year funding taken into account, for small, sparse schools only.

In cells AD6 to AH6, enter values for any approved exceptional funding.

In cell AI6, enter the total of any entries in cells AD6 to AH6 not to be deducted from the MPPL.

In cells AK6 to AO6, enter values for any approved MFG exemptions. All values can be positive or negative. You must have our approval for any entries here.

In cell AP6, enter any newly delegated funding so that it can be excluded from the MFG baseline calculation. This value must be a positive value and if left blank it will be treated as ‘0’.

In cell AQ6, if you want to mirror the NFF please enter the total of all premises costs, excluding rates, to be removed from the MFG calculation.

This value can be a positive or a negative value; however, as it is subtracted from the MFG and SBS calculations, for a positive adjustment enter the figure as a negative. Please also ensure that a narrative of the methodology used is provided in cell AV6.

In cells AR6 and AS6, please enter any further technical adjustments to be removed from the MFG and SBS calculations.

These values can be a positive or a negative value; however, as they are subtracted from the total funding included in the MFG calculation, for a positive adjustment enter the figure as a negative. Please also ensure that a narrative of the methodology used is provided in cell AV6.

In cell AV6, please provide a narrative for all entries made. Give as much detail as possible relating to methodologies, assumptions and rationale.

5.21 ‘LA estimate of NNDR 23-24’ worksheet

This worksheet allows you to enter details of the estimated rates bills, for example, an estimate based on the known changes to rateable values and taking into account the 2023 to 2024 multiplier. This information will be used to aid future modelling by providing useful estimates for comparison. It does not directly inform provider level allocations for 2023 to 2024 but will be used to inform 2024 to 2025 NFF funding.

If entries are not made a failure will be noted on the ‘Validation sheet’ and you will be required to resubmit the APT with the values entered.

5.22 ‘Adjusted Factors’ worksheet

This worksheet automatically calculates the adjusted pupil numbers to be used in the final SBS calculations, outputted to the ‘New ISB’ worksheet.

The worksheet uses data drawn from the ‘Schools Block Data’, ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ and the ‘Local factors’ worksheets.

Please note that the worksheet is entirely populated using spreadsheet formulae. These formulae cannot be deleted or edited. You can select any cell to view the formula used.

5.23 ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet

You will need to provide the 2022 to 2023 baseline information, where the data is missing from the ‘22-23 submitted baselines’ worksheet (including where you have added new schools/amalgamations).

For 2023 to 2024 an adjustment has been included in the baseline data to reflect the amount of SSG funding that would have been allocated to each school based on the NOR used to calculate the baseline funding. Full details of how the amounts have been calculated are in ‘Annex E – schools supplementary grant adjustment in the MFG baselines’.

You must also enter any 2022 to 2023 minimum funding guarantee (MFG) exclusions and adjustments to be used for the MFG calculations in the ‘New ISB’ worksheet.

Much of the data in this worksheet is pre-populated and automatically calculated (based upon entries you have made in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet); however, there are a few instances where your manual input (in the blue cells) may be required.

5.24 If there has been a change in your baseline figures

In cell P6, enter the 2022 to 2023 NOR (excluding the reception uplift figure) and with any adjustment for part-year funding taken into account.

In cell Q6, enter the actual 2022 to 2023 rates (see ‘Annex B – local factors’) with any adjustments for part-year funding taken into account.

In cell R6, enter the adjustment to the 2022 to 2023 post MFG budget values, with any adjustments for part-year funding and/or London fringe taken into account.

In cell S6 enter the adjusted schools supplementary grant with adjustments for part-year funding taken into account (see ‘Annex E – schools supplementary grant adjustment in the MFG baselines’).

In cell V6, enter the actual fraction for the part of the year 2022 to 2023 that the school was open. We recommend this is entered as a formula to prevent unwanted rounding. For a school that was open for 7 months you should enter ‘=7/12’.

In cell W6, enter the adjusted additional lump sum (see Annex B – local factors) for schools amalgamating during financial year 2021 to 2022 .

In cell X6, provide a narrative for any changes which have been made and the rationale/methodology for these changes.

5.25 Cell J6 states ‘22-23 baseline missing’ or ‘please fill in columns P:W’

In cell P6, enter the 2022 to 2023 NOR (excluding the reception uplift figure) and with any adjustment for part-year funding taken into account.

In cell Q6, enter the actual 2022 to 2023 rates (see ‘Annex B – local factors’) with any adjustments for part-year funding taken into account.

In cell R6, enter the 2022 to 2023 post-MFG budget with any adjustments for part-year funding and/or London fringe taken into account.

In cell S6, enter the SSG with adjustments for part-year funding taken into account (see ‘Annex E – schools supplementary grant adjustment in the MFG baselines’).

In cell V6, enter the actual fraction for the part of the year 2022 to 2023 financial year that the school was open. We recommend this is entered as a formula to prevent unwanted rounding. For a school that was open for 7 months you should enter ‘=7/12’.

In cell W6, enter the adjusted additional lump sum (see Annex B – local factors) for schools amalgamating during financial year 2021 to 2022.

In cell X6, provide a narrative for any changes you have made and the rationale/methodology for your changes.

5.26 Cell J6 states ‘predecessor LAEstab missing’

This shows that details of a school which has converted to academy status before 4 January 2022 have been entered in the ‘Inputs & adjustments’ worksheet, but the predecessor LAEstab number has not been provided in column B.

You should revisit the entry on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and ensure you have inputted an LAEstab (even if it has not changed post-conversion) and then columns J to O of the ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet should auto populate with the data.

In cell V6, enter the actual fraction for the part of the year 2022 to 2023 financial year that the school was open. We recommend this is entered as a formula to prevent unwanted rounding. For example, for a school that was open for 7 months you should enter ‘=7/12’. You should note that for an academy conversion a value of 1 should be entered if the predecessor school was open at the start of the year.

In cell W6, enter the adjusted additional lump sum (see Annex B – local factors) for schools amalgamating during financial year 2021 to 2022.

In cell X6, provide a narrative for any changes which have been made and the rationale/methodology for these changes.

5.27 MFG exemptions and technical adjustments

You must have our prior approval for all MFG exemptions. Technical adjustments do not require prior approval.

In cell Y6, enter any additional (infrastructure-related) exceptions to be excluded from the MFG calculations. The value can be positive or negative; however, as it is subtracted from the MFG calculation, for a positive adjustment you should enter the figure as a negative value. You should also ensure that a narrative is provided in the relative section of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet.

In cells Z6 to AB6, enter any additional exemptions to be excluded from the MFG calculations. These values can be positive or negative; however, as the amounts are subtracted from the MFG calculation, for a positive adjustment please enter the figure as a negative value. You should also ensure that a narrative is provided in the relative section of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet.

In cell AC6, enter any required technical adjustment relating to looked-after children funding to be excluded from the MFG calculation. You should also ensure that a narrative is provided in the relative section of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet.

In cells AD6 and AE6, enter any additional technical adjustments to be excluded from the MFG calculation.

These values can be a positive or a negative; however, as they are subtracted from the MFG calculation, for a positive adjustment enter the figure as a negative value. You should also ensure that a narrative is provided in the relative section of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet.

5.28 ‘Commentary’ worksheet

In this worksheet you will need to provide a detailed explanation if you have used any of the factors listed below. Specifically, we need to be able to replicate any calculations that you have made, so providing precise and detailed methodology is essential.

When providing this detail, ensure you specify if it relates to a maintained school or an academy.

If you have used a factor elsewhere in the workbook and do not provide comments in the relevant cell of this worksheet, an error will appear in the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

A new row has been added to the ‘Commentary’ worksheet for 2023 to 2024 for you to enter details of any entries on the ‘De Delegation’ worksheet that relate to the former LAMB grant.

If you need to provide additional files to support the notes these should now be sent separately.

5.29 2022 to 2023 approved MFG exclusions and technical adjustments

In cells C7 to C13, provide a detailed narrative, if you have used either:

• ‘22-23 approved exemption’ 1 to 4
• ‘22-23 technical adjustment’ 1 to 3

In cells E7 to E13, state ‘Yes’ if the entry made in the adjacent cells of column C relate to one-off funding.

5.30 2023 to 2024 approved exceptional circumstances

In cells C17 to C23, provide a detailed narrative if you have used any of the approved exceptional circumstances 1 to 7.

In cells E17 to E23, state ‘Yes’ if the entry made in the adjacent cell of column C relates to one-off funding.

In cells F17 to F23 enter ‘Yes’ if the entry relates to premises funding. For anything else, enter ‘No’.

5.31 2023 to 2024 approved MFG exclusions and technical adjustments

In cells C27 to C35, provide a detailed narrative, if you have used either:

• ‘23-24 approved exemption’ 1 to 5
• ‘23-24 technical adjustment’ 1 to 4

In cells E27 to E35, state ‘Yes’ if the entry made in the adjacent cell of column C relate to one-off funding.

5.32 Additional factors/commentary

Criteria information is required.

The guidance for the completion of the cells relating to the other factors shown in the workbook (and general explanatory supporting evidence) has been consolidated below, as the completion is the same for each. Guidance text is embedded in the ‘Commentary’ worksheet, if required.

In cells C39 to C47, provide a narrative (including methodology, calculations and assumptions) for any relevant categories. If you have not allocated growth or falling rolls funding or included additional funding from the high needs budget, you will need to enter ‘n/a’ in rows 39 to 41 of the ‘Commentary’ to clear the check on the ‘Validation sheet’.

Please note that if growth, additional funding from the high needs budget or falling rolls funding is identified, criteria need to be supplied and these amounts should be included in the section 251 budget statement in the appropriate lines (‘1.4.10 Pupil growth’, ‘1.4.5 Falling Rolls Fund’ or ‘1.2.4 Additional high needs targeted funding for mainstream schools and academies’).

In cells E39 to E47, please state ‘Yes’ (if applicable) if the entry made in the adjacent cell of column C relates to one-off funding.

5.33 ‘Factor value limits’ worksheet

The ‘Factor value limits’ worksheet is prepopulated with the minimum and maximum allowable values for each of the mandatory factors. These values ensure all local authorities move 10% closer to the values used in the NFF in 2023 to 2024.

Column A shows the name of the factor.

Column B shows the NFF amount for 2022 to 2023 for the factor including any ACA.

Column C shows the amount of per-pupil funding allocated through the factor in your founding formula.

Column D shows the difference between the figures in columns B and C.

Column E shows the NFF amount for 2023 to 2024 for the factor including any ACA.

Column F is the minimum value which can be used in 2023 to 2024.

Column G is the maximum value which can be used in 2023 to 2024.

Details of how the amounts have been calculated are shown in ‘Annex F – tightening factor values’.

5.34 ‘Proforma’ worksheet

The ‘Proforma’ worksheet is designed for you to enter the high-level unit values for your funding allocation. You will notice that some of the cells are pre-populated calculation cells which are influenced by the data you will enter in this worksheet and also data inputted elsewhere in the worksheets.

We have changed the ‘Proforma’ for 2023 to 2024 to ensure that the values entered for each of the pupil-led factors, the lump sum and the sparsity lump sum are in line with the requirement to move each value 10% closer to the NFF value. If a value is not within the acceptable range on the ‘Factor value limits’ worksheet it will appear in red text. You must amend these values.

Once you have completed all of the blue cells with the required data, you will then be presented with an overview of your budget.

There are a number of sections which make up the ‘Proforma’ worksheet and it is likely you will move back and forth to edit the inputted data. However, the following guidance is written in a top-down manner.

Cell D9 will be pre-populated with the minimum per-pupil funding value for primary pupils. Prior approval is required in order to amend this value. Where a change is entered you must complete cell L9.

Cell E9 will be pre-populated with the minimum per-pupil funding value for key stage 3 pupils. Our prior approval is required in order to amend this value. Where a change is entered you must complete cell L9.

Cell G9 will be pre-populated with the minimum per-pupil funding value for key stage 4 pupils. Our prior approval is required in order to amend this value. Where a change is entered you must complete cell L9.

Cell I9 will be prepopulated with the minimum per-pupil funding value for secondary pupils for schools with all 5 secondary year groups populated. This amount cannot be changed as it is calculated from the key stage 3 and key stage 4 amounts.

In cell L9, if you have altered the values in any of the cells D9, E9 or G9, enter the reference number of the disapplication request which approved this change.

5.35 Pupil-led factors

In cell E12, select either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the dropdown list depending upon whether you wish to use reception uplift.

In cell E14, enter the primary (years R to 6) AWPU, amount per-pupil value.

In cell L14, enter the primary (years R to 6) pupils’ notional SEN value.

In cell E15, enter the key stage 3 (years 7 to 9) AWPU amount per-pupil value.

In cell L15, enter the key stage 3 (years 7 to 9) pupils notional SEN percentage.

In cell E16, enter the key stage 4 (years 10 to 11) AWPU amount per-pupil value.

In cell L16, enter the key stage 4 (years 10 to 11) pupils notional SEN value.

In cell E18, enter the primary FSM amount per-pupil value.

In cell F18, enter the secondary FSM amount per-pupil value.

In cell L18, enter the primary FSM notional SEN percentage.

In cell M18, enter the secondary FSM notional SEN percentage.

In cell E19, enter the primary FSM6 amount per-pupil value.

In cell F19, enter the secondary FSM6 amount per-pupil value.

In cell L19, enter the primary Ever6 notional SEN percentage.

In cell M19, enter the secondary Ever6 notional SEN percentage.

In cell E20, enter the primary IDACI Band F amount per-pupil value.

In cell F20, enter the secondary IDACI Band F amount per-pupil value.

In cell L20, enter the primary IDACI Band F notional SEN percentage.

In cell M20, enter the secondary IDACI Band F notional SEN percentage.

In cell E21, enter the primary IDACI Band E amount per-pupil value.

In cell F21, enter the secondary IDACI Band E amount per-pupil value.

In cell L21, enter the primary IDACI Band E notional SEN percentage.

In cell M21, enter the secondary IDACI Band E notional SEN percentage.

In cell E22, enter the primary IDACI Band D amount per-pupil value.

In cell F22, enter the secondary IDACI Band D amount per-pupil value.

In cell L22, enter the primary IDACI Band D notional SEN percentage.

In cell M22, enter the secondary IDACI Band D notional SEN percentage.

In cell E23, enter the primary IDACI Band C amount per-pupil value.

In cell F23, enter the secondary IDACI Band C amount per-pupil value.

In cell L23, enter the primary IDACI Band C notional SEN percentage.

In cell M23, enter the secondary IDACI Band C notional SEN percentage.

In cell E24, enter the primary IDACI Band B, amount per-pupil value.

In cell F24, enter the secondary IDACI Band B amount per-pupil value.

In cell L24, enter the primary IDACI Band B notional SEN percentage.

In cell M24, enter the secondary IDACI Band B notional SEN percentage.

In cell E25, enter the primary IDACI Band A amount per-pupil value.

In cell F25, enter the secondary IDACI Band A, amount per-pupil value.

In cell L25, enter the primary IDACI Band A notional SEN percentage.

In cell M25, please enter the secondary IDACI Band A notional SEN percentage.

For 2023 to 2024 the use of EAL3 is mandatory so cells D27 and D28 cannot be amended.

In cell E27, please enter the primary EAL3 amount per-pupil value.

In cell L27, enter the primary EAL3 notional SEN percentage.

In cell E28, enter the secondary EAL3 amount per-pupil value.

In cell M28, enter the secondary EAL3 notional SEN percentage.

In cell E29, enter the primary mobility amount per-pupil value.

In cell F29, enter the secondary mobility amount per-pupil value.

In cell L29, enter the primary mobility notional SEN percentage.

In cell M29, enter the secondary mobility notional SEN percentage.

In cell F31, enter the primary LPA amount per-pupil value.

In cell L31, enter the primary LPA notional SEN percentage.

In cell F32, enter the secondary LPA amount per-pupil value.

In cell M32, enter the secondary LPA notional SEN percentage (note that this is the same for all secondary LPA year groups).

5.36 Other factors

In cell F42, enter the primary lump sum value.

In cell G42, enter the secondary lump sum value.

In addition to meeting the requirement to move 10% closer to the NFF lump sum amount, the value selected, including any London fringe supplement, must not exceed £175,000.

In cell L42, enter the primary lump sum notional SEN percentage.

In cell M42, enter the secondary lump sum notional SEN percentage.

In cell F43, enter the primary sparsity factor value.

In cell G43, enter the secondary sparsity factor value.

In cell H43, enter the middle school sparsity factor value.

In cell I43, enter the all-through school sparsity factor value.

In addition to meeting the requirement to move 10% closer to the NFF sparsity amount, the value selected, including any London fringe supplement, must not exceed £100,000.

In cell L43, enter the primary sparsity factor notional SEN percentage.

In cell M43, enter the secondary sparsity factor notional SEN percentage.

In cell D45, enter the primary sparsity factor distance threshold (miles) value. Please leave unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell G45, enter the primary sparsity factor average year group threshold value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell J45, select whether you want to apply the distance taper for the primary sparsity factor lump sum. The default value is ‘Yes’ and will apply the distance taper in the calculation.

In cell L45, select whether you wish to use the ‘NFF’, tapered’, ‘or ‘fixed’ weighting for the primary sparsity factor lump sum. The default calculation method is ‘NFF’.

In cell D46, enter the secondary sparsity factor distance threshold (miles) value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell G46, enter the secondary sparsity factor average year group threshold value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell J46, select whether you want to apply the distance taper for the secondary sparsity factor lump sum. The default value is ‘Yes’ and will apply the distance taper in the calculation.

In cell L46, select whether you want to use the ‘NFF’, tapered’, ‘or ‘fixed’ weighting for the secondary sparsity factor lump sum. The default calculation method is ‘NFF’.

In cell D47 enter the middle school sparsity factor distance threshold (miles) value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell G47, enter the middle school sparsity factor average year group threshold value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell J47, select whether you want to apply the distance taper for the middle school sparsity factor lump sum. The default value is ‘Yes’ and will apply the distance taper in the calculation.

In cell L47, select whether you wish to use the ‘NFF’, tapered’, or ‘fixed’ weighting for the middle school sparsity factor lump sum. The default calculation method is ‘NFF’.

In cell D48, enter the all-through sparsity factor distance threshold (miles) value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell G48, enter the all-through sparsity factor average year group threshold value. Leave this unchanged if you want to use the default values.

In cell J48, select whether you want to apply the distance taper for the all-through sparsity factor lump sum. The default value is ‘Yes’ and will apply the distance taper in the calculation.

In cell L48, select whether you wish to use the ‘NFF’, tapered’, or ‘fixed’ weighting for the all-through sparsity factor lump sum. The default calculation method is ‘NFF’.

In cell L50, enter the split sites notional SEN percentage.

In cell L51 enter the rates notional SEN percentage.

In cell L52, enter the PFI funding notional SEN percentage.

In cells L56 to L61, enter the notional SEN percentages for the exceptional circumstances funding entered on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

In cell L65, enter the additional funding to meet the MPPL notional SEN percentage.

In cell H68, enter the MFG percentage. The value must be between 0% and 0.5%. You can enter values outside this range, but you must have our prior approval.

If you have entered a value less than 0% or greater than 0.5% in cell H68, you must provide the relevant disapplication reference in cell J69.

In cell J70, select ‘Yes’ if you are applying capping and scaling factors (note that gains may be capped above a specific ceiling and/or scaled), otherwise, select ‘No’.

In cell D71, enter the capping factor percentage. The value cannot be lower than the MFG percentage entered in cell H68.

In cell G71, enter the scaling factor percentage.

In cell L75, enter the MFG net total funding (MFG + deductions from capping and scaling) notional SEN percentage.

Cell J76 will display the total funding allocated through the formula.

Cell L76 will display the total notional SEN funding.

In cell J78, enter the high needs threshold value. Please only enter if we have approved an exceptional high needs threshold different to the £6,000.

In cell J79, enter the value for any additional funding required from the high needs budget.

In cell J80, enter the growth fund value.

In cell J81, enter the falling rolls fund value.

Cell J83 will show the total of any adjustments made to 2023 to 2023 budget shares.

Cell J84 will display the total funding allocated through the formula including growth, falling rolls and any 2022 to 2023 adjustments.

Cell J85 will display the percentage of the pre-MFG funding shown in cell J66, distributed through the basic entitlement.

Cell J86 will display the percentage of pupil-led funding included in the total pre-MFG funding shown in cell J66. This value must be at least 80% or a validation error will arise on the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

Cell J87 will display the ratio of primary and secondary funding.

Cell J89 will display the NFF NNDR allocation figure for 2023 to 2024 as entered on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet. It will not include any prior year rates adjustments for 2022 to 2023 entered on ‘Local Factors’.

Cell J90 will display the total amount of funding allocated through the APT after the deduction of the 2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR allocation.

5.37 ‘Block transfers’ worksheet

This worksheet compares the funding allocated through the APT against the schools block funding allocated in the DSG.

The worksheet also requires you to enter details of any funding transferred out of the schools block to any of the other DSG blocks, and details of any funding transferred into the schools block. If the net funding allocated through the APT is lower than the DSG schools block allocation, details of the following must be provided:

• for transfers of up to 0.5%, schools forum approval
• for transfers exceeding 0.5% or, if forum approval has not been received, details of the disapplication approving the transfer
• details of any block transfers agreed through the safety valve process

In cell C5, enter your DSG schools block allocation.

In cell C6, enter the total 2023 to 2024 NFF funded NNDR. The amount entered in cell C6 should be the same as the NNDR figure entered in column X of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

These entries are required, as the APT is released before the DSG is finalised.

Note – when the APT is returned, we will add the final DSG figure into cells I5 and I6 to ensure that the correct amount is used in the subsequent calculations.

Cell C7 will now show the total DSG SB allocation after the deduction of the 2023 to 2024 NFF funded NNDR.

If no transfers are made during the year, then no further entries are required although you do need to ensure that all available schools block (SB) funding has been allocated (shown on row 27).

In cell C9, enter the amount of any schools block funding transferred to the DSG central schools services block (CSSB).

In cell E9, enter the details of how this transfer has been calculated (if you have entered a figure into cell C9).

In cell C10, enter the amount of any schools block funding transferred to the DSG early years block.

In cell E10, enter the details of how this transfer has been calculated (if you have entered a figure into cell C10).

In cell C11, enter the amount of any schools block funding transferred to the DSG high needs block.

In cell E11, enter the details of how this transfer has been calculated (if you have entered a figure into cell C11).

In cells B14 to B17, enter the details of any other funding transferred into the schools block.

In cells C14 to C17, enter the amount of any funding transferred into the schools block (adjacent to the relevant entries in cells B14 to B17, if applicable). Please note, we would not expect to see any DSG related amounts if you have a DSG deficit position showing in your accounts and a subsequent unusable reserve.

These cells will be greyed out and excluded from any subsequent calculations, unless an entry has been made into the relevant rows of column B.

In cells E14 to E17, enter the details of how any transfers outlined in cells B14 to B17 and C14 to C17, have been calculated. You must include details of any transfers in from previous years’ underspends, or from reserves.

If an authority with a DSG deficit wishes to use general funds to eliminate any part of the deficit, or otherwise to add general funds to its schools’ budget, it must apply via a disapplication to the Secretary of State for Education for permission. In cells E14 to E17, provide the reference number for the disapplication agreeing to the transfer from general funds to the schools block.

These cells will be greyed out and excluded from any subsequent calculations unless an entry has been made into the relevant rows of column B.

Rows 22 to 25 will be pre-populated to show the relevant amount of funding. We have added row 23 this year to show the total 2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR entered on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet. As this amount is deducted when comparing the amount of funding allocated through the funding formula, the total amount will not affect the comparisons in rows 27 and 29.

Cell C27 should balance to £0, ensuring that all funding available has been allocated.

In cell E29, provide one of the following, if there is a deficit showing in cell C29:

• a reference number for the disapplication agreeing the difference between the funding allocated and the DSG schools block total
• details of schools forum approval of any difference up to 0.5%

5.38 ‘De Delegation’ worksheet

This worksheet is used to record instances where allowable budgets are handed back to you by maintained schools to be funded centrally.

For the purpose of de-delegation, please note that:

• middle-deemed and all-through schools have de-delegation calculated on both their primary and secondary pupil numbers
• academies are not included and will have a de-delegation value of £0.00

There are 2 tables present on the worksheet, the ‘De-delegation unit value input table’ and the ‘School-level de-delegation table’. You can only make entries in the unit value input table and these entries feed into the calculations in the school level table.

In cells F8 to W24, enter the relevant primary and secondary unit rates against the appropriate indicators (depending on the de-delegation agreements). The insurance category (column J) should not be used for any providers becoming members of DfE’s local authority maintained schools risk protection arrangement (RPA) scheme. You should log new members for the 2023 to 2024 financial year in to the RPA portal. DSG deductions are calculated including nursery and post-16 pupil numbers which are not included in the APT and so de-delegations would be inaccurate.

In cells F26 to W26, enter the relevant percentages for the appropriate indicators.

If an amount is entered in relation to the former LAMB grant please provide details on row 45 of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet.

5.39 Education Functions

This worksheet collects data on the services relating to maintained schools which you can fund from the maintained SBSs (subject to agreements).

In cell E6, enter the single per-pupil rate for pupils aged 5 to 16 years old for all mainstream maintained schools. Note that this applies to maintained schools only; therefore, academies shown in the list will display ‘£0’ in column F.

5.40 New individual school budget (ISB)

This worksheet compiles all of the data you have input into the APT so far and provides a breakdown of the ISB for each school moving into the next financial year.

Your input is not required/possible here.

The final 2 columns show the 2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR allocation and the cash amount allocated to each school after the NFF NNDR has been deducted. The NFF NNDR figure does not include any prior year adjustments.

5.41 School level SB

This worksheet allows you to view the funding that a selected school will receive under the formula entered in the APT.

In cell C9, select from the dropdown, or manually enter, the LAEstab of the school which you would like to view the budget breakdowns for.

The worksheet is automatically populated using formulae and, therefore, other than cell C9, you cannot edit the worksheet. However, this worksheet has no other protection applied, so you will have scope to adjust and tailor it to your local authority’s needs.

For example, you can:

• add rows
• delete rows (that do not contain purple cells)
• adjust row heights
• add columns
• delete columns (that do not contain purple cells)
• adjust column widths

The print range is pre-set to print both tables shown on this sheet, but you can also adjust this if required.

There is also space for you to include your logo or crest on this page. You may find the worksheet helpful for generating a summary of the 2023 to 2024 funding, which you can then publish on your/the school’s intranet or send to schools in the local authority.

5.42 Recoupment

This worksheet estimates the amount to be recouped for all academies that are open prior to 4 January. This cut-off date is set to make sure that only known conversions are recorded and also to ensure consistency across local authorities. Columns D to G are automatically populated with the list of academies and their post-MFG budgets after deduction of the schools NFF NNDR, calculated in the ‘New ISB’ worksheet.

In cell H6, enter the amount of growth funding paid between March and September (if applicable) to be excluded from the total recoupment amount.

In cell I6, enter the amount of growth funding paid between April and August (if applicable) to be excluded from the total recoupment amount.

In cell J6, enter a complete narrative explaining the justification for any amounts entered in H6 and/or I6 (if applicable).

Please note that the recoupment figures calculated in this sheet are provisional and are subject to change. We will write to you by the end of April 2023 to provide the final recoupment amounts for all academies that will have opened by 31 March 2023.

5.43 Split sites data

5.44 Overview

You need to enter the details of mainstream split site schools and their addresses on the ‘Split site data collection’ worksheet included in the APT for 2023 to 2024. This should include maintained schools and academies in the local authority. DfE will use this information to calculate distances between schools’ sites and determine split sites funding through a single split sites formula for 2024 to 2025. For 2023 to 2024, split sites funding will continue to be determined by local authority formulae.

This guidance follows proposals outlined in our consultation, ‘Implementing the Direct National Funding Formula: Government consultation’; the final design of the split sites formula, including decisions around distance thresholds, remains subject to the outcome of that consultation.

5.45 Split sites eligibility criteria

You should only return data for schools which meet the NFF definition of a split site school. For the NFF, split site schools must have at least one additional site which:

• does not have a different school URN ¹ to the school’s main site
• is separated from the school’s main site by a road ²or a railway
• has a building on it which is maintained by the school. We are following the definition of a building used by the DfE Condition Data Collection programme (CDC) ³: a block located on a school site which is owned, controlled and/or maintained by the school and which is primarily used for educational purposes. This excludes any ‘ancillary’ buildings ⁴, swimming pools or playing fields
• is used primarily ⁵for the educational purposes of 5 to 16-year-olds in mainstream education. Therefore, this excludes any sites used solely for special schools (for example, within the same multi-academy trust), nurseries, or school sixth forms

When we refer to a ‘split site school’ in this guidance, we mean one which meets the above criteria. If you do not know, or are unsure, about a school’s sites and their uses, please talk to the school before entering data.

If you have any questions, or you believe the site does not meet the above criteria but has exceptional circumstances which mean it should receive split sites funding, please contact us at:

fundingpolicy.queries@education.gov.uk

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[1] This is the unique reference number allocated to every school and can be found from Get Information About Schools (GIAS). If a site has a different URN, we count it as a different school for funding purposes because they receive a separate lump sum payment.

[2] This must be a road with 24-hour access to through traffic and this includes where, in order to access the school’s additional site, you have to leave the school site and walk alongside a road.

[3] More information can be found on the CDC 2 programme. You can check whether a building meets CDC criteria by checking the school’s latest CDC Site Plan.

[4] Buildings whose use is ancillary to education, including privately owned or occupied domestic properties on the school site, for example, caretaker’s bungalows, observatories, storage sheds, externally funded leisure centres, and secure children’s homes.

[5] By primarily, we mean that the site is used by 5 to 16-year-old pupils that attend the school during school hours for the majority of those hours.

Please use the following chart to assess schools’ eligibility for split sites funding:

5.46 Completing the split sites data collection

If you have no split site schools

If you do not have any split site schools in your area, you do not need to complete the split sites data collection. Instead, please use the ‘Commentary’ worksheet to record that you have no split site schools. All APTs must either include data on split site schools or confirmation that there should not be any data on split site schools.

How to complete the split sites data collection worksheet

1) Enter the LAEstab numbers for all split site schools in column A of the data collection worksheet. This should be the same LAEstab number used in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

a) Do not enter information for any schools which do not have split sites.

2) Upon completion of column A, columns B to D should automatically populate. Check the school’s name in column C is as you expect.

a) if columns B to D contain errors, check you have typed the LAEstab correctly and that it is a valid LAEstab from the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet. Correct the LAEstab if necessary.

b) if you correct the LAEstab and are still seeing errors, enter the site details following the below instructions and, additionally, add the school’s URN and name in the final, comments column.

3) In column E, record the number of sites for each school. This number should include the main site as well as additional sites which meet our definition.

a) For example, if a school has 3 sites consisting of the main site, one additional site which meets our definition and one which does not, it should have 2 sites recorded in this data collection. The data collection counts the main site and the additional one meeting our definition and not the one which does not meet our criteria.

4) In columns F to K, enter the main site address for each school. This should be the address recorded on GIAS. Column D should have automatically populated the link to the school’s GIAS entry. Using this should take you to the webpage where you can see the correct address. Refer to the guidance above about entering addresses when doing this.

a) if you are using a future URN for any schools, they may not yet have a GIAS entry under that URN. If this occurs, please search for the school on GIAS instead.

b) if you have a new school without a GIAS entry or a school where you know the main site is incorrect on GIAS, complete the address you know is correct. If you do this, explain where you have taken the address from in column AS.

Please enter school addresses into the data collection as follows:

• enter the first line of the address as ‘address line 1’; the second and third address lines are optional - for schools in rural areas, record village names here
• enter the relevant town or city in the town field
• enter the relevant postal county in the county field
• enter the postcode in the postcode field; postcodes should have upper case letters and a space between the 2 parts

5) If you can supply a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) for the main site, add this to column L.

a) The data collection requests UPRNs for each school site, return these if you can. Supplying UPRNs will increase our accuracy when locating school sites and calculating the distance between them.

b) If you are unable to supply UPRNs, we will accept data returns with these fields left blank. However, we will rely much more on the supplied postcodes if you cannot return UPRNs. If you do not return UPRNs, double check you have correctly entered all postcodes.

6) Enter data for each school’s second site in columns M to T. All schools entered as split site should have a second site.

a) In column M, confirm you have checked the site meets our eligibility criteria. If it does not, do not include it in the data collection.

b) In columns N to S, enter the site’s address. This is not on GIAS so should be from your records.

c) In column T, supply a UPRN if possible.

7) For schools with more than 2 eligible sites, record details of their additional sites. The approach is the same as for the second site.

a) Enter any third sites in columns U to AB.

b) Enter any fourth sites in columns AC to AJ.

c) Enter any fifth sites in columns AK to AR.

d) If a school has more than 5 eligible sites, supply details in column AS. Include confirmation the site is eligible, its address and its UPRN, as for other sites.

8) Please use column AS to record any comments or other information for us. As well as anything you would like to include, it would help us if you included information about:

• if a school has newly become split site and may not show as split site in historical data
• if a school does not currently meet the eligibility criteria for split sites funding in your local authority but does meet our definition here with a brief explanation as to why -if a school has a site which may appear to be ineligible (for example, described publicly as a sixth form) but you have judged it to meet the eligibility criteria, with a brief explanation as to why

9) Column AT will show whether the number of sites entered in column E matches the number of sites for which details have been entered. You should review this column to ensure no entries show ‘Fail’. If any do, a validation error will be shown on the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

5.47 Before you return the data collection

Before you return the split site data to us:

• check you have not missed any eligible schools. If you miss eligible schools, we may not be able to allocate split sites funding to them
• check you have supplied the same number of addresses as the number of sites stated for every school
• check that every site has a postcode and that you have typed it correctly
• check any supplied UPRNs are correctly recorded
• check that column AT has no ‘Fail’ values

5.48 How DfE will use this data

DfE will use data you return to calculate distances between sites and determine split sites funding for 2024 to 2025. The data you provide will be quality assured by DfE, so a school’s inclusion in the data collection does not guarantee it will receive split sites funding in 2024 to 2025.

5.49 Eligibility checker for specific scenarios

A school currently receives split sites funding from you but does not meet the eligibility criteria outlined in this guidance

Schools that do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined in this guidance would not be eligible for split sites funding from 2024 to 2025. They will, however, have their funding protected through the NFF funding floor, and the MFG in their local formulae.

A school’s sites are separated by a road that is closed during the day

The road must be a throughway for vehicular traffic at all times, so the school would not be eligible for split sites funding.

A school’s sites are separated by a road that leads to our school car park

The road must be a throughway for traffic at all times, so the school would not be eligible for split sites funding.

A school’s second site is separate from their main site, but on the same side of the road

If pupils and/or teachers have to leave the school site and walk alongside a road in order to access the additional site, the school would be eligible for split sites funding.

A school’s second site is separated from their main site by a feature that is not a public road or railway

If a school’s sites are separated by a feature not covered in the eligibility criteria, but you believe they should be eligible for split sites funding, please contact us with details of the school’s circumstances at fundingpolicy.queries@education.gov.uk.

A school has a sixth form or nursery which operates on a separate site

Split sites funding is only available for sites that are used primarily for educating pupils aged 5 to 16. For a site which is used by both school-aged pupils and post-16 pupils, or both school-aged pupils and pre-school pupils, eligibility will depend on how a school uses the site. If the site is primarily used by 5 to 16-year-old pupils that attend the school during school hours, alongside other aged pupils, the site would be eligible.

A school has an additional site that is used to support pupils with any behavioural or additional needs

A site used to support 5 to 16-year-old mainstream pupils on the school roll, who have behavioural or additional needs, would be eligible for split sites funding.

A school has an additional site that is used to support mainstream pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

A site used to support 5 to 16-year-old mainstream pupils on the school roll who have SEND, including a site used exclusively for a special unit or resourced provision, would be eligible for split sites funding.

A school has an additional site that is shared with pupils from another school

A site shared with mainstream pupils from a different school but is used primarily by 5 to 16-year-old pupils on the school’s roll that owns it, controls and/or maintains the site, would be eligible for split sites funding.

A school has a playing field on a separate site that has a storage unit

To be eligible for split sites funding, the additional site must have a building not including those classed as ‘ancillary’. Therefore, an additional site that is a playing field, even if it has a storage shed on it, is not eligible for funding.

A school has a sports centre on an additional site that is rented out to the community after school and during weekends

If the sports centre is owned and managed by the school and is used by 5 to 16-year-old pupils at the school during the majority of school hours for educational purposes, the school would be eligible for split sites funding.

A school’s second site is a swimming pool

In line with longstanding government policy, additional sites that are only swimming pools are not eligible for split sites funding. If the additional site includes a swimming pool alongside other buildings such as classrooms or sports facilities used by pupils during the school day that meet the eligibility criteria, the school would be eligible for funding.

A school rents a building that is on a separate site from our main site

If the building is rented by the school from another entity, but the school has maintenance responsibilities for the building and the building is primarily used by 5 to 16-year-old pupils that attend the school during the school day for educational purposes, the school would be eligible to receive split sites funding.

A school owns a building on a separate site from their main site that is leased out to another entity full time

If the school is leasing out a building to another entity full time, the school would not be eligible to receive split sites funding.

A school owns a building on a separate site from their main site that is leased out to other entities part of the time

If the school is leasing out a building to another entity part of the time, the school has maintenance responsibilities for the building, and the building is used primarily by the school’s 5 to 16-year-old pupils during the school day for educational purposes, the school would receive split sites funding.

5.50 Post-16 infrastructure changes

We have included this worksheet so you can tell us about any infrastructure changes happening in maintained schools so that we can calculate 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Infrastructure changes often require us to adjust individual school allocations. We need to know about these now so that we can calculate and deliver accurate 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations by March 2023 and avoid notifying schools of budget changes late.

You should also enter any changes in academy sixth forms that you are aware of here. We will use your information to confirm these with the regional schools commissioner responsible for approving significant changes with academies.

In cells D5, D6 and D7 you should enter contact details for the person responsible for this information.

Cell C9 will contain the default entry of ‘Yes’, indicating that there are no changes to report. If you are aware of any changes occurring in 2023 to 2024 you should select ‘No’. This will allow entries to be made in the 3 tables.

The first table should be used to enter details of any new sixth forms opening during the year and the second table should be used for entering details of sixth form closures; the third table is used to report details of any schools with sixth forms which are expected to merge during 2023 to 2024.

5.51 Validation

Although the ‘Validation’ worksheet is completely automated and no user input is required, it is important that you review this worksheet once all others have been populated, as it will indicate where any errors have been found.

The ‘Validation’ worksheet is there to help you ensure that the data has been entered correctly. Failed checks on the ‘Validation’ worksheet will not prevent the proforma submitting; however, a proforma submitted with failed checks is highly likely to require resubmission.

6. Submitting the APT to ESFA

We have replaced the portal used to collect the data in previous years with a digital portal. Further guidance and the link to the portal can be found in ‘How to download and return the authority proforma tool (APT): using the digital portal for 2023 to 2024.

6.1 Contact information

If you have any questions or queries about the APT and how it works, you should contact:

APTsubmissions.QUESTIONS@education.gov.uk

7. Annex A - factors

For the 2023 to 2024 financial year you are required to use all of the factors included in the NFF. No other factors are allowed. Additionally, the value set for each factor must move 10% closer to the NFF than the value set in 2022 to 2023.

7.1 Basic per-pupil led funding

The first level of funding is basic per-pupil funding.

This factor assigns funding on the basis of individual pupils, with the number of pupils for each school or academy taken from the October 2022 census data (for the modelling version of the APT the data was still derived from the October 2021 census).

Funding is allocated according to an AWPU, which means that there is a single rate of funding attracted per pupil, with an amount that varies dependant on the age category of that pupil (see below).

7.2 Basic entitlement

Basic entitlement funding is allocated as an amount per pupil, dependant on what age category that pupil falls into. The following is the current funding attracted by each category:

• primary age pupils (R, aged 4 or over at the start of the academic year, to year 6) must be a minimum of £2,000
• key stage 3 (key stage 3 is years 7, 8 and 9) must be a minimum of £3,000
• key stage 4 (years 10 and 11) must be a minimum of £3,000

Note that key stage 3 and key stage 4 can have different rates.

These minimum values are in addition to the requirement to move the value 10% closer to the NFF value.

7.3 Additional needs funding

The next level of funding to be considered depends upon the individual circumstances of the pupils, which covers a number of variables.

There are 4 overarching factors in this section; however, deprivation is made up of a number of measures. The use of each of these factors is mandatory.

7.4 Deprivation

As it is recognised that pupils from lesser economic positions can benefit from additional educational support, the deprivation factor is used by local authorities to help to bridge any resulting educational gap.

Under the deprivation heading, there are 3 measures of deprivation which you must use:

• FSM
• FSM6
• IDACI

7.5 Free school meals (FSM)

Pupils who are eligible for FSM as taken from the October 2022 census.

7.6 Free school meals Ever 6 (FSM6)

Pupils who have been eligible for FSM in any of the last 6 years as taken from the October 2022 census.

7.7 Income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI)

The IDACI element of the deprivation factor is based on the IDACI dataset for 2019, which is published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. IDACI is a relative measure of socio-economic deprivation; an IDACI score is calculated for each lower super output area (LSOA, an area with an average of approximately 1,500 residents or 650 households) based on the characteristics of households in that area. The IDACI score of a given area does not mean that every child living in that area has similar deprivation characteristics, it is a measure of the proportion of children in households experiencing socio-economic deprivation. LSOAs are ranked by score, from the most deprived LSOA, with the highest score, to the least deprived LSOA.

The IDACI measure uses 7 bands (A to G, where A is the most deprived) and different unit values can be attached to each of the 6 bands A to F. Different unit values can also be used for primary and secondary schools in each band.

7.8 Low prior attainment (LPA)

The LPA factor acts as a proxy indicator for low level, high incidence, special educational needs and is measured as such for primary and secondary pupils:

• primary pupils identified as not achieving the expected level of development in the EYFSP, please see the ‘Schools operational guide: 2023 to 2024’
• secondary pupils not reaching the expected standard in key stage 2 at either reading, writing or maths; an individual weighting is applied to each year group when calculating secondary LPA to reflect the higher levels of low attainment under the new testing regime

Following the cancellation of 2020 and 2021 school assessments due to coronavirus (COVID-19), no LPA data will be available for pupils in years 2, 3, 8 or 9. The schools block uses each school’s years 4 and 10 to fill these gaps. Where this information is not held, because the school did not have pupils in these year groups, the value from the 2022 to 2023 APT is used; for any school not entered on the 2022 to 2023 APT, the local authority average for years 4 or 10 is used.

For new schools entered on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, you should use the local authority average, or where this is not representative, a local estimate. If a local estimate based on 2022 key stage 2 results is used for pupils in years 8 or 9, you will need to adjust the proportion of eligible pupils in line with the weightings applied to those years. You should multiply the proportion by the year 7 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E32 and divide by the year 8 or 9 weighting from ‘Proforma’ cell E33 or E34.

7.9 English as an additional language (EAL)

Pupils identified in the October 2022 census with a first language other than English, will attract funding for 3 years after they enter the statutory school system.

For 2023 to 2024 you will no longer be allowed to use EAL1 or EAL2 in your formula.

7.10 Mobility

This factor pertains to pupils who first appeared in either the January or May census return at their current school (the one they are on roll at in the October 2022 census) in 2018 or later. For pupils in reception only, those first appearing at their current school in a May census are classed as mobile.

As a result of the cancellation of the summer 2020 census, any pupil with an entry date at the current school which is after the spring 2020 census date (16 January 2020) and up to, and including, the summer 2020 census date (21 May 2020) will be classed as mobile.

Mobility has a 6% threshold and funding is allocated based on the proportion above the threshold (for example, a school with 8% of pupils classed as mobile will attract pupil mobility funding for 2% of pupils). For schools with pupils in both primary and secondary phases the threshold is applied to each phase separately.

7.11 Minimum per-pupil funding

The minimum per-pupil funding rates will be the same as in the 2023 to 2024 NFF:

• £4,405 for primary schools
• £5,715 for secondary schools

The secondary school rate is only applicable to schools with pupils in years 7 to 11, as it is based on key stage 3 and key stage 4 year groups:

• £5,503 for key stage 3 year groups
• £6,033 for key stage 4 year groups

The calculation is shown below:

(((number of primary year groups × £4,405) + (number of key stage 3 year groups × £5,503) + (number of key stage 4 year groups × £6033)))/total number of year groups

The minimum per pupil funding calculation uses the number of primary, key stage 3 and key stage 4 year groups which will have pupils in them in the upcoming year. To ensure the per-pupil amounts are calculated correctly, you must take care when adding or amending any schools on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, to ensure that the correct year groups are recorded.

The APT is pre-populated with the primary, key stage 3 and key stage 4 rates. The secondary rate is calculated using the key stage 3 and key stage 4 rates (a secondary school will therefore only receive the rate of £5,715 if it has all 5 year groups present in the upcoming year). If you have received agreement to vary the default per-pupil rates through the disapplication process, you should enter the agreed alternative primary, key stage 3 and key stage 4 rates in cells D9, E9 and G9. You must also enter the disapplication reference number in cell L9. An APT will not be accepted where the minimum per-pupil funding rates have been adjusted but no disapplication details have been provided.

No school will have their allocation reduced below the minimum per-pupil level as a result of capping and scaling.

7.12 School-led funding

The next level of funding to be considered is dependent upon the individual circumstances of the school, which again covers a number of variables.

There are 4 overarching factors in this section; however, ‘premises’ is made up of 4 individual measures.

A school may attract funding for one, none or a number of these factors and sub factors.

7.13 Lump sum

You can set a flat lump sum for all phases or differentiate the lump sums for primary and secondary.

You should give middle schools a weighted average, based on the number of year groups in each phase. This is automatically calculated in the APT.

The maximum lump sum per school is £175,000, including any London fringe uplift. This maximum is applied even where the requirement to move 10% closer to the NFF value would result in a value greater than £175,000.

All-through schools will receive the secondary lump sum.

7.14 Sparsity

You can set a sparsity lump sum for all phases. The maximum amount per school is £100,000, including any London fringe uplift. This maximum is applied even where the requirement to move 10% closer to the NFF value would result in a value greater than £100,000.

Schools that are eligible for sparsity funding must meet the following 2 criteria:

• they are located in areas where pupils would have to travel beyond a distance threshold to an alternative school, should that school close
• the average year group size (calculated as the APT-adjusted pupil count divided by number of year groups present at the school) is below the tapered year group threshold

The distance threshold is:

• secondary schools = 3 miles
• all other schools = 2 miles

From the 2023 to 2024 financial year an optional distance taper has been added. Where chosen, this taper applies funding to those schools just below the distance threshold. The taper allocates an amount between the full lump sum to schools on or above the distance threshold, down to 0 to those schools 20% below the threshold.

For example, a primary school will receive a proportion of the sparsity lump sum set by the local authority if it has a sparsity distance between 1.6 and 2 miles (where the default distance threshold of 2 miles is not changed).

A school’s size is defined by the average year group size, as follows:

• primary = 21.4
• secondary = 120.0
• middle = 69.2
• all-through = 62.5

You can also choose to increase the sparsity distance threshold and decrease the average year group threshold.

This factor allows for a pupil number sparsity taper to mirror the methodology used as part of the NFF.

For the following 3 examples, the NFF sparsity calculation is used to calculate the lump sum the school would receive based on its average year group size. The examples are for primary schools using the default year group threshold of 21.4 pupils and the default main distance threshold of 2 miles. The schools have an average year group size of 16.05 pupils. Using a sparsity lump sum amount of £56,300 (the value used in the NFF) this would mean that, if their sparsity distance exceeded the main distance threshold, the schools would receive £28,150. The calculation is (1 - ((16.05 - 10.7) / 10.7)) × 56,300. Each of the example schools has a sparsity distance lower than the main distance threshold so would not receive any sparsity funding if the distance taper was not used.

Example 1: School A’s sparsity allocation through the NFF calculation:

School phase	Average number of pupils per year group	Average distance to second nearest compatible school	Eligible for sparsity funding?
Primary	16.05	1.9 miles	Yes

The school is eligible for sparsity funding through the distance taper threshold as its sparsity distance is greater than the distance taper threshold but less than the main distance threshold.

The distance taper threshold is applied after the average year group size taper has been applied so the maximum sparsity lump sum is £28,150. The distance taper methodology is applied as (1 - ((2 - 1.9) / (2 - 1.6))) × 28,150. In this example, the school will therefore receive £21,112.50. This is 75% of the amount the school would have received had its sparsity distance been equal to or greater than the main distance threshold.

Example 2: School B’s sparsity allocation through the NFF:

School phase	Average number of pupils per year group	Average distance to second nearest compatible school	Eligible for sparsity funding?
Primary	16.05	1.7 miles	Yes

School B is eligible for sparsity funding through the distance taper threshold as its sparsity distance is greater than the distance taper threshold but less than the main distance threshold.

The distance taper threshold is applied after the average year group size taper has been applied so the maximum sparsity lump sum is £28,150. The distance taper threshold is applied as (1 - ((2 - 1.7) / (2 - 1.6))) × 28,150. In this example the school will, therefore, receive £7,037.50. This is 25% of the amount the school would have received had its sparsity distance been equal to or greater than the main distance threshold.

School B would receive less than School A due to being further away from the main distance threshold.

Example 3: School C’s sparsity allocation through the NFF.

School phase	Average number of pupils per year group	Average distance to second nearest compatible school	Eligible for sparsity funding?
Primary	16.05	1.6 miles	No

School C is not eligible for sparsity funding through the distance taper threshold as its sparsity distance is not greater than the distance taper threshold.

The distance taper threshold is applied after the average year group size taper has been applied so the maximum sparsity lump sum is £28,150. The distance taper threshold is applied as (1 - ((2 - 1.6) / (2 - 1.6))) × 28,150. In this example the school will, therefore, not receive any sparsity funding.

7.15 Premises factors

The following measures fall under the heading of premises as they relate to the physical buildings which make up the school and their upkeep.

7.16 Rates

You should enter the 2022 to 2023 estimated rates figure from the 2022 to 2023 APT in column X in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet on the 2023 to 2024 APT. This will ensure funding received via the NFF NNDR is reflected correctly in terms of budgets and funding received.

Example:

You enter £9,000, taken from the local authority estimate of NNDR 2022 to 2023 tab on the 2023 to 2024 APT, into column X (this is the 2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR allocation) on the 2023 to 2024 APT ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

Enter 2022 to 2023 adjustments in column Y on the 2023 to 2024 APT in column Y.

If your billing authority/authorities has/have opted into the new centralised payments system where we pay the bills directly we:

• would expect this column to be left blank except where you have adjustments such as revaluations which occurred in the last quarter of 2021 to 2022 (January 2022 to March 2022) and were not included in Column Y on the 2022 to 2023 APT.
• do not expect see any adjustments for academies in this column

If your billing authority/authorities has/have remained on the current NNDR payment process where schools pay their own NNDR bills:

• enter any difference between the previously estimated 2022 to 2023 rates value (column X local factors tab on the 2022 to 2023 APT) and the now known actual values for 2022 to 2023 in column Y (this can be a positive or negative value)
• we mainly expect to see adjustments for in-year revaluations in this cell
• adjustment for schools converting to academy status (80% rating relief) should not be entered here
• enter any inflationary increases (NNDR multiplier) applied to the 2023 to 2024 rate in column Y
• we do not expect to see any adjustments for academies in this column

Examples:

• For a school with an NNDR allocation of £7,000 on the 2022 to 2023 APT, but the 2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR allocation is £9,000, you should enter £2,000 into column Y (adjustments to 2022 to 2023 rates) on the 2023 to 2024 APT ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.
• For a school that has converted to academy status, you input the 20% of the NNDR figure in column X (2023 to 2024 NFF NNDR allocation) on the 2023 to 2024 APT ‘Local Factors’ worksheet. No entry for any adjustment should be made in column Y (adjustments to 2022 to 2023 rates) on the 2023 to 2024 APT.

Include an estimate for 2023 to 2024 rates on the ‘LA estimate of NNDR 23-24’ worksheet in the APT. We will pay rates directly to those billing authorities who have implemented the new NNDR payment process on behalf of their maintained schools and academies from April 2023.

7.17 Private finance initiatives (PFI)

The purpose of this factor is to support schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs, because they are a PFI school, and to cover situations where the PFI ‘affordability gap’ is delegated and paid back to the local authority.

Methodologies for funding PFI schools must be objective and clear, and capable of being replicated for academies. The purpose of the factor is to fund the additional costs to a school of being in a PFI contract, not necessarily the full cost, as some costs may be covered within other factors.

7.18 Split sites

The purpose of this factor is to support schools that have unavoidable extra costs because the school buildings are on separate sites.

Allocations must be based on objective criteria for the definition of a split site and for how much is paid.

7.19 Exceptional circumstances

You can apply to us to use exceptional factors relating to school premises (for example, for rents or joint-use sports facilities) with the following criteria:

• exceptional factors must relate to premises costs, except where agreed
• you should only submit applications where the value of the factor is more than 1% of a school’s budget and applies to fewer than 5% of the schools in the local authority’s area
• you can use exceptional premises factors used in 2022 to 2023 (for pre-existing, and newly qualifying schools) in 2023 to 2024, if the qualification criteria are still met

7.20 Growth

You can choose to set aside an amount of funding to cover basic need growth in their authority.

An amount, which is agreed with the schools forum, is top sliced from the schools block. You allocate out this funding to schools and academies that meet stringent growth funding criteria, which must be agreed by the schools forum.

7.21 Geographic funding

The final level of funding to be considered is dependent upon the geographical location of the school.

7.22 London fringe

This factor only applies to Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and West Sussex.

The purpose of this factor is to support schools within local authorities that are partly outside of the London fringe area, but the school is within the fringe. This is because we recognise that these schools will attract higher running costs.

If used, the multiplier is applied to the 6 pupil-led factors, the lump sum factor and the sparsity factor.

In the APT, the factor can be applied in one of 2 ways:

1. As a multiplier of 1.0156.
2. As a multiplier equal to the differential of the area cost adjustment of fringe and non-fringe zones in the local authority.

The differentials are:

• Buckinghamshire: 1.0184
• Essex: 1.0348
• Hertfordshire: 1.0314
• Kent: 1.0377
• West Sussex: 1.0579

8. Annex B - local factors

Although the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet is outlined in the ‘Authority proforma tool (APT): purpose and process - instructions for local authorities for 2023 to 2024’, and also in the overview section of this document, due to the complexity of some of the rationale behind the data entry, this annex has been created to avoid saturation.

8.1 Opening/closing (column O)

This should be ‘1.00’ unless the school is opening or closing during the year, in which case you should enter the proportion of the 2023 to 2024 financial year the school will be open, preferably as a formula as in the example below.

For example:

A school that is closing at the start of September would need to be funded from April to August, which would be 5 out of 12 months of the year. Therefore, enter this in the APT as a formula (=5/12).

Attempting to enter values greater than 1 or equal to 0 will result in an error message.

The default option is ‘1.00’ and ‘0’ is not permitted as an option here, because schools closing prior to April 2023 and open for 0% of the year should be recorded as a closure on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and will not appear on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet.

8.2 New and growing school (column P)

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the dropdown list to indicate whether the school has opened during the past 7 years and has not yet reached its full number of year groups.

Please note, this does not include existing schools which have just extended their age range or added a new phase. Where a school has a predecessor school, the date of opening is that of the predecessor school.

The default option is ‘No’. Any capping and scaling reductions specified in the formula are not applied to new and growing schools and estimated pupil numbers must be used.

8.3 High needs unit (Column Q)

Select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from the dropdown list to indicate whether the school has a special unit or a resourced provision designated by the local authority for pupils with special education needs, funded on the basis of places and top-up funding.

Other types of unit, for example those for pupils with medical or behavioural needs who might otherwise be in alternative provision, should not be included as they are not normally funded on the same basis. The default option is ‘no’ and columns R to V are greyed out. If ‘yes’ is entered, the corresponding cells in columns R to V will be highlighted.

8.4 Pupils in high needs places (columns R to U)

The total number of high needs places should be entered in column R and the number of places occupied by pupils on roll at the school are required in columns S to U. This information will determine the rate of place funding that we will allocate to mainstream academies and free schools, and the equivalent deduction that will be made to your high needs block of the DSG.

Places occupied by pupils on roll at the school at the time of the school census return are funded at £6,000 per place. Places not filled by pupils on the school roll at the time of the census count are funded at £10,000. This means we need to know how many of the places in a unit are occupied by pupils on the school’s roll, to determine whether the place is funded at £6,000 or £10,000. It is important that you fill this in accurately as we will use this information to fund academies with units.

The SBS is determined on the basis of the total number of pupils on the school roll, including those in resourced provision and special units. The lower £6,000 funding rate for places occupied by these pupils reflects the additional per-pupil funding that they attract through the school’s formula. Where a place is not occupied by a pupil who is recorded with sole or dual (main) enrolment status in the school census, the place funding rate is £10,000.

For your reference, the ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet shows the latest information we hold on the number of pre-16 high needs place numbers in each mainstream school in your authority. For academies and free schools, these place numbers were confirmed in January 2022 or subsequently as part of the high needs place change notification process and used for our determination of the schools’ grant. For maintained schools, the place numbers have been updated using the section 251 budget data for 2021 to 2022.

In column R you should enter the total number of places whether or not they are occupied. In columns S, T and U enter the number of primary, key stage 3 and key stage 4 high needs pupils occupying places in the unit. The numbers entered must exclude the number of pupils in those places who are not sole or dual (main) registered at the school. For primary places in column S, you should also exclude pupils in high needs places who are in a nursery class.

The reason for variance in places provided compared to academic 2022 to 2023 high needs places you agreed with us (column V).

If the place figures you have provided in columns R to U vary from the numbers in the ‘22-23 HN places’ worksheet, select a reason for this variance from the dropdown list. If you select ‘other’, ‘new high needs unit opening mid-year’ or ‘existing high needs unit closing mid-year’ please provide further details in column AV. Other reasons will include situations where the numbers have changed since the numbers were last collected from local authorities. If multiple reasons apply, please select ‘other’ and provide further details in column AV.

8.5 ‘23-24 split sites’ (column W)

This should be blank or ‘0’ unless the school has a split site in which case, enter the actual cash you wish to allocate for split site funding. Please note that this figure should be entered as an actual value payable, which assumes that you have taken any adjustments for part-year funding into account.

8.6 ‘23-24 NFF NNDR allocation’ (column X)

Only enter the total rates figure from the 2022 to 2023 APT. Rates figures for all schools from the 2022 to 2023 APT are included on the ’IndicativeNFF NNDR PaidBy ESFA’ worksheet. If left blank, it will be treated as ‘0’. If the amount entered in column X does not match the value provided you must provide an explanation for the difference in column AV.

8.7 ‘Adjustment to 22-23 Rates’ (column Y)

This column should only be used if you are retrospectively adjusting previous year rates amounts in 2023 to 2024. If you are adjusting in 2023 to 2024, enter the adjustment to account for any difference between previously funded 2022 to 2023 rates and now known actual rates. This may be a negative figure to reflect a previous overestimate or a positive figure to reflect an underestimate.

You should also enter any inflationary increases applied to the 2023 to 2024 rates in this column.

If you have opted into the new centralised payments system where we pay bills directly we would expect this column should be left blank.

Please provide a narrative in column AV for all adjustments made.

For further information please refer to ‘Annex A - factors’.

8.8 ‘23-24 PFI’ (column Z)

The allocations must be based on objective criteria, capable of being replicated for any academies in your area. Please note that this figure should be entered as an actual value payable, which assumes that you have taken any adjustments for part-year funding into account. If left blank it will be treated as ‘0’.

8.9 ‘Other adjustments to 22-23 budget shares’ (column AA)

Apart from certain circumstances specified in the regulations, school budgets cannot be re-determined in year. Any corrections relating to 2022 to 2023 will, therefore, have to be made in the 2023 to 2024 budget calculation. Since they relate to the previous funding period, they will be excluded from the MFG calculation for 2023 to 2024. From 2023 to 2024 any adjustment will also be excluded from the schools MPPL calculation.

Enter here any necessary adjustments to account for any difference between previously submitted 2022 to 2023 SBS and now known actual values. This could be calculated by using last year’s APT and re-running updated figures for the school through this, and then calculating the difference between this result and the SBS actually paid.

The 2022 to 2023 baseline in the current 2023 to 2024 APT will also be amended to reflect these changes. This may be a negative figure to reflect a previous overestimate or a positive figure to reflect an underestimate. If left blank, it will be treated as 0. An entry is only required on the ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet if the adjustment relates to a change in the number of pupils on roll. In this case you should enter the adjusted NOR in column P of the ‘22-23 final baselines’ worksheet.

The adjustment will be added to the total allocation for 2023 to 2024 in the ‘New ISB’ worksheet.

Please ensure you provide a narrative in column AV for all adjustments made.

8.10 ‘23-24 approved exceptional circumstances’ 1 to 7 (columns AB to AH)

Enter any approved exceptional circumstances you wish to apply. You should note that we must have pre-approved these. This figure should be entered as an actual value payable which assumes that you have taken any adjustments for part-year funding into account. If left blank they will be treated as 0.

Enter a brief description for each exceptional circumstance you apply in the blue input cells above the column titles. These will then automatically appear in the ‘Proforma’ and the ‘School level SB’ worksheets.

8.11 ‘Additional lump sum for schools amalgamated during financial year 22-23’ (Column AB)

You should note that column ‘AB’ is reserved for adjustments to any additional lump sum for schools which amalgamated during financial year 2022 to 2023 (including schools that amalgamate on 1 April 2022).

Where schools amalgamated during this period, the resultant school can retain the equivalent of 85% of the aggregate lump sums that the collective predecessor schools would be allocated during financial year 2023 to 2024, the year after they merged. Enter here the additional lump sum that schools amalgamated during the 2022 to 2023 financial year are entitled to. You should note that you must apply to us to specify an alternative (lower) lump sum to an amalgamated school in exceptional circumstances. You do not need our approval to give the school the equivalent of 85% of the aggregate lump sums.

8.12 ‘Additional sparsity lump sum for small schools’ (column AC)

For very small, sparse secondary schools:

• less than a total of 350 pupils on roll
• sparsity distance of 5 miles or more
• pupils present in years 10 or 11

You will be able to apply to us for an exceptional, additional sparsity sum of up to £50,000 in addition to the funding received through the sparsity factor. Column AC is reserved for the you to enter any such additional sparsity funding amounts, we have approved.

8.13 ‘23-24 approved exceptional circumstances 3 to 7: total of entries not to be deducted from the minimum per pupil funding calculation’ (column AI)

You should enter here the total of any entries in exceptional circumstances 3 to 7 (columns AD to AH) which do not relate to premises costs or which have been agreed should not be included in the MPPL calculation.

8.14 ‘23-24 approved exceptional circumstances: total funding which will be excluded from the minimum per pupil funding calculation’ (column AJ)

This column is automatically populated and shows the total funding entered in ‘Exceptional Circumstances 3 to 7’ which will not be included in the minimum per-pupil funding calculation (the total of columns AD to AH minus AI).

8.15 ‘23-24 approved MFG exemptions’ 1 to 5 (columns AK to AO)

Only include those additional excluded items as you have applied for and we have approved in writing. You should note that these are new approvals only. Any approvals received for 2022 to 2023 were for that year only. Positive values will be subtracted from the SBS for the MFG calculation. If left blank they will be treated as 0.

8.16 ‘23-24 technical adjustments’ 1 to 4 (columns AP to AS)

These can be either positive or negative values. The figures will be subtracted from the SBS for the MFG calculation therefore, for a positive adjustment, please enter as a negative value.

If left blank they will be treated as ‘0’. You should note that column AP is reserved for new delegation adjustments and only positive figures are permitted. Column AT will be pre-populated with an adjustment to the 2023 to 2024 MFG equal to the adjustment to the 2022 to 2023 budget share entered in column AA.

Technical adjustment 2 (column AQ) has been reserved for removing premises costs from the MFG for those local authorities wishing to mirror the NFF. This can include split sites and PFI funding as well as any premises costs entered in the approved exceptional circumstances columns.

8.17 ‘23-24 total approved MFG exemptions and technical adjustments for use in MFG calculation’ (column AU)

The total 2022 to 2023 approved MFG exemptions and technical adjustments to be used in the MFG calculation are calculated in column AU, by summing all the input values in columns AK to AT.

8.18 ‘Comments’ (column AV)

Provide a narrative if you have recorded any adjustments in columns Y or AA. You should note that if you fail to provide a narrative you will get a ‘fail’ on the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

You should also provide a narrative if you have selected ‘other’, ‘new high needs unit opening mid-year’ or ‘existing high needs unit closing mid-year’ in column V.

You should ensure you provide details of the methodology used for the calculation of the split sites, the PFI and the exceptional circumstances factors as well as the MFG exclusions and adjustments in the relevant sections of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet. Note that if you fail to provide a narrative you will get a failure on the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

9. Annex C - local adjustments to the supplied data

In some cases, it will be necessary to use a local calculation or estimate based on the technical descriptions given in the schools block dataset technical specification to ensure the data used is representative. This only applies to individual schools. This section describes when and how this should take place. You should record adjustments in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet and must provide a clear explanation for the change in each case.

9.1 Schools undergoing change

In the case of a planned amalgamation, you should take the data from each of the predecessor schools as they appear in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet and then merge using weighted sums for each of the pupil-led factors. In the case of a brand-new school with no relevant predecessors, or a school converting from the private sector, you should use a local estimate, based on similar schools in the local authority area for the first year.

You must also request our approval to record a reduction to the supplied pupil numbers for specific schools where a school has changed, or is going to change, it’s age range by losing year groups.

9.2 Anomalous primary/secondary pupils

Where a primary school has only 1 or 2 secondary phase pupils in the data, or conversely where a secondary school has a small number of primary phase pupils, this may suggest a school census recording error. You may wish to verify whether these are errors and, if so, amend the data accordingly to avoid incorrect formula allocations. Making such a change does not require our prior approval, but you must provide clear explanations for any such changes on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet of the APT.

9.3 Sparsity distances

The sparsity distances in the schools block data are based on road distances as in the NFF.

You can make exceptional applications for schools that open after the distances have been calculated. An existing school that qualifies for sparsity funding in the data provided will not lose that funding in year if a new school opened nearby.

For schools that may qualify for sparsity funding as a result of the closure of another school nearby, you should agree an exceptional application with the relevant schools forum and submit to us for approval.

10. Annex D - common issues

10.1 Ordering of schools in the APT’s worksheets

The pre-populated data contained in the ‘Schools Block Data’ and the ‘22-23 submitted baselines’ worksheets is locked and cannot be changed; this also applies to the order in which the schools and academies are listed. The order of schools listed on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet is the same as in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet, with any schools added to the list using the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet appearing at the bottom.

You can add new worksheets to the APT for your own modelling purposes. If you wish to see the data on a worksheet ordered differently, you can copy that across into your new worksheet and order it in any way you wish. Please note that any worksheets you add to the APT will need to be removed before you submit data to us (if you wish to provide additional information on new worksheets you should save these separately and embed in column F of the ‘Commentary’ worksheet). Reordering has no impact on individual schools’ calculations, it simply affects the position in which they are displayed in the APT tables.

10.2 Duplicate school shown on the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet

Duplicated schools can appear because an amalgamation or academy conversion has been entered on the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, but the predecessor LAEstab reference(s) has/have not been entered and the LAEstab of the new school is the same. This reference is needed to prevent the original entry from the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet being carried forward to later worksheets along with the new school. Duplicated schools are flagged as failures on the ‘Validation’ worksheet.

10.3 The London fringe column (column K) in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet

The APT is pre-populated for all schools. Where a school is in one of the 5 affected local authorities which are partially within the London fringe and it is not within the fringe area, the default value of 1.00 is entered. If the school is within the fringe area then the default value of 1.0156 is entered. In all other local authorities the value is 1 for every school.

This value is needed so that the APT’s formulae work correctly. However, these values can be changed for the 5 local authorities partially within the London fringe; for any school for which an adjustment is recorded here, that is on the London fringe, you simply need to select the correct value from the dropdown list in this column.

10.4 Additional lump sum for schools which amalgamated during 2022 to 2023 or on 1 April 2022

Approved exceptional circumstance 1 (column AB of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet) is reserved for this purpose.

Column AG of the ‘New ISB’ worksheet is populated automatically with the lump sum amount due to a school based on its phase. For schools which were created from a merger during 2022 to 2023 or on 1 April 2022, this is not the full lump sum amount to which they are entitled under the 85% arrangement. You should record in exceptional circumstance 1 (column AB) of the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet the additional lump sum funding, over and above the amount shown in column AG of the ‘New ISB’ worksheet. In the ‘New ISB’ worksheet, the sum of the amounts shown in column AG and column AK for the school should sum to the correct lump sum figure. When calculating the baseline for the new merged school you should ensure that only one lump sum is included in the ‘Adjustment to 21-22 Post-MFG Budget’.

10.5 Validation failures

All the checks on the ‘Validation’ worksheet must be passed before you can submit your APT. Where any check fails, it must be resolved prior to submission. The ‘Validation’ worksheet contains comments providing detailed information to help clear any failures. These comments explain why the check has failed and how to resolve it. It is not uncommon that resolving one failed check will at the same time cause other failed checks to become passed.

10.6 Schools converting to academy status retaining the same LAEstab

You will need to populate each of the columns in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet as the data will not be automatically carried forward from the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet. All the columns in the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet appear in the same order in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet, so local authorities can simply copy and paste the values across in one go.

When entering an academy conversion, you must enter the predecessor LAEstab even where this is unchanged. If this is not done, the school will be duplicated on subsequent worksheets.

10.7 Entering an adjustment in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet for a new or amalgamated school

It is very important to check that the school list in the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet displays the correct maintained schools and academies expected to be funded in 2023 to 2024, before entering any data here (or on any subsequent worksheet). If adjustments are entered in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet after entering data in subsequent worksheets, the order of the school list may change, but the data you have entered in the blue cells will stay in the same place. As a result, some, or all, of that data may appear against the wrong school or academy. If, however, it is not possible to complete the APT in this sequence, we recommend saving a separate copy of the APT once the bulk of the entries have been completed. If then a new/amalgamated/converter school needs to be added at a later stage, a lookup formula can be used to populate the ‘Local Factors’ worksheet with figures contained in the original saved copy. These formulas must be replaced with values before you submit the APT to us.

10.8 Academies that convert prior to 4 January 2023 with more than one predecessor school

You should enter the reason ‘conversion to academy status prior to 4 January 2023’ in column A in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet. In columns B to E, you must enter the LAEstabs of all predecessor schools. If this is not done the predecessor schools will still appear on subsequent worksheets.

10.9 The number of mobile children calculated on the ‘Adjusted Factors’ worksheet

The mobility factor only applies above 6%. In the ‘Adjusted Factors’ worksheet, the APT automatically deducts the 6% when calculating the number of children at a school eligible for this factor. For any school with a mobility ratio less than 6% the number of mobile children will be 0.

10.10 Sparsity distances for middle-deemed primary schools

For the sparsity factor, the sparsity average distances for middle-deemed primary schools, middle-deemed secondary schools and all-through schools appear in the secondary column of the ‘Schools Block Data’ worksheet so that they feed through into the rest of the APT and its calculations correctly.

10.11 Schools where the NOR and phase are not aligned

On the ‘Validation’ worksheet the ‘NOR & phase’ check will fail for a school if its phase and NOR don’t align in the ‘Adjusted Factors’ worksheet.

To resolve this check, you must amend the phase of the school in the ‘Inputs & Adjustments’ worksheet by selecting ‘other’ from the dropdown list in column A and then selecting the correct phase from the dropdown list in column I. You should note that if the phase is changed from ‘primary’ to any other phase you will need to ensure that you re-enter the sparsity distance for the school in the secondary sparsity distance column (column BG), as the sparsity average distances for middle-deemed primary schools, middle-deemed secondary schools and all-through schools appear in the secondary column.

11. Annex E - schools supplementary grant adjustment in the MFG baselines

The schools supplementary grant has been rolled into the DSG from 2023 to 2024. To ensure this funding is protected, an adjustment has been added to the MFG baseline for each school. The adjustment reflects the amount of funding each school would have received based on the number of pupils in the schools MFG baseline. This ensures the school will receive the correct per-pupil level of protection.

The adjustment for each school has been calculated using the approach below:

• a lump sum of £3,680 multiplied by the opening/closing factor shown in column D of the ‘22-23 submitted baselines’ worksheet
• a basic per-pupil rate of £97 for primary pupils, excluding any reception uplift pupils
• a basic per-pupil rate of £137 for key stage 3 pupils
• a basic per-pupil rate of £155 for key stage 4 pupils
• an FSM6 per-pupil rate of £85 per eligible primary pupil
• an FSM6 per-pupil rate of £124 per eligible secondary pupil

The total amount is then increased in line with the 2022 to 2023 ACA.

The pupil numbers used are based on those entered on the 2022 to 2023 APT and are the same as the total used in the MFG baseline. The numbers eligible for FSM6 are the same as those funded through the 2022 to 2023 APT.

12. Annex F - tightening factor values

For 2023 to 2024 each local authority must move their factor values 10% closer to the NFF value. The following equation shows how we calculate a 10% movement for each of the NFF factors in each local authority’s formula, where:

• L1 is the baseline factor value, based on your factor value for 2022 to 2023.
• L2 is the your factor value required for 2023 to 2024 after the 10% tightening is applied.
• N1 is the NFF factor value for 2022 to 2023, multiplied by the ACA.
• N2 is the 2023 to 2024 NFF factor value, multiplied by the ACA.

L2 = L1 + 0.1 (N1 − L1) + N2 − N1

If L1 is lower than N1, the value calculated is the minimum value for the factor. The maximum value will be set to 2.5% above N2.

If L1 is greater than N1, the value calculated is the maximum value for the factor. The minimum value will be set to 2.5% below N2.

If L1 is within 2.5% of N1, then you are given flexibility to set this factor value within 2.5% below or above the NFF value. A threshold of 2.5% should allow affordability for local authorities under this tightening requirement.  

Where you used either EAL1 or EAL2 in their 2022 to 2023 formula the EAL baseline factor value is adjusted to reflect the additional pupils eligible under EAL3. If EAL1 was used then the 2022 to 2023 amount is divided by 3 before applying the tightening formula. If EAL2 was used the baseline factor value is multiplied by 2/3.

Example 1

The value entered in the 2022 to 2023 APT was lower than the NFF:

N1 2022 to 2023 NFF value (including ACA): £1,000

L1 2022 to 2023 APT value: £800

N1 – L1 Difference: £200 below

N2 2023 to 2024 NFF value (including ACA): £1200

L2 = £800 + (0.1 × £200) + £1,200 - £1,000 = £1,020

As L1 is lower than N1 the amount calculated for L2 is the minimum value you can enter for the factor. The maximum is 2.5% higher than N2, £1,230.

When setting their formula for 2023 to 2024 you can choose any value between £1,020 and £1,230.

Example 2

The value entered in the 2022 to 2023 APT was higher than the NFF:

N1 2022 to 2023 NFF value (including ACA): £1,000

L1 2022 to 2023 APT value: £1,200

N1 – L1 Difference: £200 above

N2 2023 to 2024 NFF value (including ACA): £1200

L2 = £1,200 + (0.1 × £200) + £1,200 - £1,000 = £1,420

As L1 is higher than N1 the amount calculated for L2 is the maximum value you can enter for the factor. The minimum is 2.5% lower than N2, £1,170.

When setting their formula for 2023 to 2024, you can choose any value between £1,170 and £1,420.

Example 3

The value entered in the 2022 to 2023 APT was very close to the NFF value:

N1 2022 to 2023 NFF value (including ACA): £1,000

L1 2022 to 2023 APT value: £1,010

N1 – L1 Difference: £10 above

N2 2023 to 2024 NFF value (including ACA): £1200

L2 = £1,000 + (0.1 × £10) + £1,200 - £1,000 = £1,201

As L2 is within 2.5% of N2 you are allowed to set a value up to 2.5% above or below N2.

When setting their formula for 2023 to 2024 you can choose any value between £1,170 and £1,230.