Guidance

COVID-19 recovery premium 2023 to 2024: technical note

Updated 25 March 2024

Applies to England

1.  Introduction

This technical note sets out details of how allocations of recovery premium (RP) grant have been calculated for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

This applies to all eligible schools, as outlined in section 2. Eligible schools.

Where this note refers to ‘mainstream and special schools’ it is also referring to mainstream and special academies.

2. Eligible schools

The following types of school are allocated RP grant funding based on the number of eligible pupils who attend.

2.1 Local authority maintained schools

This includes:

• mainstream infant, primary, middle, junior, secondary, and all-through schools serving pupils in reception to year group 11
• schools for children with special educational needs or disabilities and general hospital schools
• pupil referral units (PRUs), for children who do not go to a mainstream school

2.2 Academies, free schools and non-maintained special schools

This includes:

• mainstream academies serving pupils in reception to year group 11
• academies for children with special educational needs or disabilities
• alternative provision (AP) academies, for children who do not go to a mainstream school
• non-maintained special schools

RP grant is also provided to local authorities for eligible pupils in independent special schools, where the local authority pays full tuition fees – see section 3.5 Pupils in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies, general hospital schools, independent special schools and non-maintained special schools.

3. Pupil eligibility

 3.1 ‘Ever 6’ free school meals (FSM) children in mainstream schools

The first three instalments of the RP grant for mainstream schools will include pupils recorded in the October 2022 school census who have a recorded period of free school meals (FSM) eligibility since (and including) January 2017, as well as those first recorded as eligible in October 2022.

The fourth instalment will include pupils recorded in the October 2023 census who have a recorded period of FSM eligibility since (and including) January 2018, as well as those first recorded as eligible in October 2023.

For the purposes of this note, these pupils are collectively referred to as ‘FSM Ever 6’.

Note: this does not include pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units. See section 3.5 Pupils in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies, general hospital schools, independent special schools and non-maintained special schools.

3.2 Children of families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) in mainstream schools who are eligible for free school meals

From 24 March 2022, FSM eligibility has been permanently extended to children of families with NRPF, subject to specified income thresholds. As these pupils should now be recorded as such in the school census, RP grant for these pupils will automatically be calculated in the same way as for other FSM eligible pupils. Unlike in previous years, there will therefore not be a separate RP grant claims process for these pupils for 2023 to 2024 academic year.

 3.3 Previously looked-after children (PLAC) in mainstream schools

The first 3 instalments of the RP grant will include children recorded in the October 2022 school census for mainstream schools and special schools, and in the January 2023 school census for children in PRUs and AP academies, who were looked after by a local authority or other state care immediately before being adopted or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order).

The fourth instalment will include the above children recorded in the October 2023 and January 23 school census.

For the first time in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, this includes pupils adopted from state care from outside England and Wales.

Note: this does not include pupils in special educational needs (SEN) units. See section 3.5 Pupils in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies, general hospital schools, independent special schools and non-maintained special schools.

3.4 Looked-after children (LAC)

RP grant is allocated to local authorities based on the number of LAC supported by the authority. LAC are defined in the Children Act 1989 as those who are in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, an English local authority.

The first 3 instalments will include children who were looked after for at least one day, as recorded in the March 2022 children looked-after data return (SSDA903) and aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2021.

The fourth instalment will include children looked after for at least one day during the year ending March 2023, as recorded in the March 2023 children looked-after data return (SSDA903) and aged 4 to 15 on 31 August 2022.

3.5 Pupils in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies, general hospital schools, independent special schools and non-maintained special schools

For special schools and SEN units in mainstream schools, the first 3 instalments of the RP grant will include all pupils recorded in the October 2022 school census. The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the October 2023 census.

For PRUs and AP academies, the first 3 instalments of the RP grant will include all pupils recorded in the January 2023 school census. The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the January 2024 census.

For general hospital schools, the first 3 instalments of the RP grant will include all pupils in the January 2023 school level annual school census (SLASC). The fourth instalment will include all pupils recorded in the January 2024 SLASC.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will also allocate funding to each local authority for pupils in independent special schools, for whom the authority pays full tuition fees. Non-maintained special schools will receive RP grant direct from ESFA.

4. Rates for eligible pupils

The RP grant per pupil rates for 2023 to 2024 academic year are set out below.

In addition to the per pupil rates, the following floors will also apply:

• an eligible primary or middle deemed primary school will not receive less than £2,000

• an eligible secondary, all-through special, AP or hospital school will not receive less than £6,000

Please note, to be eligible for the floor, schools must have at least one pupil registered on the October 2023 school census (for mainstream and special schools) or the January 2023 school census (for PRUs and APs).

Pupil eligibility	RP grant per pupil
Pupils recorded as eligible in reception to year 6 in mainstream schools, NMSS, and independent schools, who are not in SEN units	£145
Pupils recorded as eligible in year 7 to year 11 in mainstream schools, NMSS, and independent schools who are not in SEN units	£276
Pupils in reception to year 6 in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies and hospital schools	£290
Pupils in year 7 to year 11 in special schools, SEN units in mainstream schools, PRUs, AP academies and hospital schools	£552

Where national curriculum year groups do not apply to a pupil, the pupil will be eligible for RP grant if aged 4 to 15 as recorded in the October 2022 (and October 2023 for the fourth instalment) school census for mainstream and special schools, and in the January 2023 (and January 2024 for the fourth instalment) school census for PRUs and AP academies and hospital schools.

5. Allocations

Updated allocations will be published shortly before each instalment is paid - see section 6 for the payment schedule.

Where a pupil in a mainstream setting is recorded as LAC and FSM Ever 6, and for all LAC in special settings, the pupil is included only in the LAC count for the local authority allocation. This means the school’s RP grant allocation will not include a payment for that pupil.

RP grant will be allocated on the basis of sole and dual main registrations only. Any transfer of funds between a dual main school and a dual subsidiary school is a matter for the 2 schools.

Schools federated, or to be federated, under the provisions of section 24 of the Education Act 2002 during the academic year beginning 1 September 2023 shall have grant allocated to them as if they were not federated.

6. Payment schedule

ESFA will pay RP grant to local authorities in quarterly instalments as follows:

• 29 September 2023
• 29 December 2023
• 28 March 2024
• 28 June 2024

ESFA will pay RP grant to academies (including free schools) in quarterly instalments as follows:

• 9 October 2023
• 9 January 2023
• 9 April 2024
• 8 July 2024

ESFA will pay RP grant to NMSSs in quarterly instalments as follows:

• November 2023
• December 2023
• March 2024
• June 2024

7.  New schools, schools not fully open and schools that close

Allocations for new schools will be published in April 2024. New schools will receive all of their allocation in the third and fourth RP grant instalments.

For new mainstream and special schools that open after October 2022, ESFA will use the October 2023 school census to calculate RP grant allocations.

For new mainstream and special schools that open after the October 2023 census, ESFA will use data from the January 2024 school census.

ESFA will also use the January 2024 school census for PRUs and AP academies that open after the January 2023 school census.

In each case, the allocation will be pro-rated to the proportion of the 2023 to 2024 academic year that the school is open.

If a school closes during the academic year, the local authority (for maintained schools) or ESFA (for academies) should allocate RP for the proportion of the academic year the school is open. Where a school receives pupils from schools that close or as a result of school merger, the local authority (for maintained schools) or ESFA (for academies) should allocate the same grant that it would have allocated to the schools that closed or merged for the remainder of the academic year.