Guidance

How to download and return the authority proforma tool (APT): using the digital portal for 2026 to 2027

Published 17 December 2025

Applies to England

1. Introduction

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

The Department for Education (DfE) has developed the authority proforma tool (APT) to assist local authorities to model, and then confirm, how they plan to do this for the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

You should use this guidance to download your APT and for subsequently returning a completed APT to us. A separate document, how to complete the authority proforma tool guides you on how to complete the APT spreadsheet.

The APT is available to local authorities via the ‘Manage your authority proforma tool’ service. To access this, you must have a DfE Sign-in account. The APT workbook is password protected and we will email you the password details.  This is to ensure that the information contained in the documents is kept secure.

If you are unable to access the service, contact us via the Customer Help Portal.

2. Who this is for

The service is for local authorities to download and/or upload their completed APT for 2026 to 2027.

3. When you can access the service

You will be able to download the APT for your local authority, and/or upload your completed APT for the 2026 to 2027 financial year from December 2025.

You must submit your completed APT on or before 5pm on Thursday 22 January  2026.

You can edit your APT and resubmit it up to the deadline.  We cannot guarantee any extensions.

4. How to access the service

Select the link to the manage your authority proforma tool service

4.1 Before you start

Ensure that you have a DfE Sign-in account that is linked to your local authority correctly.

4.2 DfE Sign-in

Sign in to your DfE Sign-in account

Follow the steps below to access your DfE Sign-in account:

1. Access the manage your authority proforma tool service. When prompted, enter your DfE Sign-in credentials (your account email address and password) for authentication.

2. If multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled on your account, you’ll need to enter a verification code to login. To send the verification email with code you need to click on ‘Email code to [your email address]’ on the ‘Verify your identity page’ you were directed to after entering your email and password.

3. After clicking on ‘Email code to [your email address]’ you’ll progress to the next page ‘Enter code’. Copy the code from the verification email and paste it into the box. Then select ‘Verify’.

4. Choose the local authority you are completing the form for – this is only required if your account is linked to several organisations.

5. The next page will display the details we hold about the local authority you selected when you signed in. This will show the name, address and unique identifier of the local authority, as well as the name and email address of the person who signed into the form.

6. If these details are correct, select ‘Continue’ to go to the next page.

7. If you believe these details are incorrect, please contact us through the Customer Help Portal and we will investigate. However, you can still proceed with your submission.

To complete the form, your account must be connected to the local authority you are completing the form for. You do not need to add any services in DfE Sign-in; it is used only for authentication.

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account 

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account, you will need to create one by completing steps 1 to 7 below:  

1. Access DfE Sign-in page and select ‘create a DfE Sign-in account’. On the next page, select ‘No account? Create one’.

2. Enter your name and email address. You must use a valid business email address that contains your name – we are unable to accept generic emails, such as ‘admin’ or ‘info’. You cannot use a personal email address.

3. We will send you an email to verify your email address; copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page. 

4. Create a memorable password that is a minimum of 8 characters and contains 3 out of: lowercase characters, uppercase characters, numbers, symbols. Enter your given name and surname.

5. Sign in using your new credentials. Request your MFA verification email by clicking on ‘Email code to [your email address]’ on the ‘Verify your identity’ page.

6. We will send you an MFA email to verify your identity. Copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page.

7. Follow the next step instructions outlined in ‘Adding an organisation to your DfE Sign-in account’ below.

Adding an organisation to your DfE Sign-in account

To add a new organisation to your DfE Sign-in account, follow steps 1 to 6 below:

1. Login to your DfE Sign-in account.

2. Select ‘Organisations’ from the tab at the top of the page.

3. Select ‘Request access to an organisation’ from the ‘Related actions’ on the righthand side of the page.

4. Enter the name of the organisation you wish to add.

5. Select the organisation.

6. Select ‘Confirm’.

Your request will be sent to the approver(s) of your organisation. If you do not already have an approver your request will be actioned by the DfE Sign-in support team.

Once your request to access an organisation has been approved, you can follow the steps outlined under already have a DfE account to complete the form.

You may have noticed the term ‘approver’ when creating your account. An approver is someone at your organisation responsible for controlling who has access to DfE Sign-in and the services within the system. It is usually a senior person, such as a manager.

For security reasons, you will need authorisation from one of your organisation’s approvers before you can access the form.

4.3  If you need further assistance

If you need help with DfE Sign-in, use our DfE Sign-in help service to request further assistance. When raising a support request, select ‘Other.’

If you are having problems accessing the form(s), you can contact us through our Customer Help Portal.

5. Completing the information in the service

When authenticated through DfE Sign-in and are in the ‘Manage your authority proforma tool’ service, you will find a task list with a list of forms to complete as below:

1. Download your APT.
2. Upload your completed APT.

Read the following carefully to ensure your submission is successfully completed: 

• each sub-form will display a status indicator showing one of the following:

  • Not Yet Started – the form has not been accessed as yet
  • In Progress – the form has been started but not yet submitted
  • Complete – the form has been successfully submitted
  • Cannot Start – the form cannot be accessed until other sub-forms are fully completed and submitted

Please ensure you check the status of both sub-forms as  you will only be able to access the upload form once you have completed the download. Your overall submission will only be considered as final when both ‘sub-forms’ are shown as ‘Complete’. 

If you experience any issues or have questions, please contact our Customer Help Portal for assistance.

When navigating through the form, you will find a ‘Save and continue’ button on each page which will take you to the next page.  If you sign out of the service or if you leave it open for an extended period before submitting it, you can resume your submission when you sign back in.

Once you have submitted your completed APT to the service, you will be advised of the next steps and will receive an email confirmation of your submission, using the email registered with DfE Sign-in, with a link to download a PDF copy of your submission.  The link will expire after 6 months so we recommend you download a copy as soon as possible. 

You can edit and resubmit your APT until the submission deadline. 

5.1 Your details

We will show you the information we hold about the organisation you selected when you signed into your DfE Sign-in account.

5.2 Download the APT

You can download your APT for review and for completing. Once you have downloaded your APT you can work on it offline.

You must click ‘Save and continue’ following your download of the file.  This action will allow us to track file downloads and to offer support where it might be needed.

You will not be able to upload your completed APT until you have completed this step. 

5.3 Upload your completed APT

You can upload your completed APT directly to the service.  This option will only be available to you once you have told us that you have downloaded your APT. Before you upload your completed APT return, you should ensure that:

• your return is in .xlsx format
• your return does not contain any special characters (a character that is not a number or a letter) within its file name
• there are no links to external files
• you have resolved any red flags in the workbook’s ‘Validation’ worksheet
• you have not embedded any documents in the workbook

If you need to provide supporting documents, you can upload them in the service following your APT upload

To upload your completed return, click the ‘Choose File’ button, navigate to the completed APT workbook on your computer, select it, and then click the ‘Upload’ button.

If your file upload is unsuccessful at the first attempt, try again.

If you experience issues uploading your file in Microsoft Edge, try using a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

5.4 Uploading supporting documents

This is optional, you can proceed without having to upload any additional files.

You can upload up to 5 additional documents to support your return. To do this, select the ‘Choose file’ button, find the document on your computer and select the ‘Open’ button. You will be notified when the file has been successfully scanned and uploaded.

Any documents you attempt to upload should not contain any special characters within the file names or they may be rejected by the service. Any necessary spaces can be replaced with underscores.

If you experience issues uploading your file in Microsoft Edge, try using a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox. 

5.5 Declarations

Once you have completed all relevant data entries, you must agree to all mandatory declarations. You will not be able to submit your return without fully completing this section.

5.6 Submission summary

The summary page allows you to check your answers before submitting the APT. You can change your answers using the ‘change’ link that appears next to each data entry.

You can also save this summary by selecting ‘Save summary as PDF’ before you submit.  We are unable to accept this PDF summary of your answers as proof of submission.

You must select ‘Submit’ at the bottom of this page and receive a unique reference number and a confirmation email for your submission to be processed. 

5.7 Confirmation

The final page confirms your APT has been submitted successfully. You will receive a unique reference number against your submission followed by what happens next. It also provides a link back to the start page for you to review or update your submission.

You will also receive an email confirming successful submission. This email contains a link to download a PDF of your submission, which is valid for 6 months from the date of your submission.  You can use this PDF summary of your answers as proof of submission. 

It is important that you make a note of your unique reference number as we will not include this information in your confirmation email.

We will review your submission and may contact you if additional information is required.

5.8 Resubmitting your return

If your APT was incorrect when submitted, you can access the manage your authority proforma tool service and resubmit up until 5pm on 22 January 2026. To do this, you will need to sign back in to access your form, make your amendments and resubmit it.

We will use the details provided on your most recently submission and disregard all previous versions.

You will receive a new unique submission reference number for an amended submission.

6. Enquiries

If you have read this guidance and have questions, contact us using the Customer Help Portal.

When completing the enquiry form, select ‘Authority Proforma Tool’ as your query type.

7. Feedback

We are committed to enhancing our user experience and improving our digital forms. We, therefore welcome and encourage user feedback.