Guidance

Section 251: 2026 to 2027

Information for local authorities, schools and the general public about local authority education funding and expenditure plans for 2026 to 2027.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 25 March 2026

Applies to England

Documents

Section 251 budget guidance: 2026 to 2027

HTML

COLLECT guidance for completing the Section 251 budget return: 2026 to 2027

HTML

Administrative direction

PDF, 122 KB, 2 pages

Section 251 budget 2026 to 2027: XML generator

XLSM, 366 KB

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Details

Section 251 is part of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. 

Local authorities submit statements of planned and actual expenditure on education and children’s social care. 

We use the data for:

• publishing statistics
• constructing benchmarking tables
• answering parliamentary questions
• responding to other data requests

Comparing information is important for schools forums and others in discussions about budget levels and use of funds.

The document Section 251 budget 2026 to 2027: XML generator is not accessible because it uses merged cells and the colour contrast of some text. This means it does not meet  Web Content Accessibility Guidelines  success criterion:

• 1.3.2 meaningful sequence
• 1.4.3: contrast

We are working to fix it by 25 March 2027.

Published 25 March 2026