Revenue funding: payments to academies
This guide explains how academies are paid and how to change bank details.
Applies to England
Introduction
The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for paying academies in accordance with the terms set out in the academy’s funding agreement. The general annual grant (GAG) is the name for an academy’s main revenue funding. We issue a monthly remittance note for each payment. The remittance is sent electronically to the academy’s nominated email address.
Remittance advice note
We have produced a remittance advice note guide to help academies understand their remittance advice note.
Pre-16 and 16 to 19 revenue funding
We fund academies on an academic year basis. We send the GAG payments via BACS to arrive in the academy’s nominated bank account on the first working day of each month. We distribute GAG funding in broadly equal instalments throughout the year. This ensures consistency across all state-funded schools. The first payment for the academic year is in September.
Our guidance on academies revenue funding allocations provides information on how we calculate an academy’s allocation.
Academy payment schedules can be found in the Document exchange service. You can view your schedule by selecting ‘Documents you’ve received from DfE’.
If you require further support, please refer to the external Document exchange user guide to help you access Document exchange. If you have any questions relating to your payment schedule please use the CRM Help Portal to submit your question
Other grants in 2025 to 2026
These grants are paid separately to GAG. Most of these are automatically paid to eligible academies and allocations are published on GOV.UK at the links supplied below. Some are claim based and the published information will describe how to access this funding.
The schedule sets out the timings of payments for GAG and these other grants.
Pupil premium
Pupil premium is additional funding given to publicly-funded schools in England and provides funding for 2 policies:
- raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and closing the gap with their peers
- supporting children and young people with parents in the regular armed forces
You can find out more about how to use and account for the premium in our pupil premium guidance and the pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant 2025 to 2026.
Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM)
All pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state-funded schools in England are eligible for free school meals. This includes academies, free schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision, as well as maintained schools.
We have published the final UIFSM allocations for 2024 to 2025 and the conditions of grant and UIFSM allocations for 2025 to 2026.
PE and sport grant allocations
The PE and sport grant is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to improve physical education (PE) and sport in primary schools. We will publish the the PE and sports premium allocations and conditions of grant for 2025 to 2026 once confirmed.
Core schools budget grant (CSBG) for special and AP schools
The core schools budget grant (CSBG) for special schools, special post-16 institutions and alternative provision supports special institutions with increased costs related to National Insurance contributions, and the teachers’ pay award 2025. It is also intended to simplify administration of the continued teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG), teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) and (CSBG) for 2024 to 2025.
Note – this funding is not paid directly to academies but passed onto eligible academies by local authorities.
Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE)
The Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) is a 2-year programme that supports early career teachers (ECTs) when they start their teaching career.
Early career training programme for mentors (ECTPM)
Early career training programme for mentors is grant funding for mentor training available to settings who use DfE funded training providers to deliver training as part of the ECTE. Schools will be funded to support each new mentor to undertake up to 20 hours of training over 1 year.
This funding will be paid in arrears at the end of each academic year and settings will get 1 payment. Payments will be based on evidence that the mentor took part in the training and has met the minimum requirements of engagement with the programme, as confirmed by the training provider.
General mentor grant (ITT)
A claim-based grant. Funding for mentors working in schools that offer Initial Teacher Training (ITT) placements. Further information can be found in the Initial teacher training reform funding guidance.
National insurance contributions (NICs) grant
The NICs grant is to support mainstream schools (in respect of their 5 to 16 provision) with the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions from April 2025.
Schools budget support grant
The schools budget support grant is funding for mainstream schools (for the 5 to 16-year-old age range) to support them with increased costs related to the 2025 teachers pay award.
Breakfast clubs early adopters grant
The breakfast clubs early adopters grant is for the purpose of funding primary schools to offer breakfast clubs. Funding is provided to schools selected to become early adopters through an expression of interest process.
Academy payments schedule for main revenue funding streams 2025 to 2026
| Revenue funding stream | Grant type | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Pre- and post-16 GAG funding | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
| Start up funding (SUG) A | Academic year | 3 front loaded instalments (proportioned as 50%/25%/25%) |
| Start up funding (SUG) B | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
| Post opening grant per pupil resources (POG PPR) | Academic year | 3 front loaded instalments (proportioned as 50% / 25% / 25%) |
| Post opening grant leadership diseconomies (POG LD) | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
| 16 to 19 funding | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
| 16 to 19 bursary funding | Academic year | 2 instalments: two-thirds in September and one-third in April |
| 16 to 19 tuition funding | Academic year | Equal monthly instalments |
| Pupil premium | Financial year | 4 instalments: July, October, January, April |
| Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) | Academic year | 1 instalment: July (made up of prior year final and current year provisional payments) |
| PE and sports premium | Academic year | 2 instalments: November and April |
| Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) | Academic year | Claims paid once a year in December |
| Early career training programme for mentors (ECTPM) | Academic year | Claims paid once a year in December |
| General mentor grant (ITT ) | Academic year | Claims paid once a year in September |
| National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant | Financial year | 2 instalments - October and April |
| Schools budget support grant (SBSG) | Financial year | 2 instalments in November and May |
| Breakfast clubs early adopters | Academic year | 2 instalments in November and February |
Changes to bank details
If you wish to change the bank details held by DfE for payment, please complete the academy bank details form.
Queries about payments
For any other queries about payments, please contact our Customer Help Portal.
Updates to this page
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Updated for 2025 to 2026 academic year.
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We have updated the guidance so links direct users to current (2024 to 2025) information. We have also removed the sections on national tutoring programme (NTP) funding, mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) and the COVID-19 recovery premium.
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We have added information about funding for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
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Updated for 2022 to 2023
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16 to 19 tuition funding detail added to payments schedule and links updated to guidance for 2021 to 2022
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We've updated this page to add up-to-date information for 2020 to 2021.
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We've updated this page with information for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.
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We've updated this for the 2017 to 2018 academic year
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Updated information and links to further guidance for the 2016 to 2017 academic year.
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Updated with 2015 to 2016 academic year information
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Year 7 catch-up premium link added
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Updates to universal infant free schools meals (UIFSM) and pupil premium sections added.
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The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has published a new form for academies to use to notify EFA of any changes to their bank details.
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Information about PE and sport grant allocations revised
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Conditions of grant for UIFSM and pupil premium 2014 to 2015 payments added
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New email address added for academies changing their bank account details.
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Summer schools conditions of grant for the 2014 to 2015 academic year added.
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Updated payment dates, information added about pupil premium payments, universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), summer schools and PE and sport grant allocations.
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Updated to provide a link to the claim form for national non-domestic rates for 2014 to 2015
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First published.