School Funding: Could You be Getting Extra Budget for your Education Projects?

Posted on 2nd October 2017 | Posted in Education

With the new academic year comes the consideration of school funding for various essentials, from materials and meals to teaching costs and training, building work to maintenance and more. Recent cuts in school funding have been well documented and so it pays to know where to go for financial assistance. Read on to find out more about how to source funding for your school.

What is School Funding?

Headteachers have difficult jobs. Not only do they have to manage their school to make sure it is running efficiently, but they must also look to balance the books and ensure that children are given the best start in life. Children are our future and a top-quality education can inspire them to reach their potential. It could take them on the path to finding a cure for a medical condition, making a major discovery or becoming the next sporting prodigy to win gold at the Olympic Games. Some areas of education are being promised extra funding in the next few years but will this be enough? Are there other things we can do to provide a better tomorrow for our children today?

School Funding Crisis

The extreme measures schools are resorting to in order to cope with decreased school funding have been covered in detail this year. These include break times being reduced, subjects dropped, staff levels cut, and parents asked for donations. Some schools have even had to go as far as asking children to help with cleaning. However, with the announcement of the new School Funding Formula came hope that things would start to change.

What is the School Funding Formula?

The Department for Education recently proposed a new method of allocating budgets to English state-funded schools, which is set to come into place for the 2018/19 school year. This first year will be treated as a transitional period, with the changes implemented entirely for 2019/20. The aim is to make the entire process fairer and more transparent across the board, so that all children with the same needs will receive the same level of monetary support. The overall national budget, known as the Dedicated Schools Grant, is £40 billion, with £32 billion going to schools and the rest to early years provision and extra support for young people with high needs.

How is School Funding Distributed?

The government has previously allocated funding to local authorities by looking at how much has historically been spent by each authority. This has been the main cause of huge disparities in the funding received by different local authorities. The new system is expected to distribute funds more evenly according to pupil numbers, taking into account differing teaching costs among the age groups and varying subject costs, as well as higher costs of operation in certain areas such as London.

School Funding for Students with Disabilities

It can require a lot of extra resources providing for students with specific requirements. It is therefore imperative to give those children and their families the support and local amenities for them to experience a better-quality education, life and environment. Students with disabilities may require funding from an entirely different organisation, so a completely different application process may apply. There are a range of considerations to be made including transport, learning support and more.

Where Does School Funding Come From?

If you want to make improvements to your facilities but are finding it a struggle to get the necessary funding required, then there are a number of initiatives that the charitable arm of your school, such as the PTA, could apply to. This could help provide extra monies for initiatives you would like to put in place, or for facilities that have a direct impact on both the school and the wider community.

We have provided an overview of some organisations that may be able to provide funding to help free up capital elsewhere to improve the education and facilities available to all people, from all backgrounds of life.

The Robertson Trust
This independent grant-making trust based in Scotland provides funding for a wide range of charitable initiatives, all of which have a direct impact on Scotland. Looks to provide grants for community-based activities to increase opportunities in education, nurture talent and develop positive life skills.

Allchurches Trust
Registered charity with aims to promote the Christian religion. Whilst in the main it is supportive of organisations such as churches and religious charities, it also provides grants to charities preserving UK heritage.

ACT Foundation
The ACT Foundation provides grants to individuals and other charities with the aim of enhancing the quality of life of people in need, especially those with mental and physical disabilities. Grants can be awarded for building purposes and modifications to schools.

Awards for All
Awards for All is a lottery grants programme that funds small, community-based projects across the UK.

Inspired Facilities
Inspired Facilities comes from Sport England and is a programme that helps fund the renovation and modernisation of local sports facilities. This is for projects that can demonstrate a need for the community and that will encourage more people to get involved in sport, or keep participants playing sport.

The Wolfson Foundation
The Wolfson Foundation awards grants to promote excellence in a number of fields, including education, with a particular focus on science, medicine, arts, humanities, health and disability. The fund helps to provide help for refurbishment or the development of new learning facilities.

Esmee Fairburn Foundation
The foundation awards grants towards organisations aiming to help improve the quality of life throughout the UK.

Wooden Spoon
Wooden Spoon helps disadvantaged children and young people. Funding is available for specialist playgrounds, sport activity areas and community-based programmes.

If you require more information about adding benefit to your school building with an education canopy, then get in touch with Canopies UK today to request a free no-obligation survey of your building.