Question: Will Independent Schools and Independent Special Schools continue to receive their budgets during the pandemic?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance School funding: exceptional costs associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) for the period March to July 2020
section_headers: Eligibility for this funding
section_content: Funding will be available for all state-funded mainstream and special schools,
and alternative provision, including:

primary, secondary and all through maintained schools, academies and free schools
16 to 19 academies and maintained schools
maintained special schools
special academies and free schools
non-maintained special schools
pupil referral units
alternative provision academies and free schools
maintained hospital schools and academies


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
It only talks about state-funded special schools. The answer is too general.
This answer needs to be improved because it doesn’t mention anything about independent schools and whether or not they will get funding. It only talks about public schools and specialized schools.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’s social care
section_headers: Independent schools
Mainstream independent schools
section_content: In line with other settings, independent schools have been asked to remain
open for the children of critical workers and the most vulnerable children.
Independent schools are, in general, funded by fee income paid by parents.
Since schools have closed to the majority of pupils, they, like other
businesses, may be facing a sudden and substantial loss of income. These
institutions should access the support schemes referred to above, in order to
retain staff and enable the school to reopen fully in due course.
However, if there are any activities for which schools continue to receive
public funding, such as looked after children placed by a local authority, or
local authority support for pupils with EHC plans, we expect schools to use
that money to continue to pay those staff in the usual fashion – and therefore
not furlough them or seek support via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
*[EHC]: education, health and care

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
It said that the schools are probably losing money. It says how the schools make money.
This answer is excellent because it gives clarification that independent schools will indeed keep getting funds during the pandemic. Therefore it answers the question.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): financial support for education, early years and children’s social care
section_headers: Independent schools
Independent special schools
section_content: The majority of pupils in independent special schools have been placed there
by local authorities under an EHC plan, funded from the high needs block of
the DSG.
As noted above, local authorities will continue to receive their high needs
budgets and should continue to pay top-up and other high needs funding to
independent special schools, so that the employment and payment of staff
supporting children and young people with SEND can continue. Some independent
special schools also have pupils who are funded privately instead of under an
EHC plan. These institutions should only access the support schemes identified
above in relation to the proportion of staff that is not supported through
public funding, and only to the extent that the school is facing a loss of
income because the children have been withdrawn by their parents leading to a
loss of fee income.
[EHC]: education, health and care
  [DSG]: dedicated schools grant
  *[SEND]: special educational needs and disability

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
It talks about special schools requesting funding if they're struggling. It didn't answer the question.
This is an excellent answer because it states that independent schools will get funding, and provides other useful information about the independent schools.

Reviewer ratings:
Could be Improved
Excellent