Academies: A to Z of terms
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-22)

A guide to the main academy funding, finance and governance terms and acronyms.

A

Accounting officer

The academy trust’s senior executive leader, accountable for value for money (#Value-for-money), regularity (#Regularity) and propriety (#Propriety).

Accounts Direction

The Department for Education (DfE) guide for academies on preparing their annual accounts. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academies-accounts-direction)

Accounts return

A return based on academy trusts’ annual accounts, (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academies-accounts-return) required for the sector annual report and accounts, and for collecting benchmarking data.

Alternative provision (AP)

AP academies teach children who are not able to attend a mainstream school. This could be because they have behavioural difficulties, a short or long-term illness or have been excluded.

Articles of association

The articles (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-model-memorandum-and-articles-of-association) describe the trust’s charitable object(s) and governance arrangements.

Authority proforma tool (APT)

The APT is the spreadsheet local authorities use to submit their agreed mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula to DfE.

B

Basic entitlement

Basic entitlement is the rate local authorities set to allocate basic entitlement funding for pre-16 pupils in mainstream schools. Basic entitlement is a compulsory factor which must be used in the funding formula. This funding was previously referred to as age weighted pupil unit (AWPU).

C

Chief executive

The senior executive leader and head of the management team of a trust with multiple academies. Trusts may use alternative descriptions such as executive principal.

Chief financial officer

The individual leading the finance department: for example: a finance director, business manager or equivalent.

Close family relationship

Family members who may be expected to influence, or be influenced by, that person with their dealings with the trust.

D

De facto trustee

A person not validly appointed as a trustee but exercising the functions that could only be properly discharged by a trustee. See also Shadow director (#Shadow-director)

Dedicated schools grant (DSG)

The DSG is paid by DfE to local authorities, and is the main source of pre-16 schools funding. It is allocated on a financial year basis. The DSG has historically been divided into 4 blocks:

the schools block

the high needs block

the early years block

the central school services block

Deprivation

Deprivation is a compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula that directs funding to the most deprived pupils.

E

Early years block

The early years block of the DSG covers the free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds, and disadvantaged 2 year olds.

Early years funding

This applies to private, voluntary and independent providers, and to schools or academies with a nursery class. This is paid directly by local authorities to early years providers, including academies and maintained schools, through the early years national funding formula (EYNFF).

Economy

Obtaining an outcome for the least possible input of resources.

Effectiveness

Obtaining the desired outcome.

Efficiency

Obtaining the best possible outcome for the resources input.

Element 3

Another term for high needs top-up funding, see high needs top-up funding (#high-needs).

English as an additional language (EAL)

This is a compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula.

ESFA

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), formerly an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE), closed on 31 March 2025. Its functions are now delivered from within DfE, giving education settings a single point of contact for financial management and support.

Estimating pupil numbers (EPN)

The annual process for collecting pupil data for academies funded on estimated pupil numbers via the EPN on-line form. This replaced the revenue funding data collection (RFDC).

Exceptional premises factors

Local authorities can apply to DfE to use exceptional factors relating to premises in their mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula.

F

Financial management and governance self-assessment (FMGS)

A return (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-financial-management-and-governance-self-assessment-guidance) to DfE by new academies and trusts, where they self-assess their financial management arrangements.

Free school meals (FSM)

Arrangements by which children from low income households are provided with a free meal while they are at school.

Funding agreement

The agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-and-free-school-funding-agreements-single-academy-trust) between the academy trust and the Secretary of State, including funding arrangements, obligations and termination provisions.

Funding factors

For 2025 to 2026, schools are funded using a maximum of 15 factors. You can read more about the factors in the schools operational guide 2025 to 2026 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-16-schools-funding-local-authority-guidance-for-2025-to-2026).

G

General annual grant (GAG)

Academy trusts’ main revenue funding.

H

High needs block

The high needs block of the DSG covers place funding for special schools and academies, top-up funding for high needs pupils, alternative provision and education otherwise than at school, and funding for local authority central SEN services.

High needs place funding

This applies to mainstream schools and academies with a designated special unit or resourced provision, plus special schools, and special academies.

High needs top-up funding

This is additional funding paid directly by the commissioning local authority for some high needs pupils.

Hospital provision

Hospital education places can be found in maintained special schools (usually a particular type of special school known as a hospital school), maintained pupil referral units (PRUs) (sometimes known as medical PRUs), special and AP academies and free schools. Often these institutions will have a combination of hospital education places, and other high needs (AP and SEN) places.

I

Income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI)

The IDACI measures the number of children in a given area who are under the age of 16, and live in low income households. The mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula can use a combination of IDACI categories and/or free school meals data to allocate their funding under the deprivation factor.

L

Lagged funding

A term used to describe funding based on the previous year’s school’s census. For example, funding for 2025 to 2026 for most academies is based on the autumn 2024 census.

London fringe

An optional factor in local authorities’ mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula but only for the 5 local authorities to which it applies (Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and West Sussex).

Looked-after children (LAC)

The term ‘looked-after’ refers to children, under 18, who have been provided with care and accommodation by children’s services. This is no longer a factor used in academy funding to bring it in line with the NFF.

Low prior attainment

A compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula, it often acts as a proxy indicator for low level, high incidence special educational needs

Lump sum

A compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula.

M

Mainstream academy

An academy that isn’t a special or alternative provision academy.

Minimum funding guarantee (MFG)

The MFG is a protection against changes in per pupil school budget share (SBS) funding between academic years.

Mobility

A compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula. ‘Mobility’ refers to pupils who started the school at an unusual time during the last three academic years, that is not in August or September (or not in January for pupils joining in reception).

N

National funding formulae (NFF)

The NFF (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026) is the way the government calculates how much core funding to allocate to local authorities for mainstream state-funded schools in England.

National non-domestic rates (NNDR)

NNDR are business rates incurred by academies.

Notional special educational needs (SEN) budget

A notional budget identified by local authorities which can be used for high incidence, low cost pupils with SEN.

P

PE and sport grant

The PE and sport grant is additional funding given to publicly-funded schools in England to improve physical education and sport in primary schools.

Post-opening grant (POG)

Free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs) are provided with a POG to reflect the additional costs of establishing a new publicly-funded school.

Pre-16 funding

Usually associated with revenue funding for reception to year 11 pupils.

Private finance initiative (PFI) factor

An optional funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula. The purpose of this factor is to support schools that have unavoidable extra premises costs because they are a PFI school, or to cover situations where the PFI ‘affordability gap’ is delegated and paid back to the local authority.

Propriety

Dealing with expenditure and receipts in accordance with Parliament’s intentions and the principles of parliamentary control. This covers standards of conduct, behaviour and corporate governance.

Pupil number adjustment (PNA)

An adjustment process for academies that receive funding based on estimated pupil numbers, to make sure funding more accurately reflects the actual pupil numbers present during the year.

Pupil premium grant

Pupil premium is a grant for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

R

Regularity

Dealing with income and expenditure in accordance with legislation, the funding agreement, the handbook, and the trust’s internal procedures. This includes spending public money for the purposes intended by Parliament.

Related party

Related parties include persons and entities with control or significant influence over the academy trust, and members of the same group (for example parent and subsidiary companies). This description is not comprehensive. A full definition is in section 33 of Financial Reporting Standard 102 (https://www.frc.org.uk/getattachment/e1d6b167-6cdb-4550-bde3-f94484226fbd/FRS-102-WEB-Ready-2015.pdf) and section 9.15 and appendix 1 of the Charities SORP (http://www.charitysorp.org/download-a-full-sorp/). The related parties section of DfE’s Accounts Direction (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-accounts-direction) provides further information.

Resourced provision

Resourced provision within mainstream academies is where education takes place mainly in the classroom, but pupils are either withdrawn to a resource for specialist input, or teachers from the resource deliver specialist help to the child within the classroom.

Risk protection arrangement

An alternative to insurance for academy trusts where losses are covered by government funds.

S

School budget share (SBS)

SBS forms the majority of the GAG and is calculated by DfE using the funding factors determined by the local authority.

Schools block

The schools block of the DSG relates to pupils in national curriculum year groups reception to 11 at mainstream schools and academies, who are not in a special unit or resourced provision.

Schools forum

The schools forum is a body comprising representatives of maintained schools, academies, and early years providers within a local authority area, together with other local partners and stakeholders.

Shadow director

A person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of a company are accustomed to act. See also De facto trustee (#De-facto-trustee).

Sparsity

A compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula. Schools that are eligible for sparsity funding must be small schools, and they must be located in areas where pupils would have to travel a significant distance to an alternative, if the school closed.

Special payments

Payments outside the normal range of activities approved by Parliament and therefore requiring greater control, including: ex gratia payments, staff severance payments, compensation payments and other extra-statutory or extra-contractual payments.

Split site

A compulsory funding factor in the mainstream pre-16 schools block funding formula. The purpose of this factor is to support schools which have unavoidable extra costs because the school buildings are on separate sites.

Start-up grant (SUG)

On opening, SUG is paid to sponsored academies. It is intended to contribute to costs, such as leadership, as a new academy grows towards full capacity.

U

Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM)

UIFSM grant is funding for schools to provide free school meals to all pupils in reception, year 1, and year 2.

V

Value for money

Achieving the best possible educational and wider societal outcomes through the economic (#Economy), efficient (#Efficiency) and effective (#Effectiveness) use of resources, the avoidance of waste and extravagance, and prudent and economical administration.