Statement from DfE Regarding Primary PE and Sport Premium Conditions of Grant

afPE members have been querying the update to the Primary PE and Sport Premium conditions of grant document. The following statement from the Department for Education should help provide clarity:

On the 3rd May the Department updated the conditions of grant document by adding a spreadsheet showing the updated allocations for academic year 2022 to 2023. There has been no policy change to the content of this document. As set out in the PE and Sport Premium guidance, schools receive funding based on the number of pupils in years 1 to 6. In most cases, the Department determines how many pupils in schools attract the funding by using data from the January 2022 school census. It will base funding on data from the Autumn 2022 school census for new schools or any schools teaching eligible pupils for the first time in the academic year 2022 to 2023. Funding is given to schools in two separate payments:

1. Maintained schools, including PRUs and general hospitals, do not receive funding directly from DfE. The Department gives the funding to the local authority, and they pass it on. These schools will receive:
1. 7/12 of the funding allocation on 31 October 2022
2. 5/12 of the funding allocation on 28 April 2023

2. A new maintained school or a school teaching eligible pupils for the first time in the 2022 to 2023 academic year do not receive funding directly from DfE. The Department gives the funding to the local authority, and they pass it on. These schools will receive:
1. 7/12 of the funding allocation on 27 February 2023
2. 5/12 of your funding allocation on 28 April 2023

3. Academies, free schools and CTCs will receive funding directly from the DfE. These schools receive:
1. 7/12 of the funding allocation on 8 November 2022
2. 5/12 of the funding allocation on 2 May 2023

4. A new academy (includes a free school) or CTC, or a school teaching eligible pupils for the first time in the 2022 to 2023 academic year will receive:
1. 7/12 of your total funding allocation on 28 April 2023
2. 5/12 of your total funding allocation on 2 May 2023

5. Non-maintained special schools will receive funding directly from the DfE. These schools receive:
1. 7/12 of the funding with the first payment you have scheduled with us after 8 November 2022
2. 5/12 of the funding with the first payment you have scheduled with us after 3 May 2023

The last scheduled payments will have been sent to schools this month – hence the update to the spreadsheets within the conditions of grant.

Specifically on underspend: As set out in the March ESFA newsletter, the Department will be recovering unspent premium funding at the end of academic year 2023/24, there will be no recovery prior to this time.