Funding to be made available to support schools, colleges and special post-16 institutions in England with the costs of staff absences for the period from 1 November 2020 to 31 December 2020.
Last month, the Prime Minister confirmed that all education settings would remain open across all local restriction tiers. Financial support has been made available to help those schools and colleges facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures.
The fund offers support for schools and colleges in England that meet the criteria to help meet the cost of covering workforce absences experienced from 1 November 2020 to 31 December 2020 inclusive.
Schools and colleges can backdate claims to 1 November 2020 where they met the eligibility criteria.
The government will continue to review the pressures colleges are facing as they move into next term and what further action might be needed.
Funding is available to:
Funding is also available to all state-funded mainstream and special schools, and alternative provision (AP) that provide education to all pupils who are required to be in compulsory education, including:
Registered independent special schools and independent schools delivering AP are also eligible to claim for staff they employ to support pupils whose placements are funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.
Eligible costs are split into two categories:
The Department for Education (DfE) are asking schools and colleges to make the necessary payments from their existing budgets and record these in line with local finance policies.
Schools and colleges will be able to make claims for costs eligible for reimbursement through this fund in spring 2021, when the DfE will publish detailed guidance about the claims process.