Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
33 Greycoat Street
London SW1P 2QF

Devolved Capital Programmes

About DCP

Devolved capital programmes provide capital support to local authorities and schools.

PfS currently leads on the collection of data on the schools’ estate (e.g. whether schools are modernised or unmodernised) as necessary to inform the allocation of formula-based funding, and to provide information on results achieved.  Existing programmes are:

Devolved formula capital (DFC)

Funding is allocated each year to primary and secondary schools to be spent by them on their priorities in respect of buildings, ICT and other capital needs. Schools may set aside their allocations for up to three years, or longer, to support an identified future project. It can also be pooled with other schools, or with other local authority funding following agreement between the local authority and the school. The programme is supported by a £2.9 billion fund - £990m in 2008-09; £1,349m in 2009-10; £559m in 2010-11  - and is allocated by formula. VA schools are paid twice-yearly, early in May and July. Maintained non-VA schools are paid via local authorities.

Modernisation

These funds are devolved to local authorities to improve the infrastructure of the school estate, and to upgrade existing buildings or build new ones in line with local asset management plan priorities.

£1.5 billion of supported borrowing and capital grant is available - £507m in 2008-09, £748m in 2009-10, £276m in 2010-11.  It is allocated between local authorities in the same proportion as DFC.  It is funded through a mix of supported borrowing and grant.  In line with supported borrowing allocations made by the DfE, an appropriate amount of revenue support grant is paid to each local authority by the Department for Communities and Local Government to enable local authorities to take out a loan to support capital investment. Capital grant is paid quarterly by PfS to local authorities. The allocations announced are fixed for three years.   Funding is delivered through the 'single capital pot' to make it easier for local authorities to join up their allocations with other capital resources to increase flexibility.

New pupil places (Basic Need)

The programme is designed to enable local authorities to provide additional school places to cope with growing numbers of pupils. The total funding available is £1.2 billion with local authorities sharing £400m in each of the financial years 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11. As far as practicable, new pupil places should be provided for schools where parents want them and where standards are high. Changes in provision by existing schools can be made either by the local authority or the governing body of the school itself depending upon the category of school and the type of change planned. A new school may be set up by the local authority, voluntary body, parents, church or faith group, company or trust, provided  certain conditions are met.

In line with supported borrowing allocations made by the DfE,  revenue support grant is paid to each authority by the Department for Communities and Local Government to enable local authorities to take out a loan to support capital investment. Each local authority's formulaic share is based on its numbers of current pupils (40%), and its  forecast increase at district level in pupil numbers (60%) (ie relative to other local authorities). To reflect the higher costs of secondary provision, secondary pupil numbers are weighted at 150% of primary pupil numbers.  The proportions of the total funding available are adjusted using a location factor to reflect the relative costs of building in different regions across the country.  Funding is delivered through the 'single capital pot' to make it easier for local authorities to join up their allocations with other capital resources to increase flexibility.New post-16 provision is usually funded by the 16-19 capital budget, which is administered separately.

Specialist schools

The programme totals £41 million - £15m in 2008-09, £19m in 2009/10 and £7m in 2010/11 - and  provides support for one-off capital projects at newly designated specialist schools. The funding is provided to enhance the schools' facilities regarding specialist subjects especially providing suitable permanent accommodation and access to these facilities for people with disabilities and  community groups. The capital proposals should be part of a strategic plan to develop the school facilities as a whole.

A one-off flat rate grant of £100k is provided following a successful application to become a Specialist School and is paid quarterly to local authorities.  They pass on the full amount of funding to schools oras part of a larger local authority-led project. VA schools  receive funding direct from PfS once their project has been approved and receive capital grant at a rate of 100% of spending up to a maximum of £117,500, including VAT.

Funding has also been available for schools on re-designation (at the rate of £25k).

School travel plans

The programme totals £55 million - £15m in each of financial years 2008-09, and £20m in each of 2009-10 and 2010-11 - and enabled every school in England to put in place an active school travel plan by 2010. These plans are designed to initiate a package of measures to improve safety for children to walk to school and reduce car use and are backed by a partnership involving the school, education and transport officers from the local authority, the police and the health authority. Capital funding goes towards on-site improvements which promote or enable more sustainable travel to the school such as lockers, cycle storage, new paths and CCTV, and is allocated by formula following a successful application.

Primary schools and maintained nurseries are allocated £3,750 plus £5 per pupil. Schools for secondary aged pupils are allocated £5,000 plus £5 per pupil. PfS makes quarterly payments to Community, voluntary controlled and Foundation schools via the local authority. VA schools receive the funding as an addition to their devolved formula capital and are paid at the 90% rate in line with legal requirements, increased for their liability to pay VAT on capital investment.

Schools access initiative

The programme was introduced to improve the accessibility of mainstream schools to disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. The aim is to ensure full access to schools for all pupils to take account of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. A total of £96m in each of financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 was allocated by formula. Local authorities receive their share of £96m per year on the basis of pupil numbers. The schools access initiative is delivered through the 'single capital pot' to make it easier for local authorities to join their allocation up with other capital resources to increase flexibility. In line with supported borrowing allocations made by the DfE, revenue support grant is paid to each authority by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to enable local authorities to take out a loan to support capital investment.

Voluntary Aided (VA) schools and LCVAP

There are two sets of formula-based programmes for VA schools - devolved formula capital (see above) and the Local Contribution to Voluntary Aided Programme (LCVAP). These two grants are designed to finance similar levels of investment as other maintained schools. VA schools are predominantly church schools. Schools can appoint a head teacher who is of their preferred faith. They follow the standard curriculum and own their buildings, but generally not their playing fields. LCVAP is a formulaic programme where the local authority and its partners (usually the associated dioceses) allocate DfE funding in line with local needs and priorities. The programme aims to provide funding for modernisation, new pupil places and school access to VA schools.

LCVAP is a £652 million fund - £213m in  2008-09, £265m in 2009-10 and £174m in 2010-11. Grant is payable at the rate of 90% of relevant approved expenditure on projects, and includes the liability of the governing body to pay VAT on capital investment. Governing bodies must contribute the remaining 10% of the project costs. LCVAP can be used to support any capital work as long as it is the governors' responsibility.

LCVAP allocations reflect the VA pupil number equivalent of the Modernisation, Schools Access Initiative (SAI) and New Pupil Places programmes allocated to each authority for its non-VA schools. After the project has been approved, funds are paid direct to VA schools, dioceses or promoters on receipt of a claim form and invoice for the work carried out. LCVAP should be spent within the year of allocation, but larger projects can be funded over more than one financial year.

Extended schools

The programme provides pump priming capital funding to develop extended schools across an area, delivering the core offer of extended services. Extended schools work with the local authority, other schools and private/voluntary providers to provide  wraparound childcare 8:00 am-6:00 pm, all year round for primary schools; a varied range of activities including study support activities; parenting and family support; swift and easy access to specialist services such as speech therapy; and community use of facilities including adult and family learning and ICT. A total of £194 million capital grant is available - £84m in 2008-09, £89m in 2009-10 and £21m in 2010-11.

Funding is delivered through the 'single capital pot' to make it easier for local authorities to join up their allocations  with other capital funding to increase flexibility. For maximum impact, the funding should be joined up with other devolved local authority level funding, including in particular, the resources being made available through the Primary Capital Programme, and devolved resources available to schools. The development of VA school sites to provide the core offer of extended services is expected to be funded via local authorities at the standard rate of 90% of the agreed costs. PfS pays local authorities quarterly.

ICT - Harnessing technology

The Harnessing Technology Grant brings together the previous Connectivity, Infrastructure, e-learning credits grants to meet the objectives of the e-strategy 'Harnessing Technology' published in March 2005. The funding, which totals £501 million – £199m in 2008-09, £201m in  2009-10, and £101m in 2010-11 - can be used to upgrade schools' broadband connectivity bandwidths; implement ways to enable learners to store and access their work, and related information and resources on a secure website; to implement systems to achieve better use and more integration of information to support learning; and to invest in a range of technologies to support classroom-based learning such as interactive whiteboards.