The full rolling-out of the national funding formula for schools has been delayed by another year.

Local authorities will continue to allocate school budgets until at least 2021, the Department for Education has revealed in a document published this afternoon.

The formula is aimed at distributing funds to schools more fairly, according to a single set of principles, bypassing local authorities.

However, for 2018-19 and 2019-20, the DfE decided it would introduce a “soft” formula only, giving local authorities flexibility over how individual budgets are set. 

This is because the national formula would require legislation, which the government may have struggled to pass through parliament after last year’s general election.

But now it has emerged that this “soft” formula will continue for another year.

The document says that 73 local authorities have changed the way they set school budgets to bring their own local formula closer to the national formula, while 41 are “mirroring the NFF factor values almost exactly”.

It adds: ”...In light of this significant progress in the first year of the NFF, and to continue to support a smooth transition, local authorities will continue to determine local formulae in 2020-21.”

More to follow.