Schools in financial difficulty
All our maintained schools that ended the 2024 to 2025 financial year in deficit of more than 5% of the S.251 budget must submit an approved three-year deficit recovery plan (DRP) to the Schools Finance service by 31 May 2026.
The plan must be:
- robust and sustainable
- approved by our Schools Finance service and the school’s governing body before submission
For schools to achieve this deadline, they must draft budget plans and liaise with the Schools Finance service.
The Department for Education (DfE) has published details of the 2026 to 2027 National Funding Formula (NFF), including the provisional impact of the formula on individual schools. These calculations are based on the 2025 to 2026 pupil count. The funding rates used may not match the final 2026 to 2027 NFF we calculated. You can, however, use these figures as an indication of your funding in 2026 to 2027.
View the DfE guidance: National funding formula tables for schools and high needs 2026 to 2027
We have updated the Maintained Schools in Deficit Procedure and the deficit recovery plan template for 2026 to 2027. These must be used when completing your DRP.
Contact us
To submit or discuss your DRP, email schoolsfinance@birmingham.gov.uk.
Page last updated: 29 April 2026
