These Regulations supersede the Education Standards Fund (England) Regulations 2000, as amended, which are revoked.

The purposes for or in connection with which standards fund grants are payable are set out in Schedule 1. There are seven principal headings under which grant may be paid, namely (1) school improvement, (2) inclusion (which relates to matters such as exclusions, truancy, special educational needs, education for children not attending school, drug prevention, youth and community workers and teenage pregnancy), (3) raising standards of achievement by pupils, (4) particular descriptions or groupings of schools or further education institutions, (5) teachers and (6) capital projects and other projects relating to the infrastructure of schools.

The Regulations specify the rate or rates at which grant is payable in respect of each of the purposes, They also set out conditions for payment of grant and requirements to be complied with by persons to whom grant has been paid.