The School Finance (England) Regulations 2008

Differential funding

18.—(1) For the purpose of initially determining budget shares in respect of funding periods 1, 2 and 3, a local education authority must use factors or criteria which differentiate between different categories or descriptions of schools insofar as the functions of the governing bodies of those schools justify such differentiation, but may not otherwise do so except as required or expressly permitted by these Regulations.

(2) A local education authority must use factors or criteria which differentiate between a school and other schools of the same category or description if such differentiation is justified by reference to the choice that that school’s governing body have made as to the inclusion in their school’s budget share of funding in respect of expenditure of the kinds referred to in paragraph 15(a) and (b) (meals), 27 (insurance) or 29 (library services) of Schedule 2.

(3) A local education authority are not required to use factors or criteria in their formulae which differentiate between maintained nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, or schools whose pupils are in different age ranges, but they may do so.