Who funds Catholic schools?
The school buildings and land of Catholic schools are owned by the Catholic Church. The Church provides these premises, at no charge, to enable the state to fulfil its obligation to provide education for the population. The day to day running costs of Catholic schools are funded by the state in the same way that all schools are funded (either through local authority or DfE funding agreements). The Church covers 10% of the capital costs for the maintenance of the premises in all voluntary aided schools.
Through this arrangement the Catholic Church saves the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds a year.
Department for Education Headline Facts and Figures 2023-24
The total amount of funding allocated to English schools for 5-16 year old pupils has grown since 2010-11 as the total pupil population has also grown.
In cash terms, the total funding allocated to schools through the grants covered in this report is £59.5 billion in 2024-25, an increase of 70% compared to the £35.0 billion allocated in 2010-11.
On a per-pupil basis the total funding allocated to schools for 5-16 year old pupils, in cash terms, in 2024-25 was £7,690, a 49% increase compared to £5,180 allocated per pupil in 2010-11.
When adjusted for inflation, funding per pupil was broadly flat between 2010-11 and 2015-16 at around £7,200 in 2023-24 prices. It then fell by 3.9% over 2016-17 and 2017-18, but subsequently increased by 1.2% over 2018-19 and 2019-20. Since then, funding has increased by 7.9% (after adjusting for inflation) over the course of the following five years, reaching £7,570 in 2024-25 (in 2023-24 prices).
For more information on school funding (including national funding formula) please click here.
Financial Benchmarking
The government provides an on-line portal to allow the public to access key information about a school’s finance and to see how this compares with other schools. To access these details in relation to St Catherine’s please click here.
For further information on school funding click here.
