Waltham Forest schools will be allocated £6,941 per pupil in 2026/27, an increase of £154 on last year’s total, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Schools across Waltham Forest will receive slightly more money per pupil under new council plans.

Pupils in Key Stage 4 – aged between 14 and 16 – are set to benefit the most under the new scheme, backed by senior councillors this week.

Schools will be allocated £6,941 per pupil in 2026/27. That is an increase of £154 on last year’s total, according to a report published by Waltham Forest Council this month.

Students in Key Stage 4, which covers school years ten and eleven, are typically working towards their GCSEs ahead of a college placement or other vocational training.

No extra money forms part of a funding settlement that helps determine schools’ budgets.

Schools will receive an extra £138 for those in Key Stage 3, aged between eleven and 13. The total per pupil will reach £6,157, up from £6,019.

Under the new scheme, primary school pupils will be allocated an extra £100 from February, bringing the annual entitlement up from £4,301 to £4,401.

The draft plan was approved by top councillors at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (13th January).

Council leader Grace Williams said the boost was “crucial” and that it was “vital” the funding formula was balanced with what schools need to function.

Both primary and secondary schools in Waltham Forest will also receive an increased lump sum of £165,360, an increase of £3,680 on last year’s ‘school-led funding’.

The council has been under significant financial pressure in recent months, and Cllr Williams has even warned it may need to borrow money from the government to stay afloat.

However, the funding for schools has been ringfenced. The extra funds will be split between National Insurance contributions and the government’s schools budget support grant, which are rolled into the national funding formula.

The national fund will total some £50.9billion in 2026/27.

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