Version 1.1 · SQL toolkit 1.1.0

English and maths condition of funding calculator 2026 to 2027

Estimate your 2026 to 2027 English and maths condition of funding position, and the deduction it could bring to your 2028 to 2029 allocation, from two DfE funding reports. Free, with no account, and your data stays on your own computer or in your own database.

Data year: 2026 to 2027
Affects allocations for: 2028 to 2029
Excel workbook, full pack and guide: version 1.1
SQL toolkit: version 1.1.0, schema fefunding2627
Released: 18 October 2026

Download the full pack 2026 to 2027 (ZIP)All downloads

What it does

It applies the 2026 to 2027 condition of funding rules to every funded student in your two reports. It gives the estimated deduction, the known non-compliance as a percentage of national funding value, the unresolved students and the extra deduction they could add, a funding-band statement, a learner-level investigation list and data-quality checks that withhold the headline when the data cannot support it.

Who should use it

MIS and data teams who produce the funding reports, funding and compliance staff, maths and English managers who need the list of students to investigate, and finance and senior leaders who need the estimated effect on the 2028 to 2029 allocation. Excel needs no technical set-up. The SQL route is for report developers who already import the DfE funding reports into SQL Server.

Downloads for 2026 to 2027

Direct downloads from this website, with no account, form or JavaScript needed. File names carry the version, so a new release always has a new address.

Full pack
Everything for the year in one ZIP: the Excel workbook, the user guide, the SQL toolkit and its documentation.
ZIP2.4 MBversion 1.1released 18 October 2026
FEFunding_CoF_Calculator_2026-27_v1.1.zip
Download the full pack 2026 to 2027 (ZIP)
SHA-256: bb94c334ac451dadeb800ef39a57d3469029af3907932f31deef1a3a7c291e7a
Excel workbook
The Excel calculator on its own. No macros, external links or data connections.
Excel workbook (XLSX)5.5 MBversion 1.1released 18 October 2026
English_Maths_CoF_Calculator_2026-27_v1.1.xlsx
Download the Excel workbook 2026 to 2027 (XLSX)
SHA-256: da24b6c05fd7acc3a87835781ea51d9609df7e6f275fab7e2ae48f25cc561b73
User guide
How to prepare the reports, use the workbook and read the results.
PDF309 KBversion 1.1released 18 October 2026
FEFunding_CoF_User_Guide_2026-27_v1.1.pdf
Open the user guide 2026 to 2027 (PDF)
SHA-256: 5f735d1748f294a6cd901c267a43b9c4ef0f28dfcd44247cd85a02a127396912
SQL toolkit
SQL Server scripts and documentation for the year's reporting views and procedures.
ZIP86 KBversion 1.1.0released 18 October 2026
FEFunding_CoF_SQL_Toolkit_2026-27_v1.1.0.zip
Download the SQL toolkit 2026 to 2027 (ZIP)
SHA-256: c3b0376e2dffc102d5fe6b987a29631ebda5f86a3ebd5a14e6c6479baa8c8816

Building dashboards across years? The all-years SQL headline is a separate, optional download.

The reports you need

Two DfE ILR funding reports, both for the same provider, the same academic year (2026 to 2027) and the same return:

16 to 19 Summary of Funding by Student: each student's funding line, funding band, planned hours, date of birth and whether they qualify for funding.
Maths and English: each student's maths and English status.

Preparing and matching the reports

Take both reports from the same return, for example both from R14. Never mix returns, years or providers.
Students are matched by learner reference, which must be identical in both reports. Rows are never matched by their position, so the order of the rows does not matter.
Keep the reports as supplied, including the Date of birth column. Age on 31 August 2026 decides whether a Band 4b student with grade 3 is treated as full-time or part-time.
The reports carry no provider identifier. You declare your provider's UKPRN in the workbook, or in each SQL year adapter, and a valid UKPRN (8 digits starting with 1) is required before a validated headline is shown: otherwise the status is BLOCKED - PROVIDER UKPRN NOT DECLARED (or NOT VALID). The UKPRN is declared, not independently verified: entering it does not prove that both reports belong to that provider. Duplicate references and reconciliation exceptions are the only signs in the data of a mixed pair of reports.
The calculator is designed for institutions that receive the ILR funding reports. Institutions that make school census returns cannot use it as designed: their minimum-hours codes are not mapped.
The readiness checks confirm the data is complete and consistent. They cannot prove which provider, year or return the reports came from: that is for you to confirm.

Excel route

For a one-off check in desktop Excel. The workbook has no macros, so there is nothing to enable.

Download the workbook, or the full pack, and open it in Excel.
Clear any old data first. On the Funding input and Maths English input sheets, select the paste area from A2 to the end and press Delete, so no rows from an earlier return remain.
Copy the report's data rows without the header row, and paste them into A2 as values (Paste Special, then Values). Do the same for the other report on its own sheet.
Keep the columns in the order the reports supply them, including Date of birth. Do not insert, delete or reorder columns, and leave no blank rows inside the data.
Each report can hold up to 5,000 records.
Complete the yellow input cells: your provider UKPRN (8 digits starting with 1), the return and the college name. For part-time students with grade 3 who are not studying GCSE, record the approved-qualification evidence on the Hours evidence sheet. If the workbook asks you to confirm a T Level band, record the confirmed band on its T Level band confirmation sheet.
Read the Data quality sheet first, then the Summary. Print the Summary or save it as PDF for your records.

The user guide has the full steps, the meaning of each result and how to investigate students.

SQL route

For colleges that already import the DfE funding reports into SQL Server and want reporting views, validation procedures and dashboards. The toolkit documentation states SQL Server 2016 SP1 or later. The 2026 to 2027 toolkit installs into the schema fefunding2627.

Installing

In your reporting database, open 02_Source_Adapters.sql and point its source queries at your imported 2026 to 2027 report tables, keeping the column aliases. Configure the adapter for the correct year, provider and return, and filter it if a table holds more than one. Declare the UKPRN and return label there.
Run 02, 03, 04 and 05, in that order.
Optionally, run 11_Report_Label_Inventory.sql on your imported reports. It lists the funding band, funding line and status labels with counts only, and no learner data, so the calculator's wording can be checked against your reports.
Run EXEC fefunding2627.usp_CoF_Validate; and resolve anything that blocks, then EXEC fefunding2627.usp_CoF_Executive; or query fefunding2627.vw_CoF_Headline.
The 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027 toolkits can be installed side by side in the same reporting database, each in its own schema with its own rules. To report both in one view, install both years, then run 09_All_Years_Headline.sql from the all-years toolkit.

For a one-off result with no installation, edit the source queries in 01_Standalone_Calculator.sql and run it. Uninstalling is covered in the toolkit documentation.

Upgrading an earlier installation

Upgrade each year toolkit in place: configure the new 02_Source_Adapters.sql with your table names, filters and UKPRN, then run 02 to 05. The schema names do not change.
Run 09_All_Years_Headline.sql afterwards, then check EXEC fefunding_all.usp_CoF_Check_Completeness; before refreshing a dashboard.
If an older copy of a year is still installed, set IsIncluded = 0 for it in fefunding_all.CoF_Headline_Sources, rebuild the all-years view and move its reports before retiring it.
Snapshot history in fefunding_all.CoF_Headline_History is kept: installing or upgrading never drops it. Only 10_All_Years_Uninstall.sql with @DropHistory = 1 removes it. The release tests upgraded from the earlier versions and confirmed the history survives.

Running the scripts in SSMS or sqlcmd

The scripts use GO batch separators, which SQL Server Management Studio and sqlcmd both understand. Run each script as a whole.
Each script sets ANSI_NULLS and QUOTED_IDENTIFIER on itself, so sqlcmd does not need the -I switch.
A failed install or uninstall step raises an error, so a scripted run stops rather than carrying on.

What the toolkit reads and writes

Your source MIS and report tables are only read.
Installing creates reporting objects (views, procedures and tables) in the reporting database, in the toolkit's own schemas.
The snapshot procedure writes history rows into the reporting database, in fefunding_all.CoF_Headline_History.
A scheduled snapshot job is not installed automatically. If you want one, set it up yourself.
Report accounts need SELECT on the reporting views. A reader in another database also needs SELECT on the source tables, or another route your DBA approves, because views do not carry ownership across databases by default. Avoid TRUSTWORTHY or db_owner as a shortcut.

Methodology

Which allocation it affects

Data for 2026 to 2027 affects 2028 to 2029 allocations (Table 8 of the 2026 to 2027 condition of funding guidance). Keep both years in view: the data year is when the students studied, and the allocation year is when any deduction is applied.

The measure

The tolerance is measured by national funding value, not by headcount and not by the report's Total funding column. Each in-scope funded student is valued at the national rate for their funding band in the 2026 to 2027 rates and formula guidance. Band 1 is valued at the Band 5 rate multiplied by planned hours divided by 640, and a T Level's annual value is half its programme rate.

Formula: Estimated deduction = 0.5 × max(0, known-fail national value − 0.025 × total national value)

A student who fails English, maths or both is counted once, at their full national value.
The deduction applies only above 2.5%. Exactly 2.5% is not a breach.
A failure in one subject outweighs an unresolved result in the other.

Illustrative example only. Made-up round figures to show the arithmetic. They are not any college's results.

Step	Working	Value
Total national funding value of in-scope students (D)	Sum of each funded student's national value	£10,000,000
Known non-compliant value (E)	Students failing English, maths or both, each counted once	£400,000
Tolerance (F)	2.5% of D	£250,000
Excess over tolerance	E minus F, never below zero	£150,000
Estimated deduction	Half of the excess	£75,000

Who is included

Funding line or record	Treatment
16-19 Students (excluding High Needs Students)	Included
16-19 High Needs Students	Included
19-24 Students with an EHCP	Included
19+ Continuing Students (excluding EHCP)	Included
14-16 Direct Funded Students	Excluded and listed: outside the condition and funded under separate 14 to 16 arrangements
Any record with Qualifies for funding = N	Excluded and listed: not funded
Any other funding line	Invalid until investigated, so the headline is withheld

Programmes under 150 planned hours stay in the total value, but the condition does not apply to them, and exempt students also stay in the total value as passes. This follows the plain reading of “the total value of all students” in the guidance; it has not yet been checked against an actual DfE condition of funding allocation table. T Levels and the T Level Foundation Year are within the condition.

How each student is assessed

Has the GCSE at grade 9 to 4, is exempt, holds a Functional Skills level 2 pass, or the condition does not apply: meets the condition.
Studying the subject: meets the condition, on the basis of the report's status.
Not studying the subject without a grade 4: does not meet the condition.
Grade 3 and not studying GCSE: a full-time student does not meet the condition, because they must study GCSE. A part-time student may study any approved qualification, so the result depends on the approved-qualification evidence and the minimum-hours declaration (below).
Full-time or part-time follows the funding band. T Levels, Band 5 and Band 4a are full-time; Bands 3, 2 and 1 are part-time. Band 4b is full-time at age 18 or over and part-time at 16 or 17, using age on 31 August 2026. A Band 4b student whose age cannot be established, or whose hours contradict the band, is unresolved.

When the two reports do not reconcile

Every in-scope funded record must reconcile between the reports. A record missing from the Maths and English report, a learner reference repeated on an in-scope record, or a funding line, funding band or T Level flag that differs between the reports blocks the validated headline. Each Maths and English record is also checked against every funding-report record with the same learner reference. One with no funding-report record at all, one whose funding-report record has an unrecognised funding line or Qualifies for funding value, or one funded only on an excluded line is an orphan and blocks. A learner whose funding-report records all have Qualifies for funding = N is excluded as not funded: listed with the reason, left out of the totals and not blocking, with a warning if the funding line or band differs. A learner with any funded record is never excluded. The calculator shows the reason and the count of each type. Any figures over matched records only are shown separately, marked “Diagnostic only: not a validated result”. A Maths and English report that matches no learner can never give 0% or a valid result.

Approved qualifications and the minimum-hours declaration

On the part-time grade 3 route, an approved qualification recorded as Y counts only with the subject's minimum-hours declaration (MMH or EMH). Code 1: meets the condition. Code 2: does not meet it, because DfE counts a qualification only when its minimum hours are planned and code 2 means they are not met. No code, or any other code: unresolved, listed for you to complete. The three cases are counted separately.

T Level band valuation

For 2026 to 2027 some occupational specialisms are funded in an uplifted T Level band. Where the report shows a basic T Level band 6, 7 or 8, the calculator looks up the student's occupational specialism in DfE's published 2026 to 2027 T Level funding bands. If the specialism is listed in the uplifted version of that band, or in a different band, or cannot be found, the valuation is unresolved and the validated headline is withheld until you record the confirmed band. A confirmed band must itself be a recognised 2026 to 2027 T Level band. Uplifted bands and T Level band 5 are valued as the report labels them.

Teaching hours

The DfE report statuses are expected to reflect the relevant declarations, but the calculator does not independently verify planned hours, delivery or in-person teaching. DfE's 2026 to 2027 ILR funding reports guidance says students with an MMH or EMH code of 2 show in the Maths and English report as not meeting the minimum hours. Students with an EHC plan may receive their minimum hours through flexible methods; the calculator does not test delivery mode, so it neither penalises nor confirms that flexibility.

Safeguards

Any blocking condition withholds every validated headline figure: it shows as Unavailable in Excel and NULL in SQL, with the reason. Blocking conditions are invalid records (an unrecognised funding band or funding line, invalid Band 1 hours, a duplicate learner reference on an in-scope record or a Qualifies for funding value that is not Y or N), reports that do not reconcile, a T Level band that cannot be confirmed, no valid declared UKPRN, and no data.
No data shows as unavailable, never as zero.
Unresolved is never treated as a pass. The extra deduction if every unresolved student failed is shown.
A £0 estimate is not a statement of full compliance.
Excluded records are listed with the reason, never silently dropped.
The workbook contains no macros, external links or data connections. Calculated sheets are protected without a password to prevent accidental edits; the paste areas and yellow inputs stay editable.
The SQL procedures stop with a message naming each cause when the data is invalid.

Limitations and evidence status

Teaching hours. The DfE report statuses are expected to reflect the relevant declarations, but the calculator does not independently verify planned hours, delivery or in-person teaching.
An estimate. DfE calculates the actual adjustment to your 2028 to 2029 allocation. Prior attainment evidence, exemptions and audit findings are outside the reports.
Provider identity is declared, not independently verified. A pair of reports from two different providers cannot be detected from the data, except through duplicate references and reconciliation exceptions.
Evidence. (1) Rules verified against the official guidance listed below. (2) Calculations tested with synthetic data in the environments stated here. (3) Behaviour confirmed with actual DfE report structures: none yet; the optional label inventory script is offered to collect it. (4) Still unverified: whether DfE gives the grade 3 “not studying GCSE” status to Band 4b, the 2026 to 2027 uplifted and band 5 T Level labels, the total-value treatment against a real allocation, and the full report column lists.
Excel and SQL are separate implementations of the 2026 to 2027 rules, reconciled against shared test scenarios. They are not guaranteed to agree on every possible file. Investigate any difference.
How this release was tested. The SQL toolkit was tested on SQL Server 2022 (16.0.4305.5) at database compatibility levels 130 and 160, not on a native SQL Server 2016 instance. The automated workbook tests were recalculated with LibreOffice 24.2. On 23 October 2026 the owner also checked both workbooks (2025 to 2026 version 2.2 and 2026 to 2027 version 1.1) in Microsoft Excel using synthetic test data, and they worked as expected. All test data was synthetic: no real DfE report pair was used. The release notes in the full pack list the tests and the open points.
Security review. An independent security review has not been carried out.
Not yet validated against a real 2026 to 2027 report. The rules follow the published guidance, but no real 2026 to 2027 funding report has yet been run through this edition for validation.
T Level band wording is unverified. The exact report wording for the uplifted T Level bands and T Level band 5 has not yet been seen in a real report. Unrecognised band text blocks the headline rather than being guessed, and the wording can be configured in the workbook and the SQL rules.
Rates. The calculator uses the 2026 to 2027 national funding rates as updated in July 2026. DfE's worked example in the condition of funding guidance (Tables 9 and 10) uses the rates published in March 2026, so its figures differ from the calculator's for the same students.

Dashboard reporting

If you report the headline in Power BI, SSRS or another tool, through fefunding2627.vw_CoF_Headline or the all-years view, keep these meanings intact.

DataYear is the year of the report, not the affected allocation year. Show both: 2026 to 2027 data affects 2028 to 2029 allocations.
IsLatestDataYear marks the greatest year present, whatever its status. It is not a verified current year, not the latest valid year and not the latest snapshot. A failed latest year still shows as the latest year, with its status and unavailable figures. Do not show an older year's figures under a current-year heading.
IsPublishable means the data is valid under the checks the toolkit implements. It does not establish full compliance, resolve unknown cases or verify delivery. Always show AssessmentStatus, the unresolved cases and the key assumption alongside it.
Percentages are on a 0 to 100 scale: divide by 100 before applying a percentage format. The all-years view rounds them to two decimals, so never decide a breach by comparing the rounded figure with 2.5. Use the supplied status and the unrounded money figures.
NULL means unavailable, not zero. Do not replace it with 0 in a visual.
ReturnLabel is supplied by whoever takes a snapshot. It does not prove which return the source tables held. Load, validate, then snapshot, and decide which snapshot reports show when a return is saved more than once.
One provider per source. The all-years view is not a multi-college consolidation tool. If included sources declare different UKPRNs, the build fails; a source with no declared UKPRN shows PROVIDER NOT DECLARED and is not publishable.
Live and snapshot results are different things. The views are live: they show whatever the source tables hold now. Snapshots keep a result after each return. Do not label live results as frozen R14 history, and keep older source tables if you want the live view to show historical years: a snapshot cannot rebuild data that has already been overwritten.
Check completeness before every refresh. Run EXEC fefunding_all.usp_CoF_Check_Completeness;. It stops with an error unless every expected year is VALID or VALID WITH UNRESOLVED and has exactly one source. A successful build on its own is not enough.

Each year in the all-years view carries one of these source statuses; any status other than the first two has NULL figures:

VALID
VALID WITH UNRESOLVED
INVALID DATA
BLOCKED
NO DATA
SOURCE MISSING
SOURCE ERROR
DUPLICATE SOURCES
PROVIDER NOT DECLARED
NOT INSTALLED

Basic reporting query

SELECT *
FROM fefunding_all.vw_CoF_Headline_AllYears
ORDER BY DataYearStart;

Optional snapshot after loading and validating a return

EXEC fefunding_all.usp_CoF_Snapshot_Headlines
    @ReturnLabel = 'R04',
    @DataYear = '2026-27';

Snapshots are saved in fefunding_all.CoF_Headline_History, and the newest for each year is in fefunding_all.vw_CoF_Headline_LatestSnapshot. A snapshot stops with an error if nothing would be saved, a year is blocked, invalid or incomplete, or the return label is empty, unless you deliberately ask it to save non-publishable years with their status and NULL figures.

Optional companion for SQL users

All-years SQL headline for dashboards

Combine the headline results from installed academic-year toolkits into one SQL view for Power BI, SSRS and other college reporting. Each year keeps its own funding rules and rates. Optional snapshots preserve results after each return.

ZIP23 KBversion 1.1released 18 October 2026

FEFunding_CoF_All_Years_Headline_v1.1.zip

Download all-years SQL toolkit

SHA-256: 469f4823d402225d50179c9d57b6f29262e8f186b566b8e911d37da985278671

It is an optional companion to the year toolkits, not a standalone funding calculator. It recalculates nothing: each row is that year's own headline, with its own rules and rates.
Install each year's SQL toolkit first (scripts 02 to 05) in the same reporting database, then run 09_All_Years_Headline.sql.
No upload to this website and no server-side connection to your college's SQL Server is needed.
Before a dashboard refresh, run EXEC fefunding_all.usp_CoF_Check_Completeness;. It stops with an error unless every expected year is present exactly once and valid.

How to read the view, take snapshots and avoid misreading the figures: dashboard reporting on this page, and the calculator overview.

Questions

Is the calculator free, and do I need an account?

Yes, it is free, and there is no account, login or form. Free to use with attribution, provided as is. Please keep the "Created by Ben Sonoiki · fefunding.co.uk" credit when you share it or its results.

Does FEFunding see our learner data?

No. The workbook runs in Excel on your own computer and the SQL toolkit runs in your own SQL Server database. Nothing is uploaded to this website, and the website has no connection to your database.

Is this DfE's calculation?

No. It is an independent estimate made from DfE's published rules and your own funding reports. DfE calculates the actual adjustment to your 2028 to 2029 allocation. FEFunding is not affiliated with or endorsed by DfE.

Which return should I use?

Any 2026 to 2027 return, as long as both reports come from the same provider, academic year and return. DfE's calculation uses the final return of the year, so an earlier return gives an in-year indication rather than the final position.

Can I use this edition for 2025 to 2026 data?

No. Each edition applies its own year's rules, rates and dates. Use the 2025 to 2026 edition for 2025 to 2026 data.

Why does the calculator show the headline as unavailable?

Because a blocking condition was found: an invalid record, an unrecognised funding band or funding line, reports that do not reconcile, a T Level band that cannot be confirmed, no valid declared UKPRN, or no data. The reason and the counts are shown, and the records to investigate are listed. Fix the source data or the input, then run it again.

The estimated deduction is £0. Are we compliant?

Not necessarily. £0 means the known failures are within the 2.5% tolerance on that snapshot. Unresolved students, data the reports do not hold and anything DfE finds at audit can still change the position.

Does it check teaching hours or how maths and English are taught?

The DfE report statuses are expected to reflect the relevant declarations, but the calculator does not independently verify planned hours, delivery or in-person teaching. Check timetables, registers and the ILR declarations separately.

Should we use Excel or SQL?

Excel suits a one-off check by an MIS or funding officer: paste two reports and read the Summary. SQL suits colleges that already import the funding reports into SQL Server and want reporting views, validation procedures and dashboards. They are separate implementations of the same year's rules, reconciled against shared test scenarios; they are not guaranteed to agree on every possible file, so investigate any difference.

Can we combine several colleges or providers?

No. Each workbook, and each configured SQL source, holds one provider. The all-years view is not a multi-college consolidation tool and has no UKPRN grouping key.

How do I check a download has not been altered?

Compare its SHA-256 with the value on this page. In PowerShell, run Get-FileHash with -Algorithm SHA256 on the downloaded file. The value must match exactly.

Official sources for 2026 to 2027

2026 to 2027 academic year: 16 to 19 funding, maths and English condition of funding (GOV.UK). Who the condition applies to, minimum teaching hours, the 2.5% tolerance, Table 8 (2026 to 2027 data affects 2028 to 2029 allocations) and the deduction example.
16 to 19 funding: 2026 to 2027 rates and formula (GOV.UK). The national funding rates for each band, as updated in July 2026, which value each student.
Advice: funding rules for 16 to 19 provision 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK). Age on 31 August (paragraph 44) and the separate 14 to 16 arrangements.
2026 to 2027 ILR funding reports (GOV.UK). What the 16 to 19 Summary of Funding by Student and Maths and English reports contain, including how the MMH and EMH declarations show.
T Levels funding guide 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK). T Level funding bands, including the uplifted bands for specific occupational specialisms.

Use these sources for 2026 to 2027 only. Other years have their own guidance and their own edition of the calculator.

Created by Ben Sonoiki · fefunding.co.uk

Free to use with attribution, provided as is. An independent estimate from DfE's published rules: not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, and not DfE's calculation of your allocation.