It has been agreed that any school with a local authority funded AST currently in post and employed on AST pay and conditions will receive £500 per AST as a contribution towards travel and other on-costs. This additional funding is with effect from 1st April 2009 and will be included with the schools' Standards Fund 1.1 School Development Grant AST salary and outreach funding.

Schools with aspiring ASTs currently preparing for assessment will not receive the £500 contribution until the teacher has been successfully assessed as an AST and moves onto AST pay and conditions.