Issue - meetings

Report ED16030

Members of the Forum considered a report outlining the Local Authority’s responses to the School National Funding Formula and High Needs Funding Formula and Other Reforms – Stage One consultations which sought views on the general principles and the factors to be used in any future funding formula for schools.  The closing date of the consultations was 17^th April 2016.  Complete proposals, including the impact of any change, would not be known until the second stage which would be undertaken later in 2016.

The main points within the two consultations were:

Schools National Funding Formula:

·  Dedicated Schools Grant was currently spread across three blocks (High Needs, Early Years and Schools Blocks) and would increase to four blocks with the introduction of a new Central Schools Block.

·  Each Block to be individually ring-fenced so that funding could not be moved from one Block to another within the overall ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant.

·  Funding for Blocks to be realigned to match the Local Authority’s current spend.

·  Funding for Schools Block to be calculated based on the National Funding Formula for 2017/18 and 2018/19 with Local Authorities able to continue to fund schools using their local formula for two years before moving to the National Funding in 2019/20.

·  Local Authorities to be required to pass on all Schools Block funding to schools.

·  Some changes were proposed to factors currently used in the funding formula.

·  It was proposed that there would be a local minimum funding guarantee from 2017 to 2019 and a national minimum funding guarantee from 2019/20 to protect schools due to lose from the National Funding Formula.

·  The new Central Schools Block to be made up of current expenditure within the Schools Block such as school admissions and would be combined with other central expenditure currently funded by the Education Services Grant.

High Needs Funding Formula and Other Reforms:

·  Move to a formulaic distribution of high needs funding that would better reflect current needs rather than be based on historic spending.

·  Proposed formula to include factors relating to health, disability, low attainment and deprivation.

·  Review of the “notional special educational needs concept” to provide more clarity for mainstream schools.

·  Proposed changes to funding for mainstream schools with special units to support and encourage inclusion.

·  Alternative Provision being an integral part of the High Needs block: however;

The White Paper referred to a reform of the Alternative Provision system so that mainstream schools would remain accountable for the education of pupils in Alternative Provision and be responsible for commissioning high quality provision. This clearly stated that schools would also be responsible for the budgets from which Alternative Provision was funded which inferred that the funding could move from the High Needs Block to the Schools Block although there was no indication of the timeframe for this.

In discussing the Local Authority’s draft responses to the consultation, a number of Forum members expressed concern that the local minimum funding guarantee which would be introduced from 2017-2019 to protect schools  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77