(Schools Forum Decisions and Consultation – 17 January 2018)
Schools Forum Decisions and Consultations
– 17 January 2018 / Item: 9Schools Budget 2018/19 – Individual Schools Budget (ISB)& Growth Funding
Lead Officer/Author: Ken Rushton, Service Manager Schools Funding
Contact Details: tel 01823 356911 or email
Summary: / This report sets out the required level of funding for the Individual Schools Budget (ISB) element of the Schools Block for 2018/19.Recommendations: / To give a view for a key decision to be made by the Cabinet members for Children and Families and Resources:
- The formula factors and parameters for 2018/19.
- The formula values for 2018/19.
- The Growth Funding for 2018/19
Reasons for Recommendations: / The School and Early Years Finance Regulations 2018 require approval by the local authority taking into consideration the view from the Schools Forum.
Links to Priorities and Children and Young Peoples Plan: / The Schools Budget supports the Enjoying and Achieving aim within the Children’s Plan.
Financial Implications: / This report covers the Schools Block which is £282,866,761 for 2018/19. This is an increase of £10,223,577on 2017/18, due to demographic growth and the DfE announcements on fairer funding. Up to 0.5% can be transferred from the Schools Block with Schools Forum approval.
- Background
1.1. / This report focuses on the funding formula used to distribute the ISB to maintained schools, academies and free schools with delegated budget shares.
- Options Considered
2.1. / Formula Data
The Schools Forum agreed to a consultation on whether or not to adopt the National Funding Formula (NFF) for 2018/19. The consultation took place earlier in the Autumn term; all schools that responded to the consultation were in favour of implementing the NFF in 2018/19 where possible. This was discussed at the Forum meeting on 21 November 2017.
On the 15thDecember, the Department for Education (DfE) published the Authority Proforma Tool (APT) for 2018/19, which is the worksheet that the LA is required to complete and return by 19thJanuary 2018, following political ratification (Cabinet meeting 17th January 2018). The APT includes details of the LA formula, values, de-delegation and commentary on the formula. The DfE uses this information to recoup funds from the LA for academies. It also forms the calculation of academy budget shares by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The APT included the current dataset to be used when calculating the school budgets shares for 2018/19.
The dataset includes pupil numbers (Table 1) and other data (Table 2) such as free school meals, low prior attainment and deprivation compared to 2017/18.
Table 1:
Pupil Numbers to be funded in the APT / 2017/18 / 2018/19 / Difference / % Change
Primary (years R-6) / 40,951.39 / 41,179.42 / +228.03 / 0.55%
Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) / 15,234.00 / 15,388.00 / +154.00 / 1.01%
Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11) / 9,530.00 / 9,643.58 / +113.58 / 1.19%
Total / 65,715 / 66,211 / +496.00 / 0.75%
- The above pupil numbers differ from the October census numbers due to ghost pupils being funded for new schools and growth schools which have been opened for less than 7 years and are adding a cohort each September.
- The data includes the Steiner Academy, following changes to the way Free Schools are funded (up until 2014/15, Free Schools were regarded as ‘non-recoupment’ academies and the DSG did not include an allocation for pupils in these establishments. From 2015/16 the DfE included additional DSG grant funding for LAs to take account of pupils in non-recoupment academies).
DfE Dataset / Primary Pupil Numbers / Secondary Pupil Numbers
Data for 2017/18 / Data for 2018/19 / Data for 2017/18 / Data for 2018/19
Free School Meals (ever in last 6 years) / 8,187 / 8,117 / 5,439 / 5,498
Free School Meals / N/A / 5,129 / N/A / 2,654
IDACI band F / 4,228 / 4,275 / 2,406 / 2,508
IDACI band E / 3,762 / 3,823 / 2,092 / 2,120
IDACI band D / 870 / 887 / 536 / 532
IDACI band C / 790 / 790 / 436 / 436
IDACI band B / 1,650 / 1,704 / 903 / 950
IDACI band A / 206 / 206 / 100 / 114
Low attainment at Foundation Stage (<78) / 7,656 / 13,228* / N/A / N/A
Low attainment KS2 / N/A / N/A / 5,684 / 5,647
EAL year 2 in 2017/18 now EAL 3 / 1,427 / 1,956 / 228 / 285
2.2. / Changes in the dataset
*Low Prior Attainment: The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) changed in 2013; LAs can use a weighting to ensure funding delivered through the primary attainment factor is not disproportionately affected by the year groups assessed under the new framework (years 1 to 5). In 2017/18 the weighting applied was 51%, the data shown above for 2018/19 is shown as 100% with no weighting applied, as per the NFF. In funding terms this means a significant increase in the allocation of LPA for primary as the volume of pupils identified will appear significantly higher than in previous years, as only 51% of the pupils assessed under the new framework were funded to keep the allocation proportionate.
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6 / Formula factors and values for 2018/19
The per pupil values have been amended as per Table 3; detailed notes follow explaining the assumptions and reasoning:
Table 3
Primary / KS 3 / KS 4
2017/18 AWPU value / £2,847.08 / £3,661.04 / £4,215.53
1. Education Functions – ESG General / +£4.28 / +£4.28 / +£4.28
2. Change in Care First / +£0.18 / +£0.18 / +£0.18
- Change in TU facilities cost
- Change in Central Insurance cost
5. Change in Licences / +£0.10 / +£0.10 / +£0.10
6. Change in FSM Eligibility / +£0.23 / +£0.23 / +£0.23
7. Change in Staff costs (maternity)* / -£12.23 / -£12.23 / -£12.23
£2,837.71 / £3,656.42 / £4,210.91
NFF change to AWPU value / -£90.71 / +£206.58 / +£175.09
Revised AWPU value for 2018/19 / £2,747.00 / £3,863.00 / £4,386.00
- With the removal of ESG general grant from September 2017, maintained schools are being asked to contribute from delegated funds. The increase in the Education Functions allocation and cost relate to the full year allocation in 2018/19 as opposed to the part year figure the previous year (September to March). The figure is £10.38 per pupil for maintained schools only.
- Items listed above from 2 to 6 in Table 3 relate to changes for support services where maintained schools have opted to de-delegate funding and responsibilities. Where the costs/charges have changed, these have been reflected in the AWPU value where appropriate. These include minimal increases in Care First, Licences and FSM eligibility, and reductions in TU facilities time and Insurance.
- Item 7 reflects a significant reduction in projected costs for maternity in 2018/19;this is in comparison to 2017/18, where the allocation and subsequent charge was increased to recoup an over-spend from the previous 2 years.
- The AWPU values have then been adjusted up or down to reflect the DfE published values for the NFF.
The changes above have been applied to the formula values and are shown in table 4 below; differences between years have been highlighted:
Table 4
Formula Factor / 2017/18 Formula Values (£) / 2018/19 Formula Values (£)
Per pupil – primary / 2,847.08 / 2,747.00
Per pupil – Key Stage 3 / 3,661.04 / 3,863.00
Per pupil – Key stage 4 / 4,215.53 / 4,386.00
Primary / Secondary / Primary / Secondary
Lump sum / 91,769 / 175,000 / 110,000 / 110,000
Free School Meals (Ever6) – per pupil / 650 / 720 / 540 / 785
Free School Meals - Current / 440 / 440
EAL / 535 / 653 / 515 / 1,385
Primary / Secondary / Primary / Secondary
IDACI band F - per pupil / 240 / 280 / 200 / 290
IDACI band E - per pupil / 290 / 340 / 240 / 390
IDACI band D - per pupil / 350 / 410 / 360 / 515
IDACI band C - per pupil / 375 / 440 / 390 / 560
IDACI band B - per pupil / 400 / 470 / 420 / 600
IDACI band A - per pupil / 825 / 910 / 575 / 810
Prior Attainment - per pupil / 980 / 827 / 1,050 / 1,550
Funding for rates isbased on the 2017/18 actual cost and will be adjusted in year for increases to the multiplier.
Table 5 shows the values and dataset multiplied to show the total funding allocated against each of the formula factors for 2018/19, compared to 2017/18, with the assumptions in this paper included in the overall funding.
Table 5
Formula Factor / 2017/18 / 2018/19 / Difference / % change
Lump Sum / £26,100,637 / £27,940,000 / £1,839,363 / 7.05%
Primary AWPU / £116,622,845 / £113,119,856 / -£3,502,989 / -3.00%
KS3 AWPU / £55,772,283 / £59,443,844 / £3,671,561 / 6.58%
KS4 AWPU / £40,174,001 / £42,296,755 / £2,122,754 / 5.28%
Sparsity / £109,110 / £616,028 / £506,918 / 464.59%
FSM / £0 / £3,424,678 / £3,424,678 / N/A
FSM 6 / £9,239,178 / £8,698,969 / -£540,209 / -5.85%
IDACI / £5,849,726 / £5,968,537 / £118,811 / 2.03%
EAL 2 / £912,332 / £1,402,350 / £490,018 / 53.71%
LPA Primary / £7,505,384 / £13,889,174 / £6,383,790 / 85.06%
LPA Secondary / £4,699,961 / £8,753,037 / £4,053,076 / 86.24%
Split sites / £70,000 / £70,000 / £0 / 0.00%
Rates / £3,528,361 / £3,492,639 / -£35,722 / -1.01%
Rents / £20,000 / £20,000 / N/A
#PFI funding / £388,487 / £371,537 / -£16,950 / -4.36%
Rural Technology / £378,756 / £397,873 / £19,115 / 5.05%
MFG / £545,679 / £141,432 / -£403,247 / -73.90%
*Capping / -£259,035 / -£9,215,751 / -£8,956,716 / N/A
Rounding / £1 / -£1 / N/A
TOTAL / £271,637,706 / £280,691,951 / £9,054,245 / 3.33%
De-delegated / -£2,306,269 / -£1,698,977 / £607,292 / -26.33%
**Education Functions / -£205,649 / -£333,063 / -£127,414 / 61.96%
Post
De-delegated budget / £269,125,788 / £278,659,911 / £9,534,123 / 3.54%
#PFI funding only applies to 2 schools and is based on a per pupil amount, less an additional contribution made by the schools. In 2018/19 we have not applied inflation, and will review whether this funding should continue in its present form when a ‘hard’ national funding formula is implemented.
** Education Functions is the statutory services previously funded by ESG general grant, which ceased in September 2017. The DfE has allowed LAs to pass these costs unto schools. The Schools Forum approved the charge on maintained schools budget shares from September 2017. The impact is greater in 2018/19 as the charge would apply to the full year.
*The capping % in 2017/18 was set at 4.00%. Therefore schools’ funding per pupil could increase by up to 4.00% before any cap on additional funds applies. The NFF limits gains in 2018/19 to 3.0%; however the funding available to Somerset schools will not allow for a 3% cap to be applied.
The Technical Working Group of Schools Forum has supported the proposal by the LA to limit the gain to 2.5% in 2018/19. The alternative to setting the cap at 2.5% would be to reduce the formula values proportionately.This would take on many reiterations, as by reducing for example the AWPU, the cost of the MFG would increase.
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5. / Growth Funding for 2018/19
The funding for new and growing schools was previously considered as being part of the central schools budget; however the new formula which splits the DSG into 4 separate blocks, includes the Growth Funding within the Schools Block.
A paper will be presented at the next meeting, proposing any changes to the criteria for new and growing schools, for the Forum to approve. The budget for growth was £1m in 2017/18; the exact requirement is not known for 2018/19, although we would anticipate a reduced cost given the opening of new schools in Yeovil and Bridgwaterin recent years. The expectation is a requirement of £750,000.
Balancing the Schools Block for 2018/19
In the heading summary - financial implications, the ISB is proposed as £271,392,697. This figure is based on last year’s ISB, demographic changes and transfers for new delegation as shown in Table 6, along with some additional commitments.
Table 6
Notes
Schools Block baseline 2017/18 / £272,386,260
Transfer of funding from HNB for pupils in SEN units / £256,924
Schools Block adjusted baseline 2017/18 / £272,643,184
Demographic Change / £1,834,247 / £4,149.88 GUF @ 442 pupils
Impact of National Funding Formula / £8,389,330
Total Schools Block 2018/19 / £282,866,761
Transfer to HNB 0.5% / -£1,414,334
Growth Fund Required for 2018/19 / -£750,000
Revised Schools Block 2018/19 / £280,702,427
Individual schools budgets for 2018/19 / £280,691,951
Surplus / deficit on the Schools Block / £10,476
De-delegation
The Schools Forum voted at the last meeting to continue to de-delegate these budget lines for 2018/19,in line with the views of maintained schools who responded to the consultation.
Table 7 shows the delegated responsibilities and the amounts allocated and de-delegated for maintained schools only.
Table 7
New Delegation / Basis for new delegation / 2017/18 Values / 2018/19 Values / Change in value
Contingencies / Per pupil / £0.27 / £0.22 / -£0.05
FSM eligibility / Per pupil / £0.24 / £0.47 / +£0.23
Insurance
Primary
Secondary / Per pupil / £20.89
£32.34 / £19.03
£35.23 / -£1.86
+£2.89
Licences & Subscriptions / Lump sum:
Primary/Secondary – The Key
Per pupil:
SIMS licence / £491
£4.33 / £0
£4.43 / -£491
+£0.10
Staff Costs / Per pupil:
Care First
Maternity Support Maternity Teachers
TU duties (new delegation 16/17) / £0.50
£7.79
£26.67
£2.95 / £0.68
£22.23
£2.88 / +£0.18
-£12.23
-£0.07
- Consultations undertaken
5.1. / Consultation on formula changes took place with all schools and academies during the Autumn term. The outcomes of the consultation have informed the TWG and Forum and assisted the Cabinet member for Children’s Services in making key decisions.
- Implications
6.1. / The Schools Forum will wish to consider the DSG as a whole and the balance of funding between centrally retained and delegated funding.
- Background papers
7.1. / The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2018
7.2. / School revenue funding 2018 to 2019: Operational guide
Note: For sight of individual background papers please contact the report author
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