Agenda item

Claire White introduced the report to set the School Formula 2016/17. The Department for Education had announced the arrangements for the formula on 16 July 2015 with no amendments to the regulations.

At the meeting of the Schools Forum on 13 July 2015, members agreed that if there was no change to the regulations, they would propose no change to the formula for 2016/17 in comparison to 2015/16.

All primary and secondary schools were consulted on this proposal from 1 September to 8 September 2015. There were few responses and one response expressed the view that more funding should be allocated through the deprivation factor.

Heads Funding Group had recommended that Schools Forum accept the proposal to make no change to the School Formula 2016/17.

The funding blocks would continue not to be ring fenced and the Schools Block could be used to fund the High Needs Block in the case of a shortfall. If there was any increase in funding, the Schools Forum could take a decision on how to allocate the surplus at the meeting in January 2016.

The only impact on individual schools would be where they were receiving minimum funding guarantee due to the original formula changes in 2013 (their funding would reduce by 1.5% per pupil). The exemplification in the consultation document used current (October 2014) data. Schools' final funding allocation for 2016/17 would be based on their pupil numbers (and other relevant data) in the October 2015 census. If this changed significantly then so would their funding.

DECISION: that the Primary and Secondary School Formula 2016/17 be endorsed by the Schools Forum and considered by the Council’s Executive on 19 November 2015.