Agenda item

(CSP: BEC, BEC1, BEC2)

Purpose:  The Council is required to decide the formula factors to use to distribute funding to all primary and secondary schools for the 2016/17 financial year.

Resolved that:

·         The formula factors for 2016/17 were to remain the same as those used in 2015/16.

·         If there was a funding shortfall, this would be addressed through an adjustment to the basic entitlement rate.

·         If there was additional funding available, the Schools’ Forum at its January 2016 meeting would decide whether this was all allocated through the basic entitlement rate or through other factors including deprivation.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 27 November 2015, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 6) concerning the requirement of the Council to decide the formula factors to use to distribute funding to all primary and secondary schools for the 2016/17 financial year.

Councillor Dominic Boeck explained that since the change to School Finance Regulations in 2013/14, the Council had been required annually to approve the school funding formula. This was in consultation with the Schools Forum and also included consultation with all maintained and academy schools. The Department for Education (DfE) had announced the arrangements for the 2016/17 funding formula for primary and secondary schools on 16 July 2015. There were no amendments to the regulations, and therefore the options available for the formula to be used to distribute funding to schools remained the same as for 2015/16.

School funding allocations were paid for from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and did not impact on the Council’s budget. It was likely that the funding rate (per pupil) that the DSG was based upon would also remain the same, although this would be subject to the Government’s spending review. The Council would be notified of its actual DSG funding for 2016/17 in mid December 2015.

At the Schools Forum meeting held on 13 July 2015, it was agreed that if there was no change to the regulations that would be of benefit to West Berkshire schools, their preferred option would be no change to the formula for 2016/17. A briefing/consultation document setting out this proposal (see Appendix C) had been sent to all primary and secondary schools on 1 September 2015. There had only been a few responses to the consultation and all except one had agreed with all the proposals. The one exception asked for consideration to be given to allocating more money through the deprivation factor, due to the fact that West Berkshire did have some pockets of serious deprivation.

At the meeting of the Schools Forum held on 28 September 2015, the members of the Forum confirmed that their preferred option would be to keep the funding formula the same for 2016/17 as that used in 2015/16 and this was recommended in the report.

If there was a funding shortfall, this would be addressed through an adjustment to the basic entitlement rate. If additional funding was available, the Schools Forum, at its January 2016 meeting, would decide whether this was all allocated through the basic entitlement rate or through other factors including deprivation.

Councillor Alan Macro referred to Appendix C (3) to the report and queried the justification for the fact that the budget for the two federated schools was 50% higher per pupil than a primary school with a similar number of pupils. Councillor Boeck agreed to provide a written answer on that point.

RESOLVED that:

(1)          The formula factors for 2016/17 remain the same as those used in 2015/16.

(2)          If there was a funding shortfall, this would be addressed through an adjustment to the basic entitlement rate.

(3)          If there was additional funding available, the Schools Forum, at its January 2016 meeting, would decide whether this was all allocated through the basic entitlement rate or through other factors including deprivation.

Reason for the decision: The Council is required to decide the formula factors to use to distribute funding to all primary and secondary schools for the 2016/17 financial year.

Other options considered: None.