Agenda item

Claire White introduced the report, which set out the final primary and secondary school funding formula for 2018/19. Claire White reported that final formula rates had been approved by the Council’s Executive on the 18^th January and the final funding allocation had been sent to schools that morning (22^nd January 2018).

(David Ramsden joined the meeting at 5.10pm)

Section 3.3 set out why West Berkshire was able to replicate the National Funding Formula (NFF).

Many other Local Authorities had needed to transfer significant amounts of funding due to increasing pressures in other areas, for example to meet high needs block demands and deficits or for significant growth such as new schools. West Berkshire was not transferring any funding from the schools block to other blocks and therefore was able to use the NFF rates.

Claire White reported that the decision had been taken at the last Schools’ Forum meeting not to agree to Brightwalton Schools’ request to adjust the nearest school distance in the calculation of sparsity funding. Claire White reported however, that Brightwalton now met the sparsity criteria based on its own pupil/distance data. Claire White added that the calculation for sparsity finding was very volatile and was based on the postcodes of children living within the catchment area.

Claire White stated that the final data from the October 2017 census was received from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) on 15^th December 2017. However, on the 12^th January 2018 the ESFA supplied local authorities with a revised dataset after discovering an error in the free school meal data. As a result a minimum funding guarantee of 0.2% had been applied (compared to the 0.1% based on the original data, taking the total cost to £97,708m, just over the grant allocation.)

The main reason why 0.5% MFG could not be afforded was due to an increase in business rates.

Appendix A to the report detailed the 2018/19 School Formula allocations. Overall there would be £1.7m of extra funding going into West Berkshire schools and per pupil funding rates had increased by £72 in primary and £21 in secondary schools. Claire White reported that although this increase in funding was positive, it did not deal with the increasing pressure being faced by schools and it was anticipated that the year ahead would be difficult.

RESOLVED that the Schools’ Forum noted the report.