Agenda item

To receive an update on the school and education funding.

Paul Clark gave an update on the School and Education funding reforms following announcements made in July and September 2017 and a recap of changes announced earlier. However, key financial information remains outstanding with the Department for Education (DfE) indicating an end of September release, so further updates are expected to be provided in the October meeting.

The key points raised were:

• Implementation of the Schools national funding formula (SNFF) should bring a fairer approach to funding schools with changes being implemented over a two year period before the ESFA takes full responsibility for allocating funds to schools. This approach aids a smooth transition from current arrangements which are different across the country to the SNFF.
• A question was raised regarding the difference between local authority funded schools and academies and it was reported that they were funded using the same formula but paid directly from the government.
• It was reported that some funding to support schools and pupils will continue to be centrally managed by the council
• There is limited ability to transfer funds from the schools block to the high needs block. This is 0.5%, which is around £320,000, and will need agreement from the forum to proceed. This is not expected to be required in BF.
• In calculating total grant income for each LA, there is a commitment from the DfE to increase funding for every school by between 0.5% and 3%.
• There is a new minimum per pupil funding rate for secondary schools of  £4,800. This is expected to benefit 4 schools, however, it  will be expensive to implement. A question was asked about whether any secondary schools currently receiving more than £4,800 per pupil would have their funding reduced. A reduction in funding for these schools was not expected but cannot be confirmed until the detailed financial information is released.
• There is no minimum per pupil funding rate for primary schools
• Views were sought from Forum members regarding the approach to be taken by Bracknell Forest in setting the 2018-19 budget and forum members commented that it was hard to decide an approach without seeing financial modelling. Questions were also raised regarding whether certain sections of schools were particularly vulnerable. It was acknowledged that there were tough decisions for the forum to make so the full impact on schools needed to be considered.
• Paul Clark confirmed that as usual, financial modelling to individual school level would be undertaken once the detailed financial information was released, with the intention of presenting options at the October meeting for review, with a plan to launch a consultation with all schools at the end of October to canvas views.
• Early years funding is expected to increase by 5.8% next year. A workshop with providers is planned to take place to discuss how the increase should be applied and whether any changes need to be considered to the general funding arrangements for early years. If considered necessary, a separate consultation would take place for early years providers
• A question was raised regarding the removal of the 1% pay cap for teachers and whether any additional funding would become available to fund this however this has not been confirmed at this time.

The Forum NOTED:

1.         the latest announcements from the government on school and education funding reform.

2.         the key issues identified at this stage.

3.         that detailed financial illustrations are expected to be made available by the DfE later this month, at which point the financial implications for BF schools will become clearer.

RESOLVED that the key issues to be included in the 2018-19 financial consultation with schools document be agreed.