Decision details

Following the introduction of a national funding formula to fund school the Local Authority needs to decide on the funding mechanism to pass the funds to schools.

NOTE:

The undersigned Councillors wish to call in decision E3019 “Implementation of Changes to the School Funding Formula”, taken by the Cabinet Member for Children & Young People on 27 December 2017, for the following reason:

“Insufficient consideration has been given to the alternative options beyond the national Funding Formula and the Local Funding Formula. The report acknowledges that there are many options which could be modelled, but that only one was considered and then dismissed.”

1.  Councillor Tim Ball

2.  Councillor Joe Rayment

3.  Councillor Dine Romero

4.  Councillor Nigel Roberts

5.  Councillor Paul Crossley

6.  Councillor Eleanor Jackson

7.  Councillor Richard Samuel

8.  Councillor Ian Gilchrist

9.  Councillor Liz Hardman

10.  Councillor John Bull

The Children and Young People Policy and Development Scrutiny Panel will conduct a Call In meeting on 16th January 2018.

NOTE:

The Children and Young People Policy and Development Scrutiny Panel have dismissed the Call In on 16^th January 2018.

The Cabinet Member agrees that the implementation of the new National Funding Formula (NFF) methodology is adopted from the 2018-19 financial year.

The Cabinet Member agrees to ensure that all schools receive 0.5% increase per pupil as a minimum.

Following full consultation with schools and consideration of the responses and further analysis of the impact on individual and groups of schools it is felt that adopting the NFF as the funding methodology would have the greatest impact for the majority of schools.

The impact for schools is that all schools will see an increase in budget with a minimum funding guarantee of 0.5% increase per pupil. Some schools will see an increase of over 10% as historical low funding levels are reversed by the introduction of the NFF.

Some schools would prefer the LA retain its original funding mechanism as this would provide them with more resource at the expense of the other schools, and whilst some schools in our most deprived wards would benefit from the local formula being retained analysis of funding levels shows that these schools will continue to be the highest funded schools in the LA despite a smaller increase under the NFF that the Local formula.

The use of the National Funding Formula will provide additional resources to 82% or primary pupils and 60% of secondary pupils compared to the use of the Local Formula.

The options available in a funding formula are infinite and in order to limit the consultation exercise the schools forum discussed the content of the consultation to focus the consultation of a few options. The 2 options that were consulted on were to adopt the NFF or continue with a modified Local formula.