School funding
reform –
changes for
2014-15
1AGENDA ITEM 6
Beginning the second year of school
funding reform – the context
The changes introduced in the current year - 2013-14 financial
for maintained schools and 2013/14 for academies – were the first step towards a national funding formula for schools
The simplification of local authority funding formulae was a
radical step and produced some outcomes that were unexpected
Ministers therefore committed to reviewing the impact with the
possibility of some changes for 2014-15 and continue to move towards a national funding formula
The announcement on 4 June set out the changes as a result
of this review.
Compared to the changes for 2013-14 they are relatively
The 13-14 reforms mainly stay in place
The structure of the 13-14 reform remains in place
The simplified local formula is still at the centre of the system There is still a closely limited set of factors that can be used in
the school formula distribution
There will be LA proforma submissions in October and January
as for 13-14
The high needs system remains broadly as in 13-14
The changes being introduced for 14-15 are relatively minor
and the result of a review by DfE with local authorities of the impact of the 13-14 factors
The Minimum Funding Guarantee continues at -1.5% per pupil
with the same exclusions + sparsity
The changes for 14-15 are therefore a development
of 13-14 and continue the journey towards a
The principal changes for 2014-15
There is one new factor – an allowance for sparsity, aimed at
supporting necessary small schools, mainly in rural areas – later slide illustrates
Where a sparsity factor is used the maximum allowable for a
sparse school is £100,000. The factor can be flat rate or tapered.
Changes to the lump sum:
– LAs can now choose to have different lump sums for primary and secondary schools – with middles getting a weighted average – The lump sum is now capped at £175,000 per school
– Where two schools amalgamate the new school will receive 85% of the total of the lump sums of the predecessors for the next full year
The principal changes for 2014-15 (2)
Further factors with changes:
– The looked after children factor must now apply to any child who has been in care for at least one day during a specified period (no choice of datasets)
– The prior attainment factor has changes in its measurement at Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 2. For EYFS it will be not achieving a good level of development for the 2013
cohort; for KS2 it is not achieving level 4 in English or Maths for all cohorts
– The mobility factor, if used, is now applied when the number of “mobile” pupils exceeds 10%
– The basic entitlement for primary pupils (AWPU) must be at least £2000; and for secondary pupils (KS3 and 4) at least £3000
The principal changes for 2014-15 (3)
In addition to the changes in factors there is an additional condition applied - Authorities must ensure that at least 80% of delegated funding is distributed by pupil-led factors
For 2014-15 we are not putting any constraints on the primary/secondary ratio
School A School B School C 1 mile 1 mile 2 miles 1 mile 3 miles 5 miles 2 miles
Does School A qualify for sparsity funding?
YES - Average distance to 2nd nearest school = 2.38 miles
YES – It has fewer than 150 primary pupils How much sparsity funding will it get?
LA has set a sparsity lump sum of £100,000. School A has 50 pupils. It will therefore attract a sparsity lump sum of £66,666 under the tapering approach. Because the school is one third the standard size, it gets two thirds of the sparseness factor.
4 miles
Key
1st nearest school
Distance to 2nd nearest school
How the sparsity factor will work
The principal changes for 2014-15 (4)
In addition to the growth fund LAs may also create a fund for
funding to cover temporary falling rolls in advance of a
population bulge – but only for good or outstanding schools or academies
As with the growth fund, schools forum must approve the
criteria and be consulted on allocations, and we will check the criteria when the proforma is submitted
The fund needs to relate to local place planning decisions The falling rolls fund must not be used to support unpopular
or failing schools
Forum regulations will be required to have one member from
an institution providing education to 16-19 year olds, other than schools or academies – replacing the 14-19 partnership
Disapplying the regulations
Local authorities can apply for exceptions to be made
for:
Exceptional premises factors – 13-14 approval can be
automatically carried forward if criteria still met
Exclusions from the MFG – no carry forward of approval
because most were a result of system change
Changes in pupil numbers as a result of reorganisation or
changes in years of admission. Expectation that there will be an application in these cases.
Sparsity calculation if the “crow flies” measure produces perverse results
The principal changes for 2014-15 – high
needs
In 13-14 we recommended that authorities delegated sufficient
funding to allow schools to meet up to £6000 of special needs costs. This is now mandatory. Which authorities will need
advice on meeting this requirement?
Where additional funding (not top-up funding) is given to some
schools with disproportionate numbers of high needs pupils, we will expect the criteria to be decided in advance and
described on the APT.
The operational guidance sets out how high needs places in
all settings will be adjusted for 2014-15, but further guidance on this will be issued in July.
For special schools and academies with post-16 pupils we will
be consulting on setting the place value at £10,000 in place of the normal post-16 values.
Equal treatment
When constructing the formula, authorities must take into
account the characteristics of all maintained schools and academies in their area. This includes non-recoupment academies, including free schools.
When incurring central expenditure (other than de-delegated
budgets), maintained schools and recoupment academies must be treated on an equivalent basis.
All high needs providers must be treated on an equivalent
Northamptonshire Considerations
1. Use of the new sparsity factor
2. Apply separate lump sums Primary and Secondary
3. Consideration of support fund for schools with falling rolls 4. Application of MFG (minus 1.5%) – same exceptions as for
2013-14
5. Maximum delegation – must meet 80% minimum through pupil led factors and basic AWPU values
6. Use of the Schools Forum Working Group – August/September 2013
Key Submission Dates
31 Oct 13 – LA submits provisional schools budget
proforma to EFA
16 Dec 13 – EFA confirms DSG allocations (prior to
recoupment)
21 Jan 14 – LA submits final data for Schools Budget
proforma
28 Feb 14 – LA confirms budget for maintained schools
Spending Review 2013 (SR2013)
The SR2013 is a single year settlement and covers 2015/16
financial year only
Schools funding and the Pupil Premium will be protected
in real terms
The new schools funding formula will be introduced from
2015/16
The Education Services Grant will be reduced by around
£200m in 2015/16. DfE will consult in autumn 2013 on the implementation of the reduction, ‘through realising
efficiencies and enabling local authorities to focus on their core role on schools’
