Agenda item

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) seeks to update Schools Forum on the revenue funding settlement and the budget setting process for 2024-25.

Grant Davis, Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager, presented the report and updated the Schools Forum on the revenue settlement announced by the Department for Education (DfE) on 19 December 2023, and budget setting process for 2024-25. The following was then highlighted:

·       Paragraphs 4 to 7 were briefly detailed in which it was confirmed that for 2024-25 the Government had pledged to boost schools funding with an increase of £1.8bn (3.1%) into the overall Schools Block with a further £440 (4.3%) pledged for the High Needs Block (HNB). In addition, the Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG) would continue in the 2024-25 year, totalling a further £900m. Furthermore, there would be an additional grant to reflect the additional cost of the increase to employer contribution rates for the Teachers Pensions’ Scheme from April 2024, with details of how the grant would be calculated made available in due course.

·       Paragraphs 10 to 12 discussed the National Funding Formula (NFF), and it was confirmed that 2024-25 would be another ‘soft’ year with the Schools Forum retaining their role in determining the school funding allocation methodology. The DfE had further confirmed their intention to move to a ‘hard’ NFF by 2027-28, however it was reiterated that as Wiltshire’s local school formula already mirrored the NFF, any tightening of the formula would have a minimal impact on Wiltshire schools.

·       Paragraph 14 referred to the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) and it was reiterated that the Schools Forum had agreed to set the threshold at the maximum 0.5% to be consistent with previous years and to ensure that all schools received a minimum uplift in their per pupil funding of 0.5%.

·       Officers then listed the changes to the main formula as per Paragraph 15.

·       As per Paragraph 18, it was confirmed that the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) funding would continue with the rates being uplifted by 1.5% and the numbers of eligible PPG pupils taken from the October 2023 census.

·       The school revenue funding settlements for each of the Funding Blocks were then detailed as per the order listed in the report.

·       It was confirmed that the provisional Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation for Wiltshire Council was £493.461m, an increase of £41.165m from 2023-24, with the table in Paragraph 19 showing the breakdown of the Funding Blocks and the table in Paragraph 22 showing the year-on-year split of funding between Blocks.

·       Paragraph 25 detailed pupil movements year-on-year and it was highlighted that Wiltshire was seeing a drop in the birth rate for children starting Primary School whereas Secondary Schools were seeing a surge in numbers which was indicative of the change in demographics within the County.

·       Paragraphs 27 to 32 provided updates on the Central School Services Block (CCSB), HNB, and Early Years Block (EYB). Officers drew particular attention to Bullet Points 6 and 7 of Paragraph 28 and Paragraph 30 which highlighted that EYB funding had provisionally increased by over £20m which reflected the increased provision being made available within the early years sector.

·       Paragraphs 33 to 34 referred to Funding Block transfers and it was reiterated that the Schools Forum had previously agreed to a transfer of up to a maximum of 0.55% from the Schools Block to the HNB if affordable. As such, due to the requirement that any transfer in excess of 0.5% would require the express approval from the Secretary of State, Members were informed that a Disapplication Request to transfer 0.55% had been submitted with a decision pending. However, officers were expecting to receive support in light of the Council’s Safety Valve Programme and the backing of the Schools Forum.

·       Paragraphs 35 to 40 referred to the budget setting process for 2024-25 and de-delegation, with Paragraph 36 detailing the breakdown in the calculation for the Schools Block funding available for distribution to schools. It was further confirmed that financial modelling had confirmed that the NFF was fully affordable taking into account the Block transfer of £2m and setting a Growth Fund of £734k.

·       Finally, it was noted that at the December 2023 meeting of the Schools Forum, Maintained Schools voting Members agreed that the de-delegation of services would continue in 2024-25 and that Maintained Schools would de-delegate funding to support school improvement services.

In response to queries, officers reassured Members that as the Wiltshire schools funding formula mirrored the NFF, there would be no implications on Wiltshire schools when the DfE moved to a ‘hard’ NFF. Furthermore, there could be scenarios in the future where there could be affordability concerns, but it was emphasised that the decisions made by the Schools Forum were resilient and as there were no plans for any new school developments in the near future, it bolstered decision making and left the Council in a good financial position.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was then:

Resolved:

The Schools Forum noted the report.