Agenda item

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) seeks agreement on the methodology for allocating funding for pupil growth from the school’s block growth fund in 2022-23.

Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) referred to the report which sought agreement on the methodology for allocating funding for pupil growth from the school’s block growth fund in 2022-23 and highlighted the following:

·         Growth allocations for 2022-23 would be based on pupil data from the October 2021 census and the October 2020 census.  Funding is allocated to local authorities based on the actual growth in pupil numbers they experienced over the previous year;

·         In Wiltshire, growth is measured by separating the county into 62 middle layer super output areas (MSOA) with an average of 4 schools in each MSOA area.  The growth factor allocates £1,485 for each primary ‘growth’ pupil, £2.200 for each secondary ‘growth’ pupil and £70.800 for each brand new school that opened in the previous year.  No new schools were planned;

·         Schools Forum will be asked to agree the size of the growth fund budget and with regard to allocating funding from the growth fund there were a number of requirements as detailed below:

a.     can be used only for the purposes of supporting growth in pre-16 pupil numbers to meet basic need 

b.     to support additional classes needed to meet the infant class size regulations 

c.      to meet the costs of new schools 

d.     the fund must be used consistently for the benefit of both maintained schools and academies 

e.     any funds remaining at the end of the financial year will form part of the overall DSG surplus or deficit balance. 

f.       local authorities will be required to produce criteria on which any growth funding is to be allocated.  These should provide a transparent and consistent basis (with differences permitted between phases) for the allocation of all growth funding.  The criteria should both set out the circumstances in which a payment could be made and provide a basis for calculating the sum to be paid 

g.     local authorities will need to propose the criteria and size for the growth fund to Schools Forum and gain its agreement on both the criteria and size of the fund before growth funding is allocated.  

·         Local authorities may set aside schools block funding to create a small fud to support good schools whose numbers have fallen but are expected to rise again within 3 years.  Wiltshire Schools Forum had always resisted the establishing of a Falling Rolls fund – there had had been no pressure from schools or other groups to establish such a fund and because of the previous financial pressures on schools block it has not been considered appropriate.  Over 50 other local authorities did not have a Falling Rolls fund.

There were no comments from Schools Forum Members on the establishment of a Falling Rolls fund and the Chair reported that this could be considered at the January meeting once the budget and allocations had been confirmed.

Resolved that Schools Forum

1.     Approve the criteria for allocating pupil Growth Fund in 2022-23.

2.     Agree that the budget for the Growth Fund be set at its meeting in January 2022, when the full DSG has been confirmed for the 2022-23 year.

3.     Continue to give consideration to the establishing of a Falling Rolls Fund and any criteria befitting such a fund.