Agenda item

To consider a report including data and analysis following the announcement of initial figures for Wiltshire Council’s Dedicated Schools Grant. This is to include an estimate of the Grant, the anticipated levels of headroom, and consideration of predicted cost pressures.

Liz Williams, Head of Finance (DCE) circulated notes from the meeting of the Schools Funding working group that took place on 14 January 2011 which included a table of existing grants and proposed new delegation methods for consideration by the Forum. Also circulated were amended charts listing the composition of Headroom pressures on the budget and potential ways these could be addressed.

 

Phil Cooch circulated a set of calculations for each grant to be rolled into the DSG [Packs 1-8], which showed the effect on the budget of schools in Wiltshire of proposed changes to the methods of delegating the funds.

 

It was explained that the funding settlement for 2011/12 contains significant changes which increase the complexity of the budget-setting process this year. These were:

 

The Pupil Premium

This will be paid to local authorities to support pupils from deprived areas using eligibility for free school meals in the last 6 months as an indicator.

 

·         General Scheme: The value of the pupil premium in 2011/12 is £430 per pupil – no figure has been announced for future years however the national total spend on the pupil premium is set to increase from £625 million in 2011/12 to 2.5 billion in 2014/15. The premium will be paid direct to schools

·         Non Mainstream Support: Pupils in non-mainstream settings, including special schools, independent special schools, pupil referral units and children not in school will attract the pupil premium.

·         LAC Children: Children who have been looked after for more than 6 months will also attract a pupil premium at the value of £430

·         Forces Children: Children whose parent(s) are in the armed forces will also be eligible for the pupil premium at a rate of £200 per pupil.

·         Pupil Premium/DSG: The Pupil premium funds are received separately and in most cases go directly to schools. The funds are separate to the provisional DSG and the minimum funding guarantee (MFG). 

 

A discussion ensued surrounding the indicators that are to be used to determine eligibility for the Pupil Premium. Of particular concern and interest was the time-lag that could be apparent between the data submitted for each period (based on those children receiving FSM / in care for over 6 months), and the real need which could vary. It was hoped that a system of updates could be arranged for LAC cases, which was not overly bureaucratic/complex to administer.

 

It was also highlighted that the government would not continue the practise of double-funding pupils who have dual-subsidiary registrations at PRUs.

 

Dedicated Schools Grant – Estimate for 2011/12

Pupil numbers are estimated at 63,881 for the 2011/12 DSG Estimate, and increase of 0.98% from the previous year, and the increase arises in Early Years, as a result of the extension of the free entitlement for 3 and 4 year-olds to 15 hours from 12.5 hours provision. This gives an estimated DSG of £273.117 million after adjustment for academies. An increase of 1.2% is entirely due to increased pupil numbers as there has been no inflationary increase.

 

The DSG requirement for 2011/12, prior to any investment priorities being met, is £273.708 million. This is a shortfall against the estimated grant of £0.591 million.

A revised estimate of budget headroom was circulated and members considered which priorities and cost pressures should be funded. A final report will be come to Schools Forum at the 02 February meeting for decisions to be made, but members provided indication to officers of which of the identified areas required further investigation, and which they believed did/did not warrant funding on the basis of existing information.

 

Initial recommendations:

 

*        1 – New School Allowance - Fund this – Needs to be funded for a 3 year period.

*        2 – FSM Increase - The Schools Forum felt the risk of this increase could be managed within the overall delegated budget – do not fund

*        3 – Revaluation of Reception AWPU - recommended funding at 2010/2011 KS1 value as the cost will need to be addressed

*        4 – Additional take up of Free Entitlement for 3 and 4 year-olds - use indicated underspend from 2010/11

*        5 – Special School banding - A recommendation is to be received from the SEN working group at the next Schools Forum meeting following consideration of potential underspends in central SEN budgets

*        6 – YPSS – no decision at this stage

*        7 – Looked After Children Education Service  - use Pupil premium creatively, do not fund from DSG,

*        8,9,10 on Chart – Early Years Foundation Stage Training / Primary Languages Adviser / Every Child Programmes (Leading Teacher) – staff to be employed centrally but funded from former standards funds:  Schools Forum did not take the recommendation of the SFWG to continue to fund these posts for a year from DSG

 

Allocation of the Former standards funds.

The Schools Funding Working group had met on Friday 14 January, the Chairman explained, and since the meeting, officers had produced packs modelling the effects on Wiltshire Schools’ budgets, that the proposed changes to distribution methods would create. These were circulated as packs 1-8. The Chairman thanked the Finance team for their hard work over the weekend.

 

The grants to be rolled into the DSG are as follows:

 

·         School Standards Grant

·        

Please Note: Draft regulations for 2011/12 state that the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant can continue to be held centrally by local authorities (LAs) and it has been recommended to Schools Forum that this should be the case in Wiltshire.

School Standards Grant (Personalisation)

·         School Development Grant

·         Specialist Schools

·         High Performing Schools

·         School Lunch Grant

·         Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant

·         1-2-1 Tuition

·         Extended Schools – Sustainability

·         Extended Schools – Subsidy

·         National Strategies – Secondary

·         National Strategies – Primary

·         Diploma Grant

 

It was explained that the principle difficulty was in replicating the degree of targeting that these grants formerly possessed. However, neither central government nor the council were expecting this to be achievable, if it was desired. The Schools Funding Working group felt that a move to using Age Weighted Pupil Units (AWPU) as the primary method of distribution was the best option, whilst trying to retain an element of targeting that stayed true to the principles of the predecessor grants, without simply replicating the prior distribution

 

However, when this had been modelled it became clear that there were significant variations in how this affected schools, including a difference in how larger/smaller schools were affected, and issues with those schools who had been recipients of one-off grants.

 

It was suggested by the Chair that the £36 million worth of funding that accumulated from former Standards Funds be considered by the Forum to be allocated afresh, on a new basis.

 

Following discussion a number of actions were agreed as follows:

 

*        Officers to look at the split between AWPU and flat rate

*        Select indicative random sample of schools to identify the cost/effects on a per pupil basis, and see if parity exists on this measure.

*        Officers to produce revised figures, to eliminate the year-to-year changes created by the withdrawal of one-off grants

*        Establish a greater understanding of Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) issues – including whether or not approval is needed or can be achieved for varying

*        Look to identify measures which eased the transition from old-to-new funding levels if necessary

 

Devolved Formula Capital Levels

There is a significant reduction in devolved formula capital levels, for the 2011/12 period compared with the current year, [see attached letter at appendix from Michael Gove to Local Authorities explaining the rationale behind this change]

The new devolved formula capital rates are as follows:

 

 

 

Resolved:

 

That:

a.  Special Schools and the YPSS should receive the pupil premium directly as agreed under item no.6 [minute no.110].

b.  Officers note the priorities identified by the Schools forum and where it believes resources are most needed to address risk and maintain service standards.

c.  The former EMAG grant will be retained centrally to continue to fund the EMAS team

d.  Further work is required in order for Schools Forum to agree a methodology for allocation of all other former standards funds that are now part of DSG.