Agenda item

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) outlines the key changes resulting from implementing the schools funding formula for 2019-20.

Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) referred to the report which outlined the key changes resulting from implementing the schools funding formula for 2019/20.  Grant highlighted the following:

·       The DfE had published the 2019/20 financial settlement for schools on 20 December 2018.  £275.215 million was allocated to Wiltshire which was an increase of £7.3m on 2018/19.  The increase is accounted for by the growth in pupil numbers which is the remainder of the additional £1.3billion promised for school funding as part of the introduction of the NFF and a change in methodology for calculating growth funding introduced for the 2019/20 year;

·       There had been an overall increase in pupil numbers across all Key Stages as shown in the table on page 28.  It was acknowledged that there had been lots of new housing developments across the County and with more pupils there would inevitability be more SEN need.  This is anticipated at 0.3 per household;

Helean Hughes (Director – Education & Skills) reported that she had asked the Schools Admissions Team to include the anticipated need for SEN provision in the annual School Admissions report.  The School Admissions Team prepare indicative pupil forecasts for all schools across the County taking account of birth rate data, housing developments and any other external influencing factors such as Army rebasing.

·       Following the introduction of the NFF, Schools Forum agreed to align its funding rates as closely as possible to the national rates – in 2018/19 this was achieved in all instances except for the Deprivation FSM6 rate which was funded at 75% of the NFF value.  For 2019/20 the Deprivation FSM6 factor will be funded at 80% of the NFF value;

·       The other value to have changed between 2018/19 and 2019/20 is for Low Attainment – Primary which has been reduced from £1,050 to £1,022.  The reason for the reduction being the changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, the measure used for calculating Low Prior Attainment;

·       For 2019/20 all schools will have received an increase in their funding of 0.5%, based upon a positive increase in the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) per pupil funding of 0.5%.  In order to fund the MFG, schools seeing a gain in their level of per pupil funding exceeding this level are capped.  For 2019/20, this cap is set at 0.0%, which means that all schools benefitted from a gain of 0.5%;

The Chairman commented that the above was showing that the National Funding Formula is not affordable in Wiltshire.

·       The total allocated to Wiltshire for growth in 2019/20 was £2.217 million but Wiltshire would not be setting this all aside for the Growth Fund in 2019/20.  It was agreed at the last meeting that the surplus growth funding would be transferred to the Schools Block (£1.2m) to ensure that there was no detriment to this funding;

·       At the January 2019 meeting the Forum had agreed to transfer funding from the Schools Block into the High Needs Block as a one-off non-recurrent transfer.  Following an application to the Secretary of State to disapply the funding regulations, a transfer of 0.8% was agreed and notified to the LA on 25 January 2019.  £2.2m was then transferred from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block and the pressures within the High Needs Block would continue to be monitored and reported to the Forum during the 2019/20 year;

·       All the requests submitted by Wiltshire for High Needs – Place Changes were approved which included additional places at Springfield’s Academy, Exeter House and post 16 places at Wiltshire College;

·       Two new primary schools would be funded in the County from September 2019 (Perham Down to be called Wellington Eagle Primary School and in Amesbury to be called Kings Gate Primary); and

·       Lypiatt Primary School (which was previously supported financially by the MOD) would close at the end of August 2019.

Resolved:

That Schools Forum note the update on the Schools budget for 2019/20.