Agenda item

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) seeks to update the Forum on issues relating to the schools delegated budget for 2021-22 and the decisions that will need to be made as part of the budget setting process.

Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) referred to the report which sought to update Schools Forum on issues relating to the schools delegated budget for 2021-22 and the decisions that would need to be made as part of the budget setting process.  Grant highlighted the following:

·       That it had been previously agreed that Wiltshire would move as close to the national funding formula (NFF) as possible. In 2020-21 all factors were fully funded at the published NFF values, apart from the Mobility factor.  Historically, due to the major beneficiaries being service schools, who were already benefitting from additional one-off growth funding from the DfE and also the MOD’s Education Support Fund, Schools Forum felt that the factor’s introduction would not achieve an equitable position. A school’s mobility position could move each year and is less predictable as a factor;

·       The main funding formula for 2021-22 was similar to 2020-21 but the key following changes should be noted:

Ø  An increase in Pupil and School led funding values of 3%

Ø  Teachers Pay and Pension Grants being baselined into AWPU values

Ø  IDACI data has been refreshed

Ø  Minimum Funding Guarantee to bet set between 0.5% and 2.0% to ensure all schools see a gain in funding on their pupil led funding

Ø  Maximum Sparsity funding being increased from £26,000 to £45,000 for small and rural primary schools

Ø  Increases in the minimum per pupil funding levels (MPPFL) to £4,180 and £5,415 in primary and secondary schools

·       Initial modelling suggests that the NFF is fully affordable for all schools in Wiltshire which is a real milestone which includes:

Ø  Full NFF values applied for all funding factors

Ø  Increased Sparsity funding in line with NFF proportional increases

Ø  Mobility included and funded at NFF values

Ø  MFG set at the maximum level of 2%

Ø  Split site increased £90,000 as agreed with Schools Forum (76.4% of lump sum value)

Ø  Transfer from Schools’ Block to High Needs Block of 0.5% (£1.517m)

·       Growth allocations for 2021-22 are based upon pupil data from the October 2020 census and the October 2019 census.  Criteria for growth was agreed at the December meeting of the Forum.  No new schools were opened in 2020-21 and £1.814 million was allocated from the DfE for the 2021-22 growth fund;

·       There were no plans to open any new schools in the 2021-22 year.  The growth fund supports new primary and secondary schools with diseconomy costs for the first 7 years or until the school is full.  The Basic Need Class Expansion for additional classes is still to be confirmed with colleagues in the School places team for the 2021-22 academic year.  The Infant Class Size increases have been confirmed for 2020-21 with six schools being funded through this factor;

·       Following the additional funding pledge, the DfE are seeking to ensure that all schools see an uplift in their calculated per pupil funding and have therefore proposed that the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) is set at a positive figure of between 0.5% and 2.0%.  Setting a positive MFG of 2% is fully affordable and will ensure that all schools see an uplift in their ‘per pupil’ funding of at least 2%. The cost to the formula in 2021-22 is less than £0.250m, subject to decisions taken by the Forum later in the meeting;

·       Sparsity is an optional funding factor and prior to the in introduction of the NFF, Wiltshire had chosen not to support sparsity funding due to the inequitable situation which can arise where two ‘like’ schools are funded differently simply because one school is deemed eligible for sparsity funding;

·       As part of the DfE’s proposals to support small and rural schools, the maximum sparsity value for primary schools was increased from £26,000 to £45,000, with Secondary schools increasing from £67,500 to £70,000.  This would affect 28 eligible primary schools and 2 secondary schools.  The table at paragraph 28 of the report showed the impact of the changes at the maximum NFF rates, a 3% uplift and keeping them the same as the current values;

The Diocesan representative asked if the maximum rates for sparsity were affordable for Wiltshire.  Grant Davis confirmed that they were.  The Diocesan representative expressed the view that it would seem logical to go for the recommended national level of funding in their view.  Grant confirmed that models would be shown later in the meeting for the Forum to decide at what level to set sparsity funding for 2021-22.

·       The national methodology was introduced, and Wiltshire has received funding through the NFF for Mobility, however, applying the factor remains optional and to be determined by the Forum.  It has not previously been implemented;

·       Following the release of the October 2020 census data, modelling of the mobility factor has moved significantly from the 2020-21 year to the 2021-22 year.   Of the eligible schools in 2021-22, there are 11 service schools and 48 non-service schools eligible for the funding.  It is important to reconsider the introduction of the mobility factor as it will help compensate lagged funding.  If mobility is not funded, it will have a knock-on impact upon MFG and Minimum Per Pupil Funding Levels (MPPFL) funding;

·       The Minimum Per Pupil Funding Levels (MPPFL’s)  were introduced as part of the NFF and have been increased annually as part of the DfE’s proposals to standardise funding across the country. These are mandatory as part of the NFF and therefore there is no scope for amending these values without permission from the Secretary of State; and

·       Following the decision to include the Teachers Pay and Pension Grants within the AWPU funding values, increasing them by £180 and £265 for primary and secondary, the MPPFL rates have also been increased accordingly to £4,180 and £5,415.

Resolved that Schools Forum:

1.    Note the schools block update report.

2.    Agree to apply all the funding factors at the 2021-22 NFF rates.

3.    Note the modelling of the Mobility factor and agree to introduce Mobility as a funding formula factor. 

4.    Note the modelling of the Sparsity factor and agree to apply a proportional uplift of 3% for 2021-22. 

5.    Agree to set the Minimum Funding Guarantee at a level of +2.0%.

6.    Agree that the Growth fund be set at £2.21 million – split £0.1 million Infant Class Size and £2.1 million basic need.

(The decisions numbered 2-6 above were made later in the meeting under Agenda item 9)

The Forum agreed to suspend the meeting at 3.12pm for a comfort break.  The meeting reconvened at 3.18pm.

The Clerk confirmed that as this was a virtual meeting, a roll call vote would be carried out for any decisions to be made when all Forum members were not in unanimous agreement/disagreement.