Leadership

National Funding Formula

The National Funding Formula

September 2017 saw the long-awaited outcome of a twenty year campaign for a fairer national funding formula (NFF). Unsurprisingly, it has provoked a range of reactions as every school works out if it is a ‘winner’ or ‘loser’.

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Leadership

Budget 2016: Simply a new set of winners and losers?

29 Mar 2016

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      string(379) "... difficult environment for changeThe government has recently repeated its commitment to a fair national funding formulaapplicable to all schools. Mr Gove says he wants a formula that is ‘simple and fair’. Alas, such isthe range of schools in this country (size, location, catchment area, condition of buildings) thata simple formula ..."
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      string(4205) "to expand in response to demandfrom parents’. If ‘good schools’ expand and take away the most motivated and parentally-supported pupils from ‘bad schools’, the chances of a ‘bad school’ becoming a ‘good school’are reduced by a funding system which will make them less cost-effective. School costs do notincrease or diminish in a direct linear relationship with the number of pupils in the establishmentand even a standardised lump sum per school cannot compensate a small or shrinking school.A difficult environment for changeThe government has recently repeated its commitment to a fair national funding formulaapplicable to all schools. Mr Gove says he wants a formula that is ‘simple and fair’. Alas, such isthe range of schools in this country (size, location, catchment area, condition of buildings) thata simple formula is unlikely to be fair. A decade ago, the EFSG worked methodically through allthese issues and came up with a workable solution. It would have been manageable then becausethat was a time when spending on education was increasing and the impact of redistribution onthe ‘losers’ could have been tapered. But in today’s world of tight budgets and overall pressure onpublic spending, the redistribution of resources would be extremely unpopular.The sums of money involved are staggering. Even to bring the bottom ten authorities up to themedian level would cost £266million, and to take them to the current national average would cost£291million. To bring the bottom 20 authorities to the current average would cost £436million. Ifthe DfE cannot persuade the Treasury to increase funding for schools (which seems highly unlikely),the most generously funded would have to lose out. This would cause massive turbulence and theDfE has always said it wants to avoid that. Schools in the highest funded areas have got used tospending what they have and would find it difficult to make the necessary cuts. Given that about 80per cent of a school’s budget goes on staffing, it is difficult to see how reductions could be managedwithout increases in class size, the elimination of small teaching groups in optional subjects and thereduction of classroom support from teaching assistants. Some savings may be possible from theprocurement of services, energy and maintenance, but most schools have been working hard onthis for many years and there is little slack in those budgets.The focus on public spending on schools will not diminish. There is now a great dealmore public scrutiny of school funding, including from the National Audit Office and from theParliamentary Public Accounts Committee. This increases the pressure on the DfE to come up witha better funding model.The ‘Promised Land’ is a budget generation and distribution system whereby schools arefunded equitably (not equally) and thus enabled to provide the service that their pupils need anddeserve, that their parents are encouraged to expect and that teachers are required to deliver.There is a glimpse of it on the horizon but I have the feeling that it could turn out to be a mirage.Peter Downes was a headteacher for 21 years and President of the Secondary HeadsAssociation (now the Association of School and College Leaders) in 1994-95. He is now aCambridgeshire County Councillor and Vice-President of the Liberal Democrat EducationAssociation. He writes in a personal capacity.Knowledge trails1) Replacing LACSEG with the Education Services Grant (ESG) – Summary of the new fundingarrangements for education services which will apply for local authorities and academies from2013-14.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/lacseg-education-services-grant_140113/download.htm2) Managing through the recession – Some tough decisions lie ahead for school managers as theeconomic downturn bites into budgets. Finance expert, Malcolm Trobe, offers some ideas to help.library.teachingtimes.com/articles/managing-through-the-recessionhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/lacseg-education-services-grant_140113/download.htmhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/managing-through-the-recession"
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Leadership

Fair funding - in sight at last?

11 Jul 2013

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Leadership Briefing issue 7.11 (83)"
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      string(5500) "ResourceSCHOOL FUNDING REFORM: FINDINGS FROM THE REVIEW OF 2013 TO 2014Original DocumentSchool Funding Reform: Findings From The Review Of 2013 To 2014. The government started a process in 2012 to reform the school funding system, so it is fairer, more consistent and transparent and so funding intended for education reaches schools and the pupils that need it most. This DfE document sets out the findings from a review into what extent small changes were needed in 2014 to 2015 to move closer to a national funding formula.KeywordsReform, school funding system, review, local authorities, national funding formulaSummaryThe government started a process in 2012 to reform the school funding system, so it is fairer, more consistent and transparent and so funding intended for education reaches schools and the pupils that need it most. This DfE document sets out the findings from a review into what extent small changes were needed in 2014 to 2015 to move closer to a national funding formula.Main Findings:Pupil-led Funding· The government will be requiring in 2014-15 that in all local authority areas (with the exception of the Isles of Scilly), a minimum of 80% of delegated schools block funding is allocated through an appropriate and locally determined combination of the pupil-led factors.· The government will require all local authorities to set an AWPU rate which is at least £2,000 for primary and at least £3,000 for KS3 and KS4.Prior attainment· The government will be retaining the EYFSP as the main indicator for prior attainment for primary aged pupils.· In 2014-15, for the cohort who are moving into KS1, pupils will qualify for the prior attainment factor, where they have not achieved a good level of development. This will include all those who have not achieved the expected level of development in all 12 prime areas of learning as well as maths and literacy.· In 2014-15, pupils will be identified as having low prior attainment, if they fail to achieve a level 4 or higher in English or a level 4 or higher in maths.Deprivation· The government is continuing to ask that Schools Forums and local authorities determine locally an appropriate proportion or quantum of their schools block funding to allocate through this factor.· As we move towards a national funding formula we need to retain simplicity and will require consistent national measure(s) for use with this factor. The government is not therefore changing the allowable indicators for use with this measure in 2014-15.Looked After Children· In 2014-15 the government will require local authorities which use the looked after children factor, to use a single one day or more measure for both primary and secondary.Pupil Mobility and Service Children· Starting in 2014-15, a 10% threshold will be applied to the mobility factor, so that it will only support schools which experience a significant change in their pupil numbers.Sparsity· The government has developed a sparsity factor which measures the distance pupils live from their second nearest school. In rural areas where schools are few and far between, pupils could face the choice of either attending their nearest school or travelling a long way to the second nearest. In some cases, the distance to their second nearest school can be unacceptably long, putting a premium on ensuring that the pupil’s nearest school stays open. Therefore, it is appropriate to enable local authorities to target additional funding to support these schools where per pupil funding alone may not be enough to ensure their viability. The government will be introducing an optional sparsity factor based on the above model for 2014-15.Lump Sum Funding· The government has taken the decision that in 2014-15 the maximum lump sum will be £175,000.· The government will enable local authorities to differentiate the lump sum by phase for 2014-15, provided that for each phase the lump sum level does not exceed the £175,000 cap.· The government does not believe that the funding system should act as a barrier to schools that wish to improve their efficiency and educational offer by merging. It will therefore enable two merging schools to keep 85% of the two lump sums for the next full financial year following the year in which they merge.Schools with Falling Rolls· The government will enable local authorities, using top-sliced DSG funding, to create a small fund to support schools with falling rolls in exceptional circumstances.Schools Forums· The government will require that all Forums include one elected representative from an institution (other than from a school or academy) providing education beyond age 16 (but may also be providing education for 14-16 year olds). This will replace the current requirement for a representative from the 14-19 partnership.Notional SEN budget· The government will not be introducing a new high needs formula factor in 2014-15, but we will continue to consider the case for this in the future.· The government intends to make the £6,000 threshold a requirement in 2014-15 through the finance regulations.ActionNotesAuthorR ChimaDate CreatedJune 2013Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk(Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

School Funding Reform: Findings From The Review Of 2013 To 2014

6 Jun 2013

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Leadership Briefing issue 6.10 (70)"
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      string(5303) "ResourceSCHOOL FUNDING REFORM: NEXT STEPS TOWARDS A FAIRER SYSTEMOriginal DocumentSchool Funding Reform: Next Steps Towards A Fairer System. Since last spring, and the launch of the first consultation on school funding reform, the government has explored in detail how to create a funding system that is fair, logical and distributes extra funding towards pupils who need it most. This DfE report looks at a proposed a model involving a national funding formula for the distribution of funds to local authorities from which each local authority and Schools Forum would agree a formula to distribute funding locally. This model would be clear and transparent, support the needs of pupils and enable schools to make informed decisions about their provision.KeywordsSchool funding reform, pupils, distribution, funds, model, provision, formulaSummarySince last spring, and the launch of the first consultation on school funding reform, the government has explored in detail how to create a funding system that is fair, logical and distributes extra funding towards pupils who need it most.This DfE report looks at a proposed a model involving a national funding formula for the distribution of funds to local authorities from which each local authority and Schools Forum would agree a formula to distribute funding locally. This model would be clear and transparent, support the needs of pupils and enable schools to make informed decisions about their provision.The government will:· Move towards a national funding formula· Simplify local funding arrangements. This will be a system that: · a) maintains local discretion over funding; · b) ensures as much funding reaches schools as possible; · c) maintains and improves the arrangements for equivalent and consistent funding between maintained schools and academies; · d) enables leaders to understand the basis on which their institutions are funded; · e) supports the needs of pupils; and, · f) is more responsive to pupil numbers and demand from parents. · Make improvements to the way local areas are funded· Improve arrangements for funding pupils and students with high needs· Improve arrangements for the funding of early years provisionBenefits from changes:· Greatly simplified local formulae will mean that schools will be funded in a more consistent, transparent way. Head teachers, principals and governors will be able to understand more easily how their budgets have been set and will be able to plan more effectively, responding to demand from parents.· Strengthening the local decision-making process will enable fairer decisions to be made for the children in the local area.· Restricting the factors that can be used in local formulae will mean that funding can be focussed on the pupils that need it rather than being diverted towards factors that have little or no impact on attainment.· Working on the basis that as much as possible should be delegated to schools, we will give head teachers, principals and governors greater choice over how to spend education funding and enable them to make better decisions for their pupils.· The Minimum Funding Guarantee of minus 1.5% per pupil until 2014-15 will protect school budgets and give head teachers, principals and governors a degree of planning certainty.· Once simplified local formulae have been generated, administrative burdens on maintained schools, Academies and the EFA will be reduced as the process will be much simpler.· Greater transparency over local formulae will enable the EFA to fund Academies more efficiently. Academies will be funded on the basis of the same financial year as maintained schools rather than the previous year, as is currently the case.· Introducing three notional blocks into the DSG will enable local authorities to give maintained schools earlier notification of their budgets and Academies to be funded on a more comparable and equitable basis.· Basing the notional blocks for early years and high needs pupils and students on actual planned expenditure will assist local authorities and others in comparing relative spending levels. Adjusting the Early Years Block so it reflects in-year numbers will also give local authorities greater certainty of funding and reduce the need to retain large contingencies.· The new funding approach for high needs pupils and students will improve transparency and choice, encourage high-quality provision, and mean that funding is focused on the needs of the pupil or student. The system will bring about greater alignment of pre- and post-16 education funding arrangements, and will create a sustainable, long-term basis for funding high needs provision.· Overall, the reforms will mean we are well placed to introduce a national funding formula during the next Spending Review period.ActionNotesAuthorR ChimaDate CreatedApril 2012Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk(Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

School Funding Reform: Next Steps Towards A Fairer System

11 Apr 2012

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