Decision details

Schools Budget 2021/22

Decision Maker: Cabinet member children and families

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

 

To approve school forum’s recommended budget proposals for school budgets, central school services and early years within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2021/22.

Dedicated Schools Grant funding for the schools block in 2021/22 is £112.95m, which is an increase of £4.5m for primary pupils, £3.8m for secondary pupils, a total of £8.3m although this includes £5m of grant for Teachers pay and pensions which was previously paid separately. The funding for high needs and early years block are provisional and are both subject to final adjustments for pupil numbers and commissioned places. The school funding values and formula calculations are in accordance with the national school funding formula as set by government. The funding above that required to implement the national funding formula is proposed to be distributed to schools at £17 per pupil and £300,000 transferred to the high needs block for 2021/22

Decision:

 

That:

That: The local implementation of the National Funding Formula (NFF) for 2021/22 as set out in the consultation document and below, be approved for  as follows;

(a) The final school funding values be agreed, subject to a minimum total funding per pupil of £4,180 for primary schools and £5,415 for secondary schools, including the Minimum Funding Guarantee at 2% as follows:

1

Basic entitlement per pupil

Primary

£3,123

2

Basic entitlement per secondary pupil

Key Stage 3

£4,404

3

Basic entitlement per secondary pupil

Key Stage 4

£4,963   

4

Deprivation per free school meal

Primary

£460

5

Deprivation per free school meal

Secondary

£460

6

Deprivation per ever-6 free school meal

Primary

£575

7

Deprivation per ever-6 free school meal

Secondary

£840

8

Socio-economic deprivation Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)

9

Band A 

Primary

£620

10

 

Secondary

£865

11

Band B

Primary

£475

12

 

Secondary

£680

13

Band C

Primary

£445

14

 

Secondary

£630

15

Band D

Primary

£410

16

 

Secondary

£580

17

Band E

Primary

£260

18

 

Secondary

£415

19

Band F

Primary

£215

20

 

Secondary

£310

21

Band G

Primary

£0

22

 

Secondary

£0

23

Low prior attainment per pupil

Primary

£1,095

24

 

Secondary

£1,660

25

Lump Sum

Primary

£117,800

26

 

Secondary

£117,800

27

Looked after Children, primary and secondary

All

£0

28

Primary sparsity, on NFF taper basis , over 2 miles and less than an average year group size of 21.4 pupils

Primary

£45,000

29

Secondary sparsity, on NFF taper basis, over 3 miles and less than an average year group size of 120 pupils

Secondary

£70,000

30

English as additional language per primary pupil

Primary

£550

31

English as additional language per secondary pupil

Secondary

£1,485

32

Mobility

Primary

£900

33

Mobility

Secondary

£1,290

34

PFI contract

Secondary

£299,163

35

Business rates

All

At cost

36

Exceptional premises factor – Eastnor rent

Primary

£9,060

 

(b) Growth funding for basic need expansion in the Golden Valley be agreed at a total cost of £234k, as follows;

(i) Growth funding for basic need expansion at Kingstone High School, £75,715 for an additional 45 planned pupils for the summer term 2021

(ii) Growth funding be finalised for basic need expansion at Fairfield High School, £55,525 for an additional 33 planned pupils for the summer term 2021

(iii)Growth funding be finalised for basic need expansion at Kingstone High School, £77,070 for an additional 30 planned pupils in September 2021

(iv) Growth funding be finalised for basic need expansion at Fairfield High School, £25,690 for an additional 10 planned pupils in September 2021

(c) Transfer to high needs block to support the SEN protection scheme, £300k

(d) Additional £17 per pupil for primary and secondary schools at a cost of £144,158

(e) That any minor adjustments to the schools budget up to £5k, in order to comply with DfE submission requirements, be made to the funding allocated to the growth fund in order to provide a contingency.

(f) That the central services block be allocated as follows

 

(i) Statutory retained duties £369k

(ii) Schools Forum administration costs £15k

(iii) School admission costs £125k

(iv) National licences for schools £140k

(v)Additional funding for statutory duties for SEN casework team £25k

(vi) transfer SACRE funding to statutory duties £5k

(vii) Transfer to the high needs block £75k

(g) That local authority maintained school members, approve the de-delegation of funding in 2021/22, and advise the Cabinet member for children’s and families for information, as follows

             (i) trade union facilities for primary schools only be approved at £2.75 per pupil

            (ii) school budgeting software licence at £405 per school

            (iii) ethnic minority support at £1.12 per pupil plus £6.60 per Ever-6 Free school  meals and £107 per English as an Additional Language first year pupil

            (iv) school meals entitlement assessment at £1.25 per primary pupil and £0.94 per    secondary pupil (Proposal A) for local authority schools           

            (v) trade union facilities for secondary schools only be provided for through a Service Level Agreement at £2.75 per pupil

             (vi) that the statutory education services for non-academy schools be reduced by  50p per pupil and charged at £12 per pupil

(h) The early years funding formula for Herefordshire providers from April 2021 be as follows;

            (i) Two year olds: £5.36 per hour            

            (ii) Three and four year olds: £4.08 per hour + £0.35 per hour for Early Years Pupil Premium eligible children + a rurality supplement per provider of £52 per week (pro-rata for providers that deliver less than 100 hours per week) paid for 38 weeks per year

           (iii) Early years central expenditure be increased by 1.5% inflation

           (iv) the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub be supported to help and support to early years settings at a cost of £10,000 per annum

(j) to remove the reception uplift factor as proposed in the consultation paper

(k) to reduce the maximum percentage for permitted carry forward of school balances to 20% of the school allocation (including early years funding) from April 2021

 

Alternative options considered:

 

1. Given School Forum's approval in October 2017, of the strategy to implement the NFF from 2018/19, neither Schools Forum nor the Budget Working Group (BWG) put forward any alternative proposals for the Schools Budget.

Reason Key: Expenditure;

Wards Affected: (All Wards);

Consultees

All schools, Schools Forum, Schools Budget Working Group

Contact: Malcolm Green, Strategic Finance Manager Email: malcolm.green@herefordshire.gov.uk Tel: 01432 260818.

Publication date: 01/02/2021

Date of decision: 01/02/2021

Effective from: 06/02/2021

Accompanying Documents: