To agree final budget proposals for recommendation to the cabinet member for children and families for school budgets, central school services and early years within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2023/24.

The strategic finance manager (SFM) presented the report and outlined the proposed schools budget based on the confirmed Dedicated Schools Grant allocation from the Department for Education (DfE). A copy of the slides used in the presentation are attached to the minutes of the meeting.

 

The DSG allocation was insufficient to fully fund the national funding formula values, but a School Additional Grant was to be distributed in addition to the main funding formula. The details of this additional grant had not been confirmed at the time of the meeting but it was expected to operate in a similar way to the additional grant issued for 2022/23.

 

Schools continued to express support for the SEN protection scheme which provides additional funding for schools when they have greater than average numbers of pupils with high needs. The budget proposals included a transfer from the schools block to the high needs block to support the continuation of the SEN protection scheme.

 

The chair of the Budget Working Group thanked the SFM for his work on the proposals. He highlighted the key points discussed during the working group meeting, that the funding situation was less than ideal and the proposed option C had quickly been identified as the preferred approach. Progressing any of the alternative options would have a negative impact on the SEN protection scheme.

 

The proposals had also been shared at a school leader’s webinar on 10 January. No objections had been raised to the approach recommended by the local authority and budget working group.

 

Forum members discussed the proposed budget and noted that the number of pupils in specialist settings was growing and that a longer term strategy was in place. The outcome of the local authority’s bid for a new SEN free school was still unknown. In the interim the local authority was trying to provide additional capacity in existing schools.

 

It was resolved that:

 

Due to insufficient funding within the Dedicated Schools Grant the National Funding Formula (NFF) factors for 2023/24 be reduced by 1% as included in the recommendations 1. (a) – (n) as below, and be recommended to the Cabinet member for children and families for decision as follows;

 

1.       The final school funding values be agreed, subject to a minimum total funding per pupil of £4,405 for primary schools and £5,715 for secondary schools, including the Minimum Funding Guarantee at 0.5% as follows:

 

(a)   Basic entitlement per pupil Primary £3,361, basic entitlement per secondary pupil Key Stage 3 £4,738 and basic entitlement per secondary pupil Key Stage 4 £5,340

 

(b)    Deprivation per free school meal Primary £475.50 Deprivation per free school meal Secondary £475.50

 

(c)   Deprivation per ever-6 free school meal Primary £697.95, Deprivation per ever-6 free school meal Secondary £1,019.70

 

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

 

 

 

(i)             Band A Primary £663.30 Secondary £920.70

 

(ii)            Band B Primary £504.90 Secondary £722.70

 

(iii)           Band C Primary £475.20 Secondary £673.20

 

(iv)           Band D Primary £435.60 Secondary £613.80

 

(v)            Band E Primary £277.20 Secondary £440.55

 

(vi)           Band F Primary £227.70 Secondary £331.65

 

(vii)          Band G Primary £0 Secondary £0

 

 

(e) Low prior attainment per pupil Primary £1,143.45, per pupil Secondary £1,732.50

 

(f) Lump Sum Primary £126,720, Secondary £126,720

 

(g) Primary sparsity, on NFF taper basis, over 2 miles and less than an average year group size of 21.4 pupils Primary £56,018.50

 

(h) Secondary sparsity, on NFF taper basis, over 3 miles and less than an average year group size of 120 pupils Secondary £81,081 using the updated DfE actual road distance measure

 

(i) English as additional language (EAL3) per primary pupil Primary £574.20 English as additional language per secondary pupil Secondary £1,549.35

 

(j) Mobility Primary £935.55 Mobility Secondary £1,346.40

 

(l) PFI contract Secondary £336,104

 

(m) Exceptional premises factor – Eastnor rent Primary £9,556

 

(n) Business rates: At the indicative cost of £1,292,043 as determined by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and 2021/22 funding in arrears for Marlbrook primary school of £21,964.77

 

 

 

2.     Additional growth funding of £187,250 for 2023/24 be approved for recommendation to the Cabinet member for children and families as follows;

 

(a) Growth funding for basic need expansion at Kingstone High School, £140,437.50 (summer term £56,700, autumn & spring £83,737.50) for the financial year 2023/24 for an additional 30 planned pupils

 

(b) Growth funding for basic need expansion at Fairfield High School, £46,812.50 (summer term £18,900, autumn & spring £27,912.50) for the financial year 2023/24 for an additional 10 planned pupils

 

 

 

3. Transfer to high needs block to support the SEN protection scheme, £616,000 be approved by  Schools Forum and to set the school funding cap at £170 x Number on Roll for 2023/24 allowing £50,000 growth in 2023-24 subject to further consideration of the funding cap at the March meeting of Schools Forum.

 

4. That prior to submission to the DfE, any minor adjustments to the schools budget up to £5k required to comply with the regulations, be made to the funding allocated to the growth fund to provide a contingency.

 

5. That Schools Forum approve an inflationary increase for the central support services funding for 2023/24, and advise the Cabinet member for children and families for information, as follows

 

(a) Statutory retained duties £387k

 

(b) Schools Forum administration costs £19.5k

 

(c) School admission costs £135.6k

 

(d) National licences for schools £153k

 

(e) Additional funding for statutory duties for SEN casework team £27k

 

(f) SACRE funding for statutory duties £8,120

 

(g) Transfer to the high needs block £80k

 

 

6. That local authority maintained school members, approve an increase of 1.9% in the de-delegation of funding in 2023/24, and advise the Cabinet member for children and families for information, as follows

 

(a) trade union facilities for primary schools only be approved at £2.65 per pupil

 

(b) trade union facilities for secondary schools only be provided for through a Service Level Agreement at £2.65 per pupil

 

(c) school budgeting software licence at £422.89 per school

 

(d) ethnic minority support at £1.17 per pupil plus £6.93 per Ever-6 Free school meals and £36.68 per English as an Additional Language three years (EAL3)

 

(e) school meals entitlement assessment at £1.31 per primary pupil and £0.99 per secondary pupil (for local authority schools)

 

(f) behaviour support service at £4.08 per pupil to provide £38,300 income

 

(g) school improvement services be newly de-delegated at £6 per pupil

 

(h) contingencies be newly de-delegated at £1 per pupil

 

(i) the statutory education services for non-academy schools be charged at £12.48 per pupil

 

 

7. The early years funding formula for Herefordshire providers from April 2023 be increased by the inflationary increase provided by DfE and approved for recommendation to the Cabinet member for children and families as follows;

 

(a) Two year olds: £5.63 per hour

 

(b) Three and four year olds: £4.48 per hour + a deprivation supplement of £0.38 per hour for Early Years Pupil Premium eligible children + a rurality supplement per provider of £57 per week (pro-rata for providers that deliver less than 100 hours per week) paid for 38 weeks per year

 

(c) Early years central expenditure be increased by 5.4% inflation £393,000 for NEF contract payments, Early years consultants and MASH support for early years settings.

 

 

8. The Schools Budget be approved for recommendation to the Cabinet member for children and families as follows;

 

(a). A balanced schools budget be approved for 2023/24; and

 

(b). the unusable reserve for the DSG deficit reserves of £275,319 be carried forward to financial year 2024/25 adjusted by any under or overspend in DSG at year end in March 2023.

 

 

(Restrictions were applied to voting as follows:

 

Only representatives of LA maintained schools, academies and early years providers were eligible to vote on recommendations 1 to 5 inclusive and recommendations 7 and 8.

 

Only representatives of LA maintained schools were eligible to vote on recommendation 6.)

 

 

Tim Knapp left the meeting at 10:19am