School Funding Reform 2013-14

1. School Funding Reform2013-14Simon Pickard – Finance Business Partner CEFNick Baggett – Senior Management Accountant (Technical)Gillian McKee – CEF Financial Manager (Technical)

2. School Funding Reform 2013-14 • DFE requires radical simplification of mainstream school funding formulae from 2013-14 • 37 permitted factors reduced to 10 plus 2 new items and applications for “exceptions” • Very tight timetable for modelling and consultation with Schools Forum and all schools • DFE deadline for submission of revised formula structure 31 Oct • Significant turbulence in school / academy budgets • Dramatic changes to school funding for higher level SEN • Need for increased financial management advice to schools • £7m more must be passported to schools / providers • Government will not address inequality between LAs

3. Allowable Formula Factors 2013-14 • Basic per pupil entitlement – Primary, Secondary KS3 and KS4 • Deprivation • Looked After Children • Low cost, high incidence SEN • English as an additional language (EAL) • Lump sum – same for all schools (£100k up to £200k) • Split sites • Rates • Pupil Mobility • Reception Uplift • Private Finance Initiative contracts (not OCC) • London Fringe authorities (not OCC) • Exceptional Circumstances – if Education Funding Agency agrees

4. Summary of Impact lump sum £120k

6. Reform of high needs funding (extract from DFE consultation)

7. SEN - Secondary Schools • Currently all statementing budget is delegated to secondary schools • DFE recommended delegation threshold would require de-delegation of part of this budget … • … and correspondingly increase central admin • Secondary schools are strongly opposed to this • Officers recommend continued delegation of available funding in full at start of financial year. • Possibility to hold a small budget centrally to allocate in-year “top-up” funding for very high levels of need

8. SEN - Larger Primary Schools • Larger Primary schools currently receive delegated funding for SEN pupils with needs up to 15 additional hours per week via the AWPU, Special Needs index funding and the statementing budget delegated using the Special Needs index (the notional SEN budget). • Top-up funding is allocated for individual pupils requiring support in excess of 15 hours per week. This broadly corresponds to the financial threshold of £6,000 for additional support. • Impact not expected to be significant in levels of delegation, although the change in indicators used to allocate LCHI SEN may cause turbulence.

9. SEN - 100 Smallest Primary Schools • 100 smallest Primary schools currently receive delegated funding for pupils with needs up to 5 hours per week via funding formula • Top-up funding allocated for pupils requiring support above 5 hours per week. • Significant change in SEN delegation to equivalent of 15 hours per week • Concerns about formula being sensitive enough to allocate sufficient funding to small Primary schools with disproportionate numbers of SEN pupils • Low level of DSG per pupil in Oxfordshire also makes difficult to achieve basic entitlement for Primary pupils close to £4,000 • Lump sum may provide some protection

10. Special Schools and Special Units • “Place-plus” funding • Base funding £10,000 per place • Top-up funding - not certain at start of year? • Direct funding relationship with commissioning LAs – replacing inter-authority recoupment • Special Needs Units – place plus would apply with pupils then excluded from mainstream formula • Hospital Schools ??

11. Alternative Provision / Meadowbrook • Place-plus funding for PRUs • Base funding £8,000 per place • Top-up funding paid by commissioner on per pupil basis related to movement of pupil • Commissioner can be schools / academies / LAs • Delegated budgets for PRUs from April 2013 • Impact on Meadowbrook led programmes (eg. In-Year fair funding panels) unclear

12. Nursery Schools / Early Years Formula • No longer permissible to have a funding factor based on replication of previous grants • Nursery Schools received £506K in 2012-13 • Need to decide how to allocate this funding in future – possible increase in deprivation factor? • Deprivation factor to be revised to allocate funds to all deprived children, not targeted to settings • Considerable impact on nursery school budgets • SEN allocations and support to be reviewed

13. Ongoing work • Consultation with schools • Applications for exceptions • Nursery Schools – EYSFF • Special needs units • Top ups for high cost pupils • Special Schools • New delegations • Alternative Provision / Pupil Referral Unit (Meadowbrook) • Hospital School

14. Timetable to finalise OCC formula: • 17/09 Start of Consultation with Oxfordshire schools • 24– 27/09 Briefing sessions for Headteachers, Governors and School Business Managers / Finance Officers • September DfE expected to confirm 2012-13 Dedicated Schools Grant baselines to LAs (Schools / Early Years / High Needs) • 04/10 School Census count for 2013-14 funding allocations • 12/10 End of Consultation with Oxfordshire schools • 19/10 Schools Forum Meeting to consider responses and make final decision on structure of revised formula • 31/10 Deadline for return of proposed formula structure to EFA • Autumn Approval of structure for OCC formula • Dec / Jan Central Budgets decided by Schools Forum • February Final formula values confirmed • Feb / March Budget shares published

15. Useful links: Current OCC funding consultation with schools: https://myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/School_funding_reform_2013_14/consultationHome Strategic Review of School Funding page on OCC intranet: http://intranet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/occ/Insite/Support/Finance/Schools+Finance/CYPF+-+OS+-+F+-+SF+-+Strategic+review+of+finance DFE consultation documents: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00205567/school-funding-reform-and-arrangements-for-2013-14