Issue - meetings

1.         That the proposed revisions to the schools’ funding formula, as recommended by the Schools Forum and set out in Annex 2 of the submitted report, be introduced.

2.         That the proposed Surrey formula factors, as set out in Annex 3 of the submitted report, be approved for submission to the DfE by the 31 October 2013 deadline.

3.         That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director, Schools & Learning, in consultation with the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Schools & Learning, to update and amend the formula as appropriate following receipt of DfE autumn term pupil data in December 2013.  This is to ensure that total allocations to schools under this formula remain affordable within the council’s Dedicated Schools Grant settlement to be announced during December.

Reasons for Decisions

To comply with DfE regulations including prior notification of the council’s funding formula for schools and to ensure that turbulence of funding at individual school level is minimised.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children and Education Select Committee]

Schools were funded on a formula basis determined by local authorities.  New regulations introduced in 2013 reduced the freedoms available to local authorities and introduced greater standardisation. Surrey was a relatively lowly funded authority and previously had a relatively complex formula for allocating funding to its schools, which had been developed with schools and was recognised to reflect local needs. Many Surrey schools were therefore disadvantaged by the introduction of greater simplification.

Following challenges from Surrey and other councils, the Department for Education (DfE) has now agreed a number of minor flexibilities for 2014/15.  Unfortunately they did not address the key concerns of Surrey’s schools. Proposed amendments to the Surrey formula from April 2014 have been developed to ensure compliance with the updated regulations and to seek to address local concerns.  These have been consulted on with all schools. 

The Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning said that the report set out the recommendations to the Cabinet from the Schools Forum (Annex 2 of the submitted report) and that the council was required to submit its proposed schools’ funding formula to the Education Funding Agency by 31 October 2013. 

Both the Cabinet Member and the Cabinet Associate for Fire and Police Services referred to the Equalities Impact Assessment and the affect that the proposed simplification of the formula would have for some Surrey Schools.

The Cabinet Member also referred to the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) – this would place a limit on the funding reductions incurred by schools to a maximum of 1.5% per pupil, which would be funded by a ceiling placed on the gains of other schools.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the proposed revisions to the schools’ funding formula, as recommended by the Schools Forum and set out in Annex 2 of the submitted report, be introduced.

2.         That the proposed Surrey formula factors, as set out in Annex 3 of the submitted report, be approved for submission to the DfE by the 31 October 2013 deadline.

3.         That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director, Schools & Learning, in consultation with the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Schools & Learning, to update and amend the formula as appropriate following receipt of DfE autumn term pupil data in December 2013.  This is to ensure that total allocations to schools under this formula remain affordable within the council’s Dedicated Schools Grant settlement to be announced during December.

Reasons for Decisions

To comply with DfE regulations including prior notification of the council’s funding formula for schools and to ensure that turbulence of funding at individual school level is minimised.