Schools Forum
Wednesday, 12th December, 2012 at 4.15 pm
PLEASE NOTE TIME OF MEETING
OASIS ACADEMY LORD’S HILL FAIRISLE ROAD, LORD’S HILL, SO16 8BY
This meeting is open to the public
LEAD OFFICER Lynn Franklin, Children’s Services and Learning
Finance Manager Tel : 023 8083 2196
Email : [email protected]
FORUM ADMINISTRATOR
Sharon Pearson Tel: 023 8083 4597 Email: [email protected]
Public Document Pack
AGENDA
Agendas and papers are now available via the City Council’s website
1 APOLOGIES AND CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP (IF ANY)
2 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
Minutes of the meeting held on 17th October 2012, attached.
3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
In accordance with the Localism Act 2011, and the Council’s Code of Conduct,
Members to disclose any personal or pecuniary interests in any matter included on the agenda for this meeting.
NOTE: Members are reminded that, where applicable, they must complete the appropriate form recording details of any such interests and hand it to the Democratic Support Officer.
4 HOME EDUCATION
Briefing paper of the Inspector for Vulnerable Children, Childrens Services, providing
information on home education will be sent under separate cover.
5 UPDATES TO THE SCHEME FOR FINANCING SCHOOLS
Briefing paper of the Senior Manager, Property, Procurement and Contract Management providing updates to the Scheme for Financing Schools will be sent under separate cover.
6 CHILDREN'S SERVICES AND LEARNING (CSL) SAVINGS PROPOSALS
Schedule to be presented by the Executive Director of Children’s Services and Learning, providing details of CSL Savings Proposals, attached.
7 NEW DELEGATIONS SCHOOLS BLOCK
Briefing Paper of the Principal Accountant Corporate Services detailing services currently held centrally within the schools block for the Schools Forum to consider and recommend the delegation and de-delegation of those services, attached.
8 ALLOCATION OF GROWTH FUND 2013-14
Decision Paper of the Principal Accountant, Corporate Services, recommending that
the Schools Forum approve one of the proposed methods of allocation of resources held within the growth fund, attached.
9 SCHOOLS FORUM OPERATIONAL AND GOOD PRACTICE GUIDANCE
Briefing Paper of the Principal Accountant, Corporate Services, providing details of The Department for Education’s (DfE) “School Forums Operational and Good Practice Guide” published in September 2012; the main points for consideration are raised in this paper along with detail of the Schools Forum responsibilities 2013-14, attached.
10 UPDATES TO SCHOOLS AND EARLY YEARS FINANCE REGULATIONS 2013
Briefing Paper of the Principal Accountant, Corporate Services providing an update on the School Finance Regulations which come into force on 1st January 2013, attached.
THURSDAY 6TH DECEMBER 2012 HEAD OF LEGAL, HR AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOLS’ FORUM NOTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 17th OCTOBER 2012
AT ST GEORGE’S CATHOLIC VA COLLEGE
Present: Primary School David Turner - Governor Colin Warburg - Governor Mark Sheehan - Headteacher Julie Swanston - Headteacher Liz Filer - Headteacher Peter Howard - Headteacher
Secondary Schools Karen Dagwell - Headteacher Graham Wilson - Headteacher Richard Harris Governor (Chair) Academy Ian Golding - Principal Special Jonathan Howells - Headteacher Nursery Karen Stacey - Headteacher - Non Schools Peter Sopowski - NUT Secretary Beverley Murtagh - 14-19 Partnership Anna Wright - PVI for Early Years Chris Pritchard - Diocese Observers Sue Thompson - Early Years/Sure Start Councillor Turner - Ward Councillor for Swaythling Allan King - Headteacher – Highfield CE Primary School
Also in attendance: Keith Reed - Governor – Highfield CE Primary Councillor Bogle - Cabinet Member, Children’s Services and Learning Clive Webster - Executive Director – Children’s Services and Learning Lynn Franklin - Children’s Services and Learning Chris Tombs - Children’s Services and Learning Karl Limbert - Children’s Services and Learning Sharon Pearson - Democratic Services
Agenda Item 2
- 2 -
1. ELECTION OF THE CHAIR
Richard Harris was appointed to serve as Chair of the Schools’ Forum for the municipal year 2012/13.
2. APOLOGIES AND CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP (IF ANY) Apologies were received from Ruth Evans, Suzy Foster, Councillor Keogh and Alison Alexander. The Chair welcomed Allan King, Headteacher and Keith Reed, Governor, Highfield CE Primary School as observers to the meeting. Keith Reed provided Forum Members with a 5-minute presentation on their response to the proposed removal of the split site factor from the funding formula. Members passed a vote of thanks to Graham Wilson who had very kindly provided the venue and refreshments for the meeting. The next meeting was scheduled for 12th December and Ian Golding, Oasis Academy, Lordshill, very kindly agreed to host the meeting.
3. NOTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING AND MATTERS ARISING
The minutes of the meeting held on 19th September 2012 were approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:- Attendance - Primary School - Page 1 Liz Filer, Headteacher to be added to the attendance schedule as present.
4. CHANGES TO THE SCHOOLS FORUM ARRANGEMENTS AND AMENDMENT
OF TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Forum received a briefing paper from the Forum Administrator, outlining the new requirements and improved arrangements in respect of Schools Forums. A discussion ensued and the following was noted:-
• the Forum already adhered to most of the new requirements;
• the restriction of voting arrangements to only school and PVI members would only take effect in 2013; and
• that members were asked to comment on the composition of the Forum going forward in relation to the regulation requiring that maintained primary schools, secondary schools and academies be represented on the forum in proportion to the number of pupils in the schools.
The following was AGREED:-
• that the structure of the Schools Forum be monitored and would continue through the current academic year, as a number of schools were in the process of converting to academy status; and
- 3 -
• that the changed structure of the schools forum going forward should include a fair balance between heads and governors within the different school sectors.
5. SCHOOLS FUNDING REFORM
The Forum considered the decision paper of the Principal Accountant, Children’s Services, providing details of the consultation responses, Highfield C of E Primary School’s presentation in relation to the exclusion of a split site factor within the new formula and school funding comparisons, for the Forum to agree the final recommendations on the new Southampton Schools funding formula in relation to:-
• inclusion of the split site factor;
• funding £450,000 through the PFI factor; and
• allocation of any “headroom” funding within the 2013-14 Schools Block to the PFI factor.
The Forum received a presentation from Mr Reed, Governor at Highfield C of E Primary School in relation to the recommendation to exclude the split site factor within the new formula. The Forum noted that the consultation responses had not been in favour of including the split site factor and that it should not be an automatic right, but that funding could target unavoidable costs. A discussion ensued and the following concerns and comments were noted:-
• that officers had made representations to the DfE in relation to the two Oasis Academies’ grant funding and had requested an exemption from the MFG, but their request had been refused;
• that the Local Authority faced a £30M budget gap next year partly as a result of an 8.2% cut in government grants,
• that the request to fund £450,000 through the PFI factor was not about the PFI factor, but about helping the Local Authority fund the budget gap. It was noted that nationally schools had a protected level of funding.
RESOLVED that upon putting to the vote, the following was proposed:- (i) that the inclusion of a split site factor in the funding formula be
revisited. For 15
(ii) that £450,000 be funded through the PFI factor For – Nil Against – 3 Abstained – 13
(iii)
that “headroom” funding within the 2013-14 Schools Block be allocated to the PFI factor For – 1 Against – 7 Abstained – 8
- 4 -
The following was noted:-
• that the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Learning would be making a cabinet decision to the effect that £450,000 and “headroom” funding within the 2013-14 Schools Block would be allocated to the PFI factor;
• that the Forum wished it recorded that the contribution of £450,000 through the PFI factor contributing towards the budget deficit be for one year only and that it be consulted on/looked at on an annual basis; and
• the following motion put forward by the Chair on behalf of the Schools Forum be recorded:-
“The Schools Forum wished to register with Southampton City Council their
understanding of the difficulties in which they find themselves due to the Government cuts in grant funding. They also wished to register the fact that they had not come to their decisions easily and appreciated the fact that Southampton City Council was asking the Forum to add a PFI factor amount of £450 000 and not the full amount of £1.2M into the new funding formula model”
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5
BRIEFING PAPER
SUBJECT: NEW DELEGATIONS – SCHOOLS BLOCK
DATE: 12th JANUARY 2012
RECIPIENT: SCHOOLS’ FORUM
THIS IS NOT A DECISION PAPER
SUMMARY:
1. This paper looks at the services currently held centrally within the schools block and considers the delegation and de-delegation of those services.
BACKGROUND and BRIEFING DETAILS:
2. It was proposed and accepted at the Schools Forum in July and October that several budget items which can currently be retained centrally should continue to be held centrally in 2013-14:
Funding for growth – can be centrally retained
• Primary Review Growth Fund – (Proposal on today’s agenda)
Central expenditure – can be centrally retained
• Admissions function (£422,161)
• Carbon Reduction Commitment (£160,000)
• Family and Parenting Practitioners (£426,800)
• Preventative Social Care Workers (£200,000)
Contingencies – has to be allocated through the formula but can be de-delegated for maintained schools
• Support for schools in financial difficulties (£370,000)
• Liability insurances (£242,300)
• Staff costs - supply cover for trade union and public duties (£58,000)
3. Further analysis of the effect of delegation and de-delegation of contingency budgets has shown that where we delegate the whole of the budget to all schools including Academies based on numbers on roll, we can only de-delegate from maintained schools. This means that there is a shortfall in the funding required for some central services.
4. Liability Insurance
The employee’s liability insurance charge is calculated on the number of employees based at maintained schools. It does not cover Academies who arrange their own insurance. Under the new regulations, the budget has to be delegated to all schools, including academies. However, only maintained schools can de-delegate the funding to a central budget leaving a shortfall as highlighted in table 1.
Agenda Item 7
5. Trade Union Duties
The same situation will arise for Trade Union Facilities. A contingency can only be held for maintained schools. However the trade union reps whose costs are reimbursed from the fund may be employed by an Academy. Academies could elect to pay into the central fund but could also chose to opt out, whereas maintained schools would not have the choice.
6. Table 1
Central Service
Total Delegated Budget
Total NOR
Per Pupil
Maintained NOR
Total De-Delegated
Variance Funding Required Per Pupil
Insurance Services
£239,389 26,265 £9.11 23,483 £214,033 (£25,356) £10.19
Trade Unions Facilities
£57,303 26,265 £2.18 23,483 £51,233 (£6,070) £2.44
7. Recommendation
It is recommended that:
• Funding for employee liability insurance is delegated to all schools. A Service Level Agreement will be issued for those schools or academies wishing to buy back into the service.
• The Trade Union Facilities budget is delegated to all schools.
• The Forum considers how they wish to fund trade union rep time in the future. Options include a fund held by a nominated school, or an SLA administered by the local authority, including an admin fee.
Appendices/Supporting Information:
None
Further Information Available From: Name: Chris Tombs
Tel: 023 8083 3785
E-mail: [email protected]
DECISION PAPER
SUBJECT: ALLOCATION OF GROWTH FUND TO PRIMARY SCHOOLS 2013-14
DATE: 12th DECEMBER 2012
RECIPIENT: SCHOOLS’ FORUM
SUMMARY:
The DfE announced as part of their schools funding reform that Local Authorities can hold back funds previously distributed to schools in respect of growth in pupil numbers as a direct result of basic need and redistribute these by a method approved by the Schools Forum.
RECOMMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Schools Forum :
(i) Approve one of the proposed methods of allocation of resources held within the growth fund.
REASONS FOR REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The DfE have announced that they will approve the redistribution of funding for basic need this will allow the LA to support those primary schools experiencing increases in pupil numbers.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED
2. The growth fund could be delegated to all primary schools as part of the new funding formula however expanding schools would then be responsible for funding any extra costs from their own budget shares.
BACKGROUND and BRIEFING DETAILS:
3. Currently, schools affected by Primary Review receive 7/12 of the Primary AWPU based on the planned increase in places for the following September.
4. The ISB contingency is also available to fund schools that experience financial difficulty as a result of an unexpected significant increase in number on roll. These schools receive funding based on the staffing required to teach an extra class, based on the costs of a teacher, an LSA and a lunchtime supervisor.
5. The proposals for the allocation of the growth fund are based on the current two models.
Option 1
Additional funding is based on the planned increase in PAN x Primary AWPU x 7/12ths.
Agenda Item 8
Option 2
Additional funding is based on the increased number of classes required (based on 30 pupils per class). £33,000 per extra class would be allocated, based on the costs of a teacher, an LSA and a lunchtime supervisor.
Option 1 targets more funding to schools than option 2. There would need to be an increase in the growth fund to accommodate this equating to a reduction in the amount allocated per pupil for each Primary School by £10.72 before MFG.
6. The EFA have indicated that either option detailed above would be acceptable as a method for distributing the growth fund.
7. A review of the growth fund will need to take place each year to ensure there is adequate resource to fund future increases in PAN.
Appendices/Supporting Information:
Option 1 & 2 for distribution of Growth Fund.
Further Information Available From: Name: Chris Tombs
Tel: 023 8083 3785
E-mail: [email protected]
DECISION PAPER
OPTION 1 Date expansion
starts
Pupil Numbers Oct 2012
Approved PAN Sept
2012
Proposed PAN Sept
2013
DfE No. School Name
Increase in PAN
7/12 of increase AWPU Funding
3205 St Mary's C of E (VC) Primary School Sep-09 470 510 540 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2440 Banister Infant School -> Primary Sep-10 167 180 240 60 35 £2,663 £93,192
2000 Bassett Green Primary School Sep-10 379 390 435 45 26 £2,663 £69,894
3202 Freemantle C of E Academy Sep-10 297 240 300 60 35 £2,663 £93,192
2460 Kanes Hill Primary School Sep-10 337 360 375 15 9 £2,663 £23,298
2401 Mansel Park Primary School Sep-10 284 300 330 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2437 Glenfield Infant School Sep-11 233 240 270 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
3655 Highfield C of E Primary School Sep-11 266 265 275 10 6 £2,663 £15,532
2455 Moorlands Primary School Sep-11 239 270 300 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2770 Shirley Warren LC Primary and Nur Sep-11 259 270 300 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
3658 St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Sep-11 338 345 360 15 9 £2,663 £23,298
2769 Foundry Lane Primary School Sep-12 448 450 480 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
3659 Harefield Primary School Sep-12 313 330 345 15 9 £2,663 £23,298
2409 Mount Pleasant Junior School Sep-12 251 270 300 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2430 Sholing Infant School Sep-12 206 210 240 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2436 Tanners Brook Infant School Sep-12 266 300 330 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2001 Valentine Infant School Sep-12 287 300 330 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
2452 Wordsworth Infant School -> Primary Sep-12 201 210 300 90 53 £2,663 £139,788
2424 St Johns Primary And Nursery School Sep-12 175 180 210 30 18 £2,663 £46,596
5,416 5,620 6,260 640 373 £994,045
OPTION 2
Date expansion
starts
Pupil Numbers Oct 2012
Approved PAN Sept
2012
Proposed PAN Sept
2013
DfE No. School Name
Current Classes
Numbers
Revised Class
Numbers Required Variance
Funded Additional
Costs
3205 St Mary's C of E (VC) Primary School Sep-09 470 510 540 17 18 1 £33,000
2440 Banister Infant School -> Primary Sep-10 167 180 240 6 8 2 £66,000
2000 Bassett Green Primary School Sep-10 379 390 435 13 15 2 £66,000
3202 Freemantle C of E Academy Sep-10 297 240 300 8 10 2 £66,000
2460 Kanes Hill Primary School Sep-10 337 360 375 12 13 1 £33,000
2401 Mansel Park Primary School Sep-10 284 300 330 10 11 1 £33,000
2437 Glenfield Infant School Sep-11 233 240 270 8 9 1 £33,000
3655 Highfield C of E Primary School Sep-11 266 265 275 9 10 1 £33,000
2455 Moorlands Primary School Sep-11 239 270 300 9 10 1 £33,000
2770 Shirley Warren LC Primary and Nur Sep-11 259 270 300 9 10 1 £33,000
3658 St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Sep-11 338 345 360 12 12 0 £0
2769 Foundry Lane Primary School Sep-12 448 450 480 15 16 1 £33,000
3659 Harefield Primary School Sep-12 313 330 345 11 12 1 £33,000
2409 Mount Pleasant Junior School Sep-12 251 270 300 9 10 1 £33,000
2430 Sholing Infant School Sep-12 206 210 240 7 8 1 £33,000
2436 Tanners Brook Infant School Sep-12 266 300 330 10 11 1 £33,000
2001 Valentine Infant School Sep-12 287 300 330 10 11 1 £33,000
2452 Wordsworth Infant School -> Primary Sep-12 201 210 300 7 10 3 £99,000
2424 St Johns Primary And Nursery School Sep-12 175 180 210 6 7 1 £33,000
5,416 5,620 6,260 188 211 23 £759,000
Additional Costs (September to March)
Teacher £25,000
LSA £7,000
Lunch Cover £1,000
Total £33,000
BRIEFING PAPER
SUBJECT: SCHOOLS FORUMS OPERATIONAL AND GOOD PRACTICE GUIDANCE 2012
DATE: 12TH DECEMBER 2012
RECIPIENT: SCHOOLS FORUM
THIS IS NOT A DECISION PAPER
SUMMARY:
1 The Department for Education (DfE) published its Schools Forums Operational and Good Practice Guide in September 2012. The main points for consideration are raised in this paper along with detail of the Schools Forum responsibilities 2013-14.
BACKGROUND and BRIEFING DETAILS:
2 The DfE guide has been produced to provide members of Schools Forums, LA officers and elected members with advice and information on good practice in relation to the operation of Schools Forums.
3 The new guide is organised into 4 sections:
1. Schools Forum Regulations: Constitution and Procedural Issues
2. Effective Schools Forums
3. Induction and Training
4. Further Information and Contact Details
4 Section 1 - Schools Forum Regulations: Constitution and Procedural Issues
(i) Membership
The is to be no maximum or minimum size of a Schools Forum, Schools and Academy members together must number at least two thirds of the total membership, the balance between primary, secondary and academies must be broadly proportionate to pupil numbers.
Southampton - Schools and Academy members currently number three quarters of total membership.
(ii) Term of Office
Term of office for each member should be stipulated at the time of appointment. Schools and Academies must be informed within a month of the appointment the details of any non-schools member. A secondary schools member must stand down if their school converts to an Academy.
Southampton – members are appointed to the Forum for a period of one year, there is currently no limitation on the number of years that a member be appointed. We have not had any secondary schools convert to Academy so far who have representation on the Forum.
Agenda Item 9
BRIEFING PAPER
(iii) Schools Members
The numbers of members in each group must be proportionate to the ratio of pupils registered at them, must have a representative from Special Schools and PRU if applicable. There must be at least one representative of head teachers and one representative of governors among the school members. - Southampton - currently has representation from Special Schools but none from the PRU. We have 9 head teachers and 4 governors on the Forum.
(iv) Election and nomination of schools members
It is not appropriate for a single person to be elected to represent more than one group. Members should be elected according to a process set within each group ensuring all head teachers etc have the opportunity to stand or vote in such an election. Clerk to Schools Forum to make a record of the process by which the relevant schools within each group elect their members. In event of a tie between 2 or more candidates the LA must appoint a member instead.
Southampton – the process of election takes place at head teacher conferences and the Clerk to Schools Forum is notified accordingly. Election and nomination of Academies members
Academies members must be elected by the proprietor bodies of the Academies in the authority’s area. Free Schools, Studio Schools and University Technical Colleges count as Academies for this purpose.
(v) Non-schools members
May number no more than a third of Schools Forum’s total membership. Must include one person to represent: 14-19 Partnership, early years providers for PVI sector. Where there are schools or Academies in the area with a different religious character, the appropriate faith group should be represented.
(vi) Restrictions on membership
The LA cannot appoint: an elected member who is appointed to the executive, the Director of Children’s Services or officer who does not directly provide education to children or officers who advise on funding for schools.
(vi) Procedures
Each LA must have a written record of the composition of its Schools Forum. The Secretary of State can appoint a representative of the EFA to attend and speak at meetings as an observer.
A meeting is only quorate if 40% of the total membership is present, if not it cannot legally take decisions.
Schools Forum must decided on the length of the term of office of the chair.
The regulations provide that a Schools Forum may determine its own voting procedures and meetings should be held at least 4 times a year.
Southampton – there is in place a Schools Forum Constitution which includes the terms of reference
BRIEFING PAPER
(vii) Public Access
Schools Forums are required to be open to the public and papers/agendas must also be publicly available.
Southampton - Papers are uploaded onto the SCC website in advance of each meeting, every meeting is made public.
5 Section 2 – Effective Schools Forums
(i) The paper presented at schools forum in July 2012 covered the recommendations around effective forums.
(ii) Administration of the business of School Forums
It is usual for papers to be dispatched at least one week prior to the meeting and papers should be published on the LA’s website at this time. A good clerk can provide invaluable support to the members of the Forum.
(iii) Agenda Setting
Frequency and timing of meetings should be agreed in advance of each financial or academic year.
Regulations state that the LA must consult the Schools Forum annually in connection with the following:
• Amendments to the school funding formula
• Arrangements for the education of pupils with SEN
• Arrangements for the use of the pupil referral units and the education of children not at school.
• Arrangements for early years provision
Situations in which Schools Forums have decision-making powers:
• De-delegation from mainstream school budgets
• Creation of a fund for significant pupil growth
• Funding for prescribed historic commitments
• Funding for central early years expenditure, which will include funding for checking eligibility for an early years place and/or free school meals
• Authorising a reduction in the schools budget in order to fund a deficit arising in central expenditure carry forward from previous funding period.
RESOURCE/POLICY/FINANCIAL/LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
OPTIONS and TIMESCALES:
The Schools Forum’s Terms of Reference states that the constitution, appointment of the Chair and review of members is considered on an annual basis at the first meeting of the academic year.
BRIEFING PAPER
Appendices/Supporting Information:
App 1 DFE Schools Forums Operational and Good Practice Guide 2013-14
App 2 Schools Forum Responsibilities 2013-14
Further Information Available From: Name: Chris Tombs
Tel: 023 8083 3785
E-mail: [email protected]
Contents
Introduction page 3 Section 1 Schools Forums Regulations: Constitution and Procedural Issues page 4
Regulations page 4 Membership page 4 Term of Office page 4 Schools members page 5 Election and nomination of schools members page 6 Election and nomination of Academies members page 7 Non-school members page 8 Restrictions on membership page 9 Recording the composition of Schools Forums page 9 Observers page 10 Procedures page 10 Public access page 11 Working groups page 12 Urgent business page 12
Section 2 - Effective Schools Forums page 13
Introduction page 13 The role of Executive Elected Members page 15 Attendance of local authority officers at meetings page 15 Administration of the business of Schools Forums page 15 Clerking the Schools Forum page 16 Meeting notes and recording decisions page 17 Resources of the Schools Forum page 17 Agenda setting page 17 Chairing the Schools Forum page 19 Communication page 19
Section 3 Induction and Training page 20
Induction of new members page 20 Training page 20 News Updates page 20
Section 4 Further Information and Contact Details page 21
Web links page 21 Contact details page 21
Page | 3
Introduction
1. This guide is designed to provide members of Schools Forums, local authority officers and elected members with advice and information on good practice in relation to the operation of Schools Forums.
2. It is organised in four sections:
Section 1 provides information on the constitutional and procedural requirements as set out in the Schools Forums Regulations1.
Section 2 covers a number of key aspects of the operation of Schools Forums at local level, drawing on good practice from a number of Schools Forums.
Section 3 provides information on the kinds of induction, training material and activities that local authorities should consider providing to members of their Schools Forum.
Section 4 contains information on sources of further information and Departmental contact details.
3. The guide draws on the experience and knowledge of Schools Forum members,
local authority members and officers and the Department and its partners. Other than where it is describing requirements set out in the Regulations it is not designed to be prescriptive what is good practice in one Schools Forum may not be appropriate in another, given the diverse circumstances of local areas. However, it is hoped the guide will stimulate some debate within Schools Forums and contribute to their ongoing development.
4. The Department hopes that Schools Forums and local authorities find this guide
useful. It has been the subject of consultation with a wide variety of external
Implementation Group, made up of representatives of head teachers and
Government Association and the Academies Funding Reference Group have provided valuable input and advice on the content of the guide. The Department is grateful for their assistance.
1 Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2261)
Page | 4
Section 1 Schools Forum Regulations: Constitution and Procedural Issues
Regulations
1.1. National regulations govern the composition, constitution and procedures of Schools Forums. Local authorities can provide Schools Forum members with a copy of these regulations or alternatively they can be accessed at:
Schools Forums - The Department for Education
Membership
1.2. The regulations provide a framework for the appointment of members, but allow a considerable degree of discretion in order to accommodate local priorities and practice.
1.3. There is no maximum or minimum size of a Schools Forum. Authorities will wish
to take various issues into account in deciding the actual size, including the need to have full representatiorepresentation of non-schools members. However, care should be taken to keep the Schools Forum to a reasonable size to ensure that it does not become too unwieldy.
1.4. Types of member. Schools Forums must have 'schools members' (para 1.8-1.25),
(para 1.26-1.28) and 'non-schools members' (para 1.29-1.32). . Schools and Academy members together must number at least two-thirds of the total membership of the Schools Forum and the balance between primary, secondary and academies members must be broadly proportionate to the pupil numbers in each category.
Term of Office
1.5 The term of office for each schools member should be stipulated by the authority at the time of appointment. Such stipulation should follow published rules and be applied in a consistent manner as between members. They need not have identical terms there may be a case for varied terms so that there is continuity of experience rather than there being a complete change in the membership at a single point. The term of office should not be of a length that would hinder the requirement for the structure of Schools Forum to mirror the type of provision in light of the pace of academy conversions.
1.6 The length of term of office for non-schools members is at the discretion of the
authority. Schools and Academies must be informed, within a month of the appointment of any non-schools member, of the name of the member and the name of the body that that member represents.
Page | 5
1.7 As well as the term of office coming to an end, a member ceases to be a member of the Schools Forum if he or she resigns from the Schools Forum or no longer occupies the office by which he or she became eligible for election, selection or appointment to the Schools Forum. For example, a secondary schools member must stand down if their school converts to an Academy. A schools member representing community primary school governors who is no longer a governor of a community primary school in the relevant authority must cease to hold office on the Schools Forum even if they remain a governor of a school represented by another group or sub-group. Other situations in which membership of the Schools Forum ends are if a member resigns from the Schools Forum by giving notice in writing to the authority and, in the case of a non-schools member, the member is replaced by the authority, at the request of the body which the member represents, by another person nominated by that body.
Schools members
1.8. Schools members represent specified phases or types of maintained schools within the authority. At the least, Schools Forums must contain representatives of two groups of schools: primary and secondary schools. The numbers of members in each group must be proportionate to the ratio of pupils registered at them. Middle schools are treated according to their deemed status.
1.9. Where a local authority maintains one or more special schools the Schools Forum
must have at least one schools member from that sector. The same applies to nursery schools
1.10. The authority then has discretion to divide the groups referred to in paragraph 1.8
into one or more of the following sub-groups
governors in each group;
head teachers or head teachers representatives and governors in each group;
representatives of the particular school category. 1.11. Head teachers can be represented by other senior members of staff within their
school. Governors can include interim executive members of an interim executive board. The sub-groups do not have to be of equal size for example, there may be more representatives of head teachers of primary schools than governors of such schools, or vice versa. It is good practice for Schools Forums to aim for a membership structure based on an equal proportion of head teachers and governors, or failing that to ensure there is sufficient representation of each type of schools member in each group to ensure debate within the Schools Forum is balanced and representative. As a minimum, there must be at least one representative of head teachers and one representative of governors among the scho
1.12. Whatever the membership structure of schools members on a Schools Forum, the
important issue is that it should reflect most effectively the profile of education provision across the authority to ensure that there is not an in-built bias towards any one phase or group.
Page | 6
Election and nomination of schools members
1.13. The relevant group or sub-group is probably best placed to determine how their schools members should be elected.
1.14. It is good practice for those who draw up the scheme that a vacancy amongst a
elected according to a process that has been determined by all the community primary school head teachers in the local authority and in which all community primary school head teachers had the opportunity to stand for election and/or vote in such an election.
1.15. -group of Voluntary
Aided and Foundation secondary school governors, we would recommend that all governors of such schools are eligible to stand for election and all can vote in any such election.
1.16. It is not appropriate for a single person to be elected to represent more than one
group or sub-group concurrently, i.e. if they were a governor at a primary and secondary school. They can stand for election from either group but can be appointed to represent only one of those groups.
1.17. The purpose of ensuring that each group or sub-group is responsible for their
election process is to guarantee that there is a transparent and representative process by which members of Schools Forums are nominated to represent their constituents.
1.18. Appropriate support to each group or sub-group to manage their election
processes should be offered by the clerk of a Schools Forum, or the committee/democratic services of a local authority. This may just include the provision of advice but may also consist of providing administrative support in actually running the elections themselves.
1.19. As a minimum, we would recommend that the clerk of a Schools Forum make a
record of the process by which the relevant schools within each group and sub-group elect their nominees to the Schools Forum and be able to advise the Chair of the Schools Forum and local authority on action that needs to be taken, where necessary, to seek new nominees.
1.20. In determining the process by which elections should be operated it is perfectly
legitimate for a local authority to devise, in consultation with their Schools Forum, a model scheme for the relevant schools within a group or sub-group to consider and be invited to adopt. However, such a model scheme cannot be imposed on that body of schools: adaptations and /or alternative schemes may be adopted. A single scheme need not be adopted universally.
Page | 7
1.21. In fact, schemes are very likely to differ in substance between different sized groups or sub-groups or between those sub-groups group and those that do not. For instance, within most local authorities there are head teacher associations. These may serve as an appropriate vehicle for the organisation of elections. However, care should be taken to ensure that every possible eligible member of a group or sub-group has an opportunity to be
opportunity to stand for election if they choose to do so. 1.22. It would not be compliant with the Regulations for the steering committee or chair
o -group on a Schools Forum. Schools members must be elected (but see below).
1.23. The local authority may set a date by which the election should take place and
must appoint the schools member if the election has not taken place by that date. The person appointed should be a member of the relevant group.
1.24. We would recommend that any scheme takes into account a number of factors;
a. the process for collecting names of those wishing to stand for election; b. the timescale for notifying all constituents of the election and those
standing; c. the arrangements for dispatching and receiving ballots; d. the arrangements for counting and publicising the results; e. any arrangements for unusual circumstances such as only one candidate
standing in an election; and f. whether existing members can stand for re-election.
1.25. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates, then the local authority must
appoint the schools member instead. The authority may decide to appoint someone else rather than one of the candidates and might wish to take into account the experience or expertise of the individuals, and the balance between the different types of school represented on the Forum.
Election and nomination of Academies members
1.26. Academies members must be elected by the proprietor bodies of the Academies in
Academies members are there to represent the proprietor bodies of Academies and are, therefore, not necessarily restricted to principals, senior staff or governors. The same factors should be taken into account as for the election of schools members, set out in paragraph 1.24. For the avoidance of doubt, Free Schools, University Technical Colleges and Studio Schools count as Academies for this purpose. There is no distinction between sponsored, non-recoupment and convertor Academies, and no requirement for separate primary and secondary Academy representation.
1.27. proprietor
body must select the person who will represent them.
Page | 8
1.28. As with schools members, the local authority may set a date by which the election should take place and must appoint an Academies member if the election does not take place by that date, or if an election results in a tie between two or more candidates.
Non-schools members
1.29. Non-schools members may number no more than a third of a Schools Forum's total membership (excluding observers see paragraph 1.39). The authority must appoint at least one person to represent the local authority 14-19 partnership and at least one person to represent early years providers from the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector. Early years PVI settings need to be represented because funding for the free entitlement for three and four year olds comes from the Schools Budget, and all settings are funded through the Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) and from 2013-14, funding for the free entitlement for two-year-olds will also come from the Schools Budget through the EYSFF.
1.30. Before appointing additional non-schools members to the Schools Forum, the
local authority must consider whether the Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses situated in the authority's area; and, where there are schools or Academies in the area with a different religious character, the appropriate faith group, should be represented on the Schools Forum. If diocesan authorities nominate members for appointment as non-schools members they may wish to consider what type of representative would be most appropriate schools-based such as a head teacher or governor, or someone linked more generally with the diocese.
1.31. It is also good practice for local authorities to ensure that the needs and interests
of all the pupils in the local authority are adequately represented by the members of a Schools Forum. The interests of pupils in maintained schools can be represented by schools members. Some pupils in a local authority, however, are not in maintained schools but instead are educated in, hospitals, independent special schools and non-maintained special schools. Certain types of non-schools members can play an important role in representing the interests of these groups of pupils. They can also play a role in representing the interests and views of the services that support those groups of vulnerable and at-risk pupils who nevertheless are on the roll of maintained schools, such as looked after children and children with special educational needs.
1.32. The purpose of non-schools members is also to bring greater breadth of
discussion to Schools Forum meetings and ensure that stakeholders and partners other than schools are represented. Organisations which typically provide non-schools members are trades unions, professional associations and representatives of youth groups. Parent groups could also be considered. However, as there are clearly limited numbers of non-schools members able to be on a Schools Forum, care should be taken to ensure that an appropriate representation from wider stakeholders is achieved.
Page | 9
Restrictions on membership
1.33. There are three restrictions placed on who can be a non-schools member of a Schools Forum. The local authority cannot appoint:-
an elected member of the local authority who is appointed to the executive of that ,
s or any officer employed or engaged to work
directly provide education to children (or manage those who do) (a) and (b)),
other officers with a specific role in management of and/or who advise on funding for schools
1.34. Schools Forums have the power to approve a limited range of proposals from their
local authority: the restrictions ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the proposing body (the local authority) and the approving body (the Schools Forum).
1.35. However, non-executive elected members and those officers who are employed in
their capacity as head teachers or teachers and those who directly manage a service which provides education to individual children and/or advice to schools on, for example, learning and behavioural matters are eligible to be members of Schools Forums.
1.36. In the case of non-executive elected members, they may be either a schools
member (by virtue of them being a school governor), an Academies member or a non-schools member. As a non-schools member they would be well placed to fulfil the broader overview and scrutiny role they have within the local authority in general.
1.37. However, the inclusion of non-executive elected members and certain officers is
not a requirement. Many Schools Forums do not have such members on them and it is for each local authority and Schools Forum to consider how best to ensure the right balance of school and non-school representation on the Schools Forum, taking into account their local circumstances and preferences.
Recording the composition of Schools Forums
1.38. Each local authority must make a written record of the composition of its Schools Forum detailing the numbers of schools members and by which group or sub-group they were elected, the number of Academies members and the number of non-schools members, their terms of office, how they were chosen and whom they represent. This record should also indicate the term of office for schools and Academies members.
Page | 10
Observers
1.39. The Regulations provide that the Secretary of State can appoint an observer to attend and speak at Schools Forum meetings, e.g. a representative from the Education Funding Agency (EFA). This allows a conduit for national policy to be discussed at a local level and provide access for Schools Forum to an additional support mechanism, e.g. where there are highly complex issues to resolve.
Procedures
1.40. Many procedural matters are not prescribed in the Regulations and are at the discretion either of the authority or the Schools Forum itself. However, there are requirements in the Regulations relating to:
a. quorum: A meeting is only quorate if 40% of the total membership is
present (this excludes any observers, and it is 40% of the current membership excluding vacancies). If a meeting is inquorate it can proceed but it cannot legally take decisions (e.g. election of a chair, or a decision relating to funding conferred by the funding regulations). An inquorate meeting can respond to authority consultation, and give views to the authority. It would normally be good practice for the authority to take
bliged to do so. In practice, the arrangements for meetings should be made to reduce the chance of a problem with quora. The quorum stipulation is in the Regulations to help ensure the legitimacy of decisions;
b. election of a chair: Under the Regulations, if the position of chair falls
vacant the Schools Forum must decide how long the term of office of the next chair will be. This can be for any period, but the Schools Forum should consider carefully whether a period exceeding two years is sensible. A long period will also cause problems if the member elected as chair has a term of office as a member which comes to an end before their term of office as chair ends. The Schools Forum should then elect a chair from amongst its own members except that any non-executive elected member or eligible officer who is a member of a Schools Forum may not hold the office of chair;
Page | 11
c. voting procedures: The Regulations provide that a Schools Forum may determine its own voting procedures save that voting on:-
the funding formula is limited to schools members and PVI representatives
de-delegation will be limited to the specific primary and secondary phase of schools members.
The powers which Schools Forums have to take decisions on a range of funding matters increase the importance of clear procedures, e.g. decisions are made on a simple majority or the threshold to be met if higher. These procedures should take account of any use of working groups by the Schools Forum for example a decision might be taken by voting to accept and adopt a report by a working group (see also below).As part of any voting procedure there should be clarity in the procedures for recording the outcome of a vote, and any resolutions a Schools Forum makes in relation to any vote taken;
d. substitutes: the local authority must make arrangements to enable
substitutes to attend and vote at Schools Forum meetings. This applies to schools members, Academies members and non-schools members. The arrangements must be decided in consultation with Schools Forum members.
e. defects and vacancies: the Regulations provide that proceedings of the
Schools Forum are not invalidated by defects in the election or appointment of any member, or the appointment of the chair. Nor does the existence of any vacancy on the Schools Forum invalidate proceedings (see paragraph 1.40(a) on quorum).
f. timing: Schools Forums must meet at least four times a year
1.41. Where the Regulations make no provision on a procedural matter, local discretion
should be exercised. It is for the authority to decide how far it wishes to establish rules for the Schools Forum to follow, in the form of standing orders. While it is entitled to do so, it is of course good practice to allow the Schools Forum to set its own rules so far as possible.
Public access
1.42. Schools Forums are more than just consultative bodies. They also have an important role to play in approving certain proposals from their local authority and are therefore involved in the decision making process surrounding the use of public money at local level. As a result Schools Forums are required to be open to the public. Furthermore papers, agendas and minutes must be publicly available.
1.43. Some Schools Forums already operate very much along the lines of a local
authority committee. This is perfectly legitimate where there is such local preference and will provide a consistent framework for the running of meetings that are open to the public, and the publishing of papers and agendas well in advance of the meeting and minutes published promptly.
Page | 12
Working Groups
1.44. It is open to a Schools Forum to set up working groups of members to discuss specific issues, and to produce draft advice and decisions for the Schools Forum itself to consider. The groups can also include wider representation - for example, an early years reference group can represent all the different types of provider to consider the detail of the early years single funding formula. The reference group would then be able to give its the Schools Forum. It is not good practice for the Schools Forum to delegate actual decisions or the finalisation of advice to a working group, as this may have the effect of excluding legitimate points of view.
Urgent business
1.45. It is good practice for the local authority to agree with its Schools Forum an urgency procedure to be followed when there is a genuine business need for a decision or formal view to be expressed by the Schools Forum, before the next scheduled meeting. The authority may of course call an unscheduled meeting; but it may also wish to put in place alternative arrangements such as clearance by email correspondence or some other means. Such instances should be avoided so far as possible but are legitimate provided all members of the Schools Forum have an opportunity to participate, the logistics provide a reasonable opportunity for consideration and the local authority policy on data security is not compromised.
1.46. It is not legal for the chair to take a decision on behalf of the Schools Forum, no
matter how urgent the matter in question; but a Schools Forum may wish to put in place a procedure for the Chair to give the authority a view on an urgent issue.
Page | 13
Section 2 Effective Schools Forums
Introduction
2.1. As the previous section outlined, local authorities have responsibility for establishing Schools Forums. They also have an ongoing responsibility to provide them with appropriate support, information and guidance in carrying out their functions and responsibilities.
2.2. The following outlines some aspects of what local authorities and Schools Forums
should consider in ensuring that their Schools Forums are as effective as possible. The pace of Academy conversions in particular means that this significant sector must be properly represented and feel that it is able to play a meaningful part in the discussions of the Schools Forum.
2.3. Central to the effectiveness or otherwise of a Schools Forum will be the
relationship between it and its local authority. The local authority will have a significant influence on this: the support it provides; the resources it devotes and the weight it gives to the views of Schools Forums all contribute to the nature of the relationship. There are therefore a number of characteristics of this relationship that are particularly important:
2.4. Partnership: The work of the Schools Forum is likely to be most effective when
there is a genuine partnership between all its members and its local authority. In practice this means having a shared understanding of the priorities, issues and concerns of schools, Academies and the local authority. However, it also means being honest and open where there are some tensions or disagreements over priorities. Overall there should be a shared commitment to working together on the agreed priorities and understanding of the contribution that can be made by each side to their achievement.
2.5. Effective Support: The local authority is the main source of support and guidance
to a Schools Forum. It is vital therefore that the business of the Schools Forum is supported by the local authority in an efficient and professional manner. The management of meeting cycles, production of papers and the provision of good quality advice and guidance all contribute to the effectiveness of Schools Forums.
2.6. Openness: It is important that a Schools Forum feels it is receiving open, honest
and objective advice from its local authority. In the vast majority of cases this is the situation, but there will inevitably be some issues about which a local authority and its Schools Forum may disagree. This can cause tension but a Schools Forum should be able to feel that it is receiving all the information it needs to reach necessary decisions or informed views.
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2.7. Responsiveness: Local authorities should as far as possible be responsive to requests from their Schools Forums and their members. These may include requests to discuss particular topics or issues as well as requests for information, data or other support. However, Schools Forums themselves should also be aware of the resource implications of their requests. The resources (both officer time and other resources) that a local authority devotes to the Schools Forum are a local matter that ideally should be discussed and agreed between the local authority and Schools Forum. Within the resources available, Schools Forums should have substantial control over the issues they consider and information provided. Beyond this, local authorities will want to support their Schools Forum as far as they are able but Schools Forums should also take a realistic view of the resource implications of any requests they make.
2.8. Strategic view: Schools Forums are most effective when they take a strategic view
of the issues they are considering. While members of a Schools Forum are representatives of their specific sector or phase, they should be able to consider the needs of the whole of the educational community, rather using their position on a Schools Forum to advance their own sectional or specific interests. Schools Forum chairs have a particularly important role in ensuring that this is the case: they can influence the kinds of issues and topics discussed and should set the tone for the discussions at meetings. Equally, local authorities have a role in ensuring that all members of a Schools Forum are well briefed and able to participate fully in discussions.
Furthermore, the representatives on Schools Forum should be well known across
the full remit of education providers, be easily contactable, pro-active in raising the profile of issues and communicate decisions, and the reasons behind them, effectively.
2.9. Challenge and Scrutiny: Schools Forums may be asked to agree to proposals from
their local authority that will have an effect on all schools and Academies in the local area. The extent to which Schools Forums can scrutinise and challenge such proposals is an important aspect of their effectiveness. Many local authorities and Schools Forums pride themselves on the collegiate nature of their relationship and the consensus by which they operate: others may be less concerned about this. Whatever the nature of the relationship, however, there will be instances where it
decisions, proposals or existing arrangements. Effective local authorities and Schools Forums manage this well and while agreement can often be reached under relatively informal circumstances, it is vital that there are formal procedures in place to ensure that any decisions the Schools Forum makes are reached in an appropriate and transparent manner.
2.10. The characteristics identified above are just some of the aspects that will
contribute to an effective Schools Forum. The following provides more detail on some of the specific issues that local authorities and Schools Forums may wish to consider in thinking about their own arrangements.
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The role of Executive Elected Members
2.11. A Schools Forum needs to ensure that there are systems in place for executive members of the Council to be aware of its views on specific issues and, in particular, any decisions it takes in relation to the Schools Budget and individual budget shares.
2.12. Executive members with responsibility for education/ or
resources of the authority are able to attend Schools Forum meetings. By doing so such elected members are able to contribute to the discussion and receive first-hand the views of the Schools Forum: it is clearly good practice for this to be the case and the regulations provide the right for executive members to attend and speak at Schools Forum meetings. However, there is no requirement for this to happen so at the very least there should be clear channels of communication between the Schools Forum and executive members.
Attendance of local authority officers at meetings
2.13. Only specific officers who can speak at meetings of the Schools Forum are eligible to attend. These officers are:-
Chief Financial Officer or their representative
Any person invited by Schools Forum to provide financial or technical advice
Any person presenting a paper to Schools Forum but their ability to speak is limited to the paper that they are presenting.
2.14. In the majority of cases Schools Forums are supported by a specific officer. In the
course of their work, however, Schools Forums will be required to consider a whole range of issues and they may consider it appropriate that other officers attend for specific items of business. Where this is the case, the local authority
Administration of the business of Schools Forums
2.15. prepared papers. It is therefore important that these are of a high standard and produced in a timely and consistent manner.
2.16. It is good practice for the Schools Forum and local authority to agree a standard
for these. It is usual for papers to be dispatched at least one week prior to the meeting at which they will be discussed to allow members to consider them and if necessary canvass views from the group they are representing. Papers should be
to enable representations to be made to Schools Forum members.
2.17. Consistency in the presentation of papers also contributes to the effectiveness of
meetings: it helps set the tone of meetings, facilitate the engagement of all members and signal the importance the local authority attaches to the work of the Schools Forum. Ideally such a standard should be agreed between the Schools Forum and local authority.
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Clerking the Schools Forum
2.18. Clerking of a Schools Forum should be seen as more than just writing a note of the meeting. A good clerk provides an invaluable link between the members of the Schools Forum, the chair and the local authority. It is a role often undertaken by an employee of the local authority though we would recommend consideration be given to the use of an independent clerk.
2.19. Clerks should manage the logistics of the meeting in terms of ensuring dispatch of
papers and producing a note from the meeting. In considering the style of meeting notes consideration should be given to making them intelligible enough for non-attendees to get a sense of the discussion as well as clearly indicating the conclusion and action agreed in relation to each agenda item. Verbatim reports of
Forums may consider whether a simple action log should be maintained by the clerk to ensure all action points agreed are followed up.
2.20. Beyond this a good clerk can:
a. provide the route by which Schools Forum members can access further information and co-ordinate communication to Schools Forum members outside of the formal meeting cycle;
b. respond to any queries about the business of the Schools Forum from head teachers, governors and others who are not on the Schools Forum themselves;
c. be responsible for ensuring contact details of all members are up to date; d. maintain the list of members on the Schools Forum and advise on
membership issues in general; e. assist with the co-ordination of nomination/election processes run by the
constituent groups; f. keep the Schools Forum website up to date: e.g. by posting latest minutes
and papers etc; g. monitor, on a regular basis, the Schools Forum and general Schools
Funding section of the Department for Education (DfE) website; and arrange for the distribution of any relevant DfE information to Schools Forum members;
h. if appropriate, provide technical advice in relation to the Schools Forum
constitution; and i. organise, operate and record any voting activity of the Schools Forum in
line with the provisions of its local constitution. 2.21. Not all of these tasks may be able to be undertaken by the Schools Forum clerk.
However, each one is important and there should be arrangements in place to ensure they are discharged adequately.
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Meeting notes and recording of decisions
2.22. A vital part of the effective operation of Schools Forums is to ensure that an accurate record of the meeting is taken. This must include the clear recording of votes where there are contrary views. Recommendations to, and decisions of, Schools Forum must be clearly set out.
2.23. Notes or minutes of each Schools Forum meeting should be produced and put on
the website as soon after the meeting as possible to enable members and others to see the outcome of any discussions and decisions/votes. It is good practice to formally agree the accuracy of the note/minutes at a subsequent meeting but the publication of the minutes should not be delayed as a result.
Resources of the Schools Forum
2.24. The costs of a Schools Forum fall in the centrally retained budget portion of the Schools Block of local authorities. Nationally there is variation in the level of funding local authorities identify against Schools Forum expenditure: the median expenditure in 201/12 was £21,431.
2.25. It is legitimate to charge the running costs of Schools Forums to this budget
including any agreed and reasonable expenses for members attending meetings, the costs of producing and distributing papers and costs room hire and refreshments and for clerking of meetings. Beyond these costs some Schools Forums have a budget of their own to use for activities such as commissioning research or other reports. The draft 2013 School Finance Regulations propose that the level of resource devoted running Schools Forums should be limited to 2012-13 levels and no new commitments or increases in expenditure should be allowed in future years.
Agenda Setting
2.26. The process by which the agenda for a meeting or cycle of meetings is set is in many respects one of the key determinants of the effectiveness or otherwise of a Schools Forum.
2.27. The frequency and timing of meetings of the Schools Forum should be agreed in
advance of each financial or academic year. In drawing up this cycle of meetings, in consultation with the Schools Forum, the local authority should provide a clear overview of the key consultative and decision-making points in the school funding cycle. These will be drawn from a combination of national and local information and should inform the basic agenda items that each meeting needs to cover. For instance meetings will need to be scheduled at appropriate points to enable the Schools Forum to consider the outcomes of local consultations and national announcements.
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2.28. Regulations state that the local authority must consult the Schools Forum annually in connection with various schools budget functions, namely:
amendments to the school funding formula, for which the voting is restricted by the
exclusion of non-schools members except for PVI representatives arrangements for the education of pupils with special educational needs arrangements for the use of pupil referral units and the education of children
otherwise than at school arrangements for early years provision administrative arrangements for the allocation of central government grants paid to
schools via the authority 2.29. Consultation must also take place when a local authority is proposing a contract
for supplies and services which is to be funded from the Schools Budget and is in excess of the EU Procurement thresholds. The consultation must cover the terms of the contract at least one month prior to the issue of invitations to tender.
2.30. The Schools Forum has the responsibility of informing the governing bodies of all
schools maintained by the authority of the results of any consultations carried out by the authority relating to the issues in paragraphs 2.28 and 2.29.
2.31. Schools Forums generally have a consultative role. However, there are situations
in which they have decision-making powers. The respective roles of Schools Forums, local authorities and the DfE are summarised in Table 1. The overarching areas on which Schools Forums make decisions on local authority proposals are:
De-delegation from mainstream school budgets (approval will be required by the
relevant phase members of Schools Forum), for prescribed services to be provided centrally.
duty for place planning and agree the criteria for maintained schools and Academies to access this fund.
Funding for prescribed historic commitments where the effect of delegating this funding would be destabilising.
Funding for local authority in order to meet prescribed statutory duties placed upon it. Approval is required to confirm the amounts for each duty and no new commitments or increases in expenditure from 2012/13 are permitted.
Funding for central early years expenditure, which will include funding for checking eligibility of pupils for an early years place and/or free school meals.
Authorising a reduction in the schools budget in order to fund a deficit arising in central expenditure that is to be carried forward from a previous funding period.
In each of these cases, the local authority can appeal to the DfE if the Schools Forum rejects its proposal.
2.32. For 2013-14, local authorities will need to discuss any proposals to vary the MFG
with the Schools Forum but they will need to be approved by the Secretary of State.
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Chairing the Schools Forum
2.33. The chair of a Schools Forum plays a key role in setting the tone, pace and overall dynamic of the Schools Forum. They should provide an environment within which all members are able to contribute fully to discussions and guide the Schools Forum to making well informed decisions.
2.34. The relationship between the chair and the local authority is therefore vital. The chair should be very clear on the substance of the agenda items, understand the issues involved and the decisions and/or actions that need to be taken in respect of School Forum business. It is good practice for there to be a pre-meeting between the senior officer of the authority supporting the Schools Forum and the chair and vice-chair of the Schools Forum to ensure that all the issues are clearly understood.
2.35. Equally, the chair has the responsibility of representing the views of the Schools Forum back to the local authority: for instance, they should, where appropriate, take the initiative to make suggestions for improvements to the way the business is conducted, and, in exceptional cases and with support of the members of the Schools Forum take the view that they do not have sufficient information on which to base a decision and ask that an item is deferred until further information is available. However, in doing so, the Chair and Schools Forum should be fully aware of the consequences of deferral.
Communication
2.36. Communication to the wider educational community of the discussions and debates of, and decisions made by, Schools Forums is fundamental to their effective operation. The more schools and other stakeholders know about the proceedings of Schools Forums, the more their work will be an important and central part of the context of local educational funding. This is particularly important given the decision making role that Schools Forums have.
2.37. Each Schools Forum should therefore be clear what its channels of communication are. One channel is the requirement that all its agenda, minutes and papers are publicly available . However, the Schools Forum should also consider additional communication processes. These could include: a. an annual report on the proceedings of the Schools Forum; b. the reporting bac
business of the Schools Forum. This can be a particularly useful method of ensuing that Schools Forum members have an ongoing dialogue with the constituents of their group or sub-group and are therefore well able to represent their views at Schools Forum meetings;
c. attendance by the chair, or other Schools Forum member, at other relevant consultative or management groups such as any capital working group; or senior management meetings of the Chil
d. a brief email to all schools, early years providers and other stakeholders after each Schools Forum meeting informing them of the discussions and decisions with a link to the full papers and minutes for further information.
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Section 3 Induction and Training
Induction of new members
3.1. When new members join the Schools Forum appropriate induction materials should be provided. These might include material relating to the operation of the Schools Forum together with background information about the local and national school funding arrangements. Typically they might comprise:
a. the constitution of the Schools Forum b. a list of members including contact details and their terms of office c. any locally agreed terms of reference explaining the relationship between
the Schools Forum and the local authority d. copies of minutes of previous meetings e. the programme of Schools Forum meetings for the year f. the local Schools Forum web address
3.2. This Operational and Good Practice Guide, suitably supplemented by local material, should also be provided to new members on their appointment.
3.3. Where there is sufficient turnover of School Forum members in any particular year the authority may wish to organise a one-off induction event to brief new members. Such an event would usefully include an outline of the role of the Schools Forum and the national funding arrangements for schools and local authorities. It might also include an explanation of the local funding formula and any proposals for review. The opportunity could also be taken to explain the main reporting requirements for school and local authority expenditure.
Training
3.4. Ideally Schools Forum members should be able to use some of the budget set aside for Schools Forum running costs for accessing relevant training activities. Some training will be provided by officers of the local authority but members may wish to attend national or regional events, the costs of which where necessary can be supported from the Schools Forum budget.
3.5. Training will need to be provided in response to any changes in the role of the
Schools Forum and national developments in respect of school funding.
News updates
3.6. Most, but not all, members of the Schools Forum will already be in receipt of regular information on school funding matters from the local authority and DfE. Other Schools Forum members should be copied into such information flows so that they can be kept abreast of developments between meetings.
3.7. Many local authorities have already established dedicated Schools Forum
websites on which they post key information for Schools Forum members and other interested parties.
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Section 4 Further Information and Contact Details
Web links
4.1. and other information relating to school funding and Schools Forums. This website also has a range of useful links to other sites that may be of relevance to Schools Forum members.
4.2. The following address links to the main school funding page which has links to the
latest news items on schools funding and all the latest information.
Schools revenue funding - The Department for Education 4.3. The following address links to the dedicated Schools Forum pages on the website.
Schools Forums - The Department for Education
Contact details
4.4 Members of the Education Funding Agency are able to provide advice on the operation of Schools Forums:
The postal address of the Department is: Education Funding Agency Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street Westminster London SW1P 3BT
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© Crown copyright 2012
You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or
medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or e-mail:
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain
permission from the copyright holders concerned.
Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at
This document is also available from our website at Schools Forums - The Department
for Education.
Function Local Authority Forum DfE Role
1 Formula Change (including redistributions) Proposes and decides
Must be consulted. [Voting
restricted to schools members
plus PVI members]
None
2 Contracts
Propose at least one month prior to
invitation to tender, the terms of any
proposed contract
Gives a view None
3
Financial Issues relating to:
arrangements for pupils with special educational needs;
arrangements for use of pupil referral units and the
education of children otherwise than at school;
arrangements for early years provision;
administration arrangements for the allocation
of central govt grants.
Consult annually
Gives a view and informs the
governing bodies of all
consultations carried out in lines
1, 2 & 3
None
4 Minimum funding guaranteeProposes any exclusions from MFG for
application to DfEGives a view Approval
5
De-delegation for manstream schools for:
contingencies
administration of free school meals
insurance
licences/subscriptions
staff costs - supply cover
support for minority ethnic pupils/underachieving groups
behaviour support services
library and museum services
Will propose
Primary and secondary school
member representatives will
decide for their phase.
Will adjudicate where Forum
does not agree LA proposal
6
Central spend on
funding for significant pre-16 pupil growth
equal pay back-pay
places in independent schools for non-SEN pupils
early years expenditure
Proposes DecidesAdjudicates where Forum does
not agree LA proposal
7
Central spend on
admissions
servicing of schools forum
carbon reduction commitment
capital expenditure funded from revenue
contribution to combined budgets
schools budget centrally funded termination of
employment costs
schools budget funded prudential borrowing costs
Proposes up to the value committed in
2012/13 and where expenditure has
already been committed
Decides for each lineAdjudicates where Forum does
not agree LA proposal
8Carry forward a deficit on central expenditure to the next year to
be funded from the schools budgetProposes Decides
Adjudicates where Forum does
not agree LA proposal
9 Scheme of financial management changesProposes and consults GB and Head of
every SchoolApproves
Adjudicates where Forum does
not agree LA proposal
10 Membership : length of office of members DecidesNone (but good practice would
suggest that they gave a view)None
11 Membership: appointment of Schools and Academies Members
Appoints those elected by members of
the relevant sub groups. Facilitates
election where required and appoints
member if there is a tie or the election
does not take place by a date set by the
LA
None None
12 Membership: Non Schools MembersSeeks nominations from the relevant
bodies then appoints
None (but good practice would
suggest that they gave a view)None
13 Voting Procedures None Determine voting procedures None
14 Chair of Forum Facilitates
Elects
(may not be an elected member
of the council or officer)
None
TABLE 1 - SCHOOLS FORUMS: POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 2013-14A
gen
da Ite
m 9
Appen
dix
2
BRIEFING PAPER
SUBJECT: School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013
DATE: 12th December 2012
RECIPIENT: Schools Forum
THIS IS NOT A DECISION PAPER
SUMMARY:
1. The current school finance regulations expire on 31st March 2012. Consequently the Department for Education launched a consultation on the new Schools and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013, which ended September 2012, they have now issued the regulations which will come into force by 1st January 2013.
2. Following the announcements made by the DfE about the reforms they are making to the schools funding system from 2013-14, the regulatory changes which give effect to the decisions set out in these announcements have now been updated.
BRIEFING DETAILS
3. SUMMARY OF THE NEW FEATURES IN THE SCHOOL FINANCE REGULATIONS 2013 THAT AFFECT SCHOOLS FORUMS
4. Regulation 3 - The Schools Forum Regulations 2012
(i) Amends the 2012 school forum regulations to provide for maintained school members of schools forums to approve de-delegation proposals for their phase for maintained schools only.
5. Regulation 8 - Determination of the Individual Schools Budget
(i) Specifies that expenditure on certain central services can only continue if the expenditure is already committed as a result of decisions made in a previous funding period.
(ii) Specifies that planned expenditure on each service in the central schools block cannot exceed the planned expenditure on that line in the previous year.
(iii) specifies that the schools forum must approve the criteria on which any funding retained for pupil growth is to be allocated
(iv) specifies that schools forum approval is required for central schools and early years block items.
(v) enables local authorities to apply to the Secretary of State to approve other central schools budget expenditure. This would only be considered in exceptional situations – for example, where an authority was using funding from outside the DSG for particular purposes such as universal free meals.
6. Regulation 9 - Consultation (i) requires local authorities to consult all schools about changes to their school
funding formula. The same applies to the early years formula, where there must be consultation with all providers.
Agenda Item 10
BRIEFING PAPER
7. Regulation 12 – Applications to the Schools Forum and Secretary of State
(i) sets out the powers of schools forum and the Secretary of State to authorise central schools and early years block expenditure and de-delegation.
8. Regulation 18 – Additional Requirements, Factors or Criteria
(i) allow authorities to use factors set out in schedule 3 in their schools and early years formulae.
(i) allow authorities to cap or scale back gains under the new formula using the same comparisons between years as in the MFG calculation, and applied consistently to all schools in the authority.
9. Regulation 19 – Minimum Funding Guarantee
(i) set out the MFG requirements for primary and secondary schools (in conjunction with schedule 4).
(i) sets out the application of the MFG to the early years formula, which applies to base rates.
10. Regulation 25 – Additional Arrangements Approved by Secretary of State
(i) allows for authorities to apply to the Secretary of State to include exceptional premises factors in their formula, to exclude factors from MFG and to vary the basis of the pupil number count.
11. Regulation 27 – Approval by the Schools Forum of Secretary of State of Proposals to Revise Schemes
(i) sets out that changes to schemes for financing schools must be approved by maintained school members of the schools forum.
12. Schedule 2 – Classes Or Descriptions Of Planned Expenditure Prescribed For The Purposes Of The Schools Budget Of A Local Authority Which May Be Deducted From It To Determine The ISB
(i) sets out the services which can be retained centrally and is split between: 8 Part 1 – central services (where expenditure is restricted to what was planned in 2012-13) 8 Part 2 – central schools expenditure 8 Part 3 – central early years expenditure 8 Part 4 – high needs pupils 8 Part 5 – items which can be de-delegated for maintained schools
13. SUMMARY OF THE NEW FEATURES IN THE SCHOOL FINANCE REGULATIONS 2013 THAT HAVE NO DIRECT AFFECT ON SCHOOLS FORUMS
14. Regulation 6 - The Schools Budget
(i) Extends the definition of the schools budget to include expenditure on young people aged 19 to 25 with learning difficulties.
15. Regulation 11 – Determination of Allocation of Budget Shares
(i) requires budgets to be determined by 15th March for maintained schools and Pupil referral units, and by 31st March for budgets issued under the early years formula.
BRIEFING PAPER
(ii) provides for de-delegation for certain budgets
16. Regulation 13 – Pupil Numbers
(i) sets out the simplified requirements on the use of pupil numbers in the school formula, including the ability to use an October to January uplift for reception pupil numbers.
17. Regulation 14 - Places
(i) sets out the funding requirements of the place element for special schools and pupil referral units; we are still considering issues relating to hospital schools so these are not mentioned in the draft regulations.
18. Regulation 15 – Social Deprivation
(i) sets out how the mandatory deprivation factors in the schools and early years formulae may be calculated.
19. Regulation 17 – Differential Funding
(i) continues to allow differentiation between different types of early years providers.
20. Regulation 19 – Minimum Funding Guarantee
(i) set out the MFG requirements for primary and secondary schools (in conjunction with schedule 4).
(i) sets out the application of the MFG to the early years formula, which applies to base rates.
21. Regulation 21 – New Schools
(i) requires authorities to determine budgets for new schools, but only from their opening (any lead-in costs would need to be funded from a de-delegated contingency).
22. Regulation 24 – Correction of Errors and Changes in Non-Domestic Rates
(i) provides that any redeterminations of budgets due to errors would take effect in the following funding period.
23. Schedule 3 – Additional Requirements , Or Factors Or Criteria Which May Be Taken Into Account, In A Local Authority’s Formula Under Regulation 17
(i) sets out the formula factors which may be used in the schools and early years formulae.
23. Schedule 4 - Minimum Funding Guarantee
(i) sets out the simplified MFG calculation for primary and secondary schools.
Appendices/Supporting Information:
The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013
Further Information Available From: Name: Chris Tombs
Tel: 023 8083 3785
E-mail: [email protected]
Draft for consultation July 12
D R A F T F O R C O N S U L T A T I O N
S T A T U T O R Y I N S T R U M E N T S
2013 No.
EDUCATION, ENGLAND
The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations
2013
Made - - - - 2013
Laid before Parliament 2013
Coming into force - - 2013
CONTENTS
PART 1 Introduction
1. Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
2. Revocation of previous Regulations
3. Amendments
PART 2 Action to be Taken by a Local Authority
CHAPTER 1
Appropriation of the Non-Schools Education Budget
4. The Non-Schools Education Budget
CHAPTER 2
Determination of Schools Budgets, Individual Schools Budgets, and Budget Shares
5. Initial determination of a local authority’s schools budget
6. The schools budget
7. Exceptions
8. Determination of the individual schools budget for the funding period and limit on
increase in central expenditure
9. Consultation
10. Formulae for determination of budget shares etc for certain maintained schools and
early years providers
11. Determination of allocation of budget shares etc for the funding period
Agenda Item 10Appendix 1
CHAPTER 3
Further Deductions and Variations to Limits Authorised by Schools Forums or the Secretary of State
12. Applications to the schools forum and the Secretary of State
PART 3 Formulae for Determination of Budget Shares etc
CHAPTER 1
Requirements, and Factors or Criteria Taken into Account
13. Pupil numbers
14. Places
15. Social Deprivation
16. Special arrangements for pupils in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes
and for children receiving relevant early years provision
17. Differential funding
18. Additional requirements, factors or criteria
19. Minimum funding guarantee
20. Sixth form funding
21. New Schools
22. Federated schools
CHAPTER 2
Adjustments, Correction of Errors, and Additional Arrangements Authorised by Schools Forums or the Secretary of State
23. Pupils permanently excluded from, or leaving, maintained schools
24. Correction of errors and changes in non-domestic rates
25. Additional arrangements approved by Secretary of State or the schools forum
PART 4 Schemes
26. Required content of schemes
27. Approval by the schools forum or the Secretary of State of proposals to revise
schemes
28. Publication of schemes
SCHEDULE 1 — CLASSES OR DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANNED
EXPENDITURE PRESCRIBED FOR THE PURPOSES OF
THE NON-SCHOOLS EDUCATION BUDGET OF A LOCAL
AUTHORITY
SCHEDULE 2 — CLASSES OR DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANNED
EXPENDITURE PRESCRIBED FOR THE PURPOSES OF
THE SCHOOLS BUDGET OF A LOCAL AUTHORITY
WHICH MAY BE DEDUCTED FROM IT TO DETERMINE
THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS BUDGET
PART 1 — Central Services
PART 2 — Central Schools Expenditure
PART 3 —Central Early Years Expenditure
PART 4 — Pupils With High Needs
PART 5 — Items That May Be Removed From Maintained Schools’ Budget Shares
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SCHEDULE 3 — ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, AND FACTORS OR
CRITERIA WHICH MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, IN
A LOCAL AUTHORITY’S FORMULA UNDER
REGULATION 17
PART 1 —Applicable only to budget shares for maintained schools
PART 2 —Applicable only to budget shares for, and amounts to be allocated to, providers
of prescribed early years provision
SCHEDULE 4 — MINIMUM FUNDING GUARANTEE
SCHEDULE 5 — CONTENTS OF SCHEMES
The Secretary of State for Education makes the following Regulations in exercise of powers
conferred by sections 45A(a), 45AA(b), 47(c), 47ZA(d), 47A(4)(e), 48(1) and (2)(f), 49(2) and
(2A)(g) and 138(7) of, and paragraph 2B(h) of Schedule 14 to, the School Standards and
Framework Act 1998(i) and section 24(3) of the Education Act 2002(j).
PART 1
Introduction
Citation, commencement, application and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the School and Early Years Finance (England)
Regulations 2013 and come into force on [ ].
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to the financial year beginning on 1st April 2013.
(3) These Regulations apply only in relation to England.
(4) In these Regulations—
“the 1996 Act” means the Education Act 1996(k);
“the 1998 Act” means the School Standards and Framework Act 1998;
“the 2002 Act” means the Education Act 2002;
“the 2005 Act” means the Education Act 2005(l);
“the 2006 Act” means the Education and Inspections Act 2006(m);
“the 2009 Act” means the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009(n);
“the 2012 Regulations” means the School Finance (England) Regulations 2012(o);
(a) Inserted by section 41(1) of the 2002 Act and amended by section 101 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 16 to, the 2005 Act. (b) Inserted by section 101 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 16 to, the 2005 Act. (c) Amended by section 101 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 16 to, the 2005 Act. (d) Inserted by section 202 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c22). (e) Section 47A was inserted by section 43 of the 2002 Act and amended by section 101 of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 16 to,
the 2002 Act, section 57 of, paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 to, the 2006 Act, section 165 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (c.25) and section 194 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
(f) Section 48 was amended by section 40 of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to, the 2002 Act, section 117 of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 18 to, the 2005 Act, section 57 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 5 to, the 2006 Act.
(g) Subsections (2) and (2A) were substituted for subsections and (3), as originally enacted, by section 57 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to, the 2006 Act.
(h) Paragraphs 2A and 2B of Schedule 14 were substituted for paragraph 2, as originally enacted, by section 57 of, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 to, the 2006 Act.
(i) 1998 c.31. For the meaning of “prescribed” and “regulations”, see section 142(1) of the 1998 Act. (j) 2002 c.32. For the meaning of “prescribed” and “regulations”, see section 212 of the 2002 Act. (k) 1996 c.56. (l) 2005 c.18. (m) 2006 c.40. (n) 2009 c.22. (o) S.I. 2012/335.
3
“capital expenditure” means expenditure of a local authority which falls to be capitalised in
accordance with proper practices, or expenditure treated as capital expenditure by virtue of
any regulations or directions made under section 16 of the Local Government Act 2003(a);
“CRC” means the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme operated by the Environment Agency;
“central expenditure” means the total amount deducted by a local authority from their schools
budget in accordance with regulation 7;
“CERA” means capital expenditure which an authority expect to charge to a revenue account
of the authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Local Government Act 2003;
“children in need” means children in respect of whom the local authority in whose area they
reside must provide a range and level of services appropriate to their needs under section 17 of
the Children Act 1989(b);
“combined service” is a service funded partly from central expenditure, and partly from other
budgets of the authority or contributions from other bodies;
“Dedicated Schools Grant” is a grant of that name paid to a local authority by the Secretary of
State under section 14 of the 2002 Act;
a reference to a determination or redetermination of a budget share or amount to be allocated
is for the funding period, unless otherwise stated;
“early years provision” has the meaning assigned to it in section 20 of the Childcare Act
2006(c);
“expenditure on the schools specific contingency” is central expenditure deducted for the
purpose of ensuring that monies are available to enable increases in a school’s budget share
after it has been allocated where it subsequently becomes apparent that a governing body have
incurred expenditure which it would be unreasonable to expect them to meet from the school’s
budget share which may include expenditure in relation to—
(i) schools in financial difficulty,
(ii) the writing-off of deficits of schools which are discontinued, excluding any
associated costs and overheads,
(iii) new, amalgamating or closing schools, or
(iv) other expenditure where such circumstances were unforeseen when initially
determining the school’s budget share;
a reference to a “governing body” of a school shall include the management committee of a
pupil referral unit;
“funding period” means the financial year beginning on 1st April 2013;
“IDACI” means the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index;
“IDACI bands” means the groupings of IDACI scores as published by the Department for
Education (d);
“IDACI score” means the score allocated to a child under IDACI;
“institution within the further education sector” has the meaning given in section 91(3) of the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992(e);
“key stage” means the key stage of the National Curriculum for England comprising the
requirements and entitlements described in sections 84, 85 and 85A of the 2002 Act(f) and
“key stage 1”, “key stage 2”, “key stage 3” and “key stage 4” mean the first, second, third and
fourth key stages referred to in those sections respectively, and references to the number of
(a) 2003 c.26. Regulations made under this section in relation to England are the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/3146, as amended by S.I. 2004/534, 2004/3055 and 2007/573).
(b) 1989 c.41. (c) 2006 c.21. (d)(e) 1992 c.13. (f) Sections 85 and 85A were substituted for section 85, as originally enacted, by section 74(1) of the 2006 Act.
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pupils at those key stages are references to the number at the school on the date referred to in
regulations 13(3);
“local authority’s formula” means a formula determined under regulation 9;
“looked after child” means a child identified as such by the Department of Education from
information supplied to it by a local authority on the SSDA903 statistical return;
“non-domestic rate” has the meaning given in section 54 of the Local Government Finance
Act 1988(a);
“PFI scheme unitary payment” means a charge payable by a local authority under a private
finance transaction, as defined in regulation 16 of the Local Authorities (Capital Finance)
Regulations 1997(b);
“prescribed early years provision” means early years provision prescribed for the purposes of
section 7(1) of the Childcare Act 2006;
“previous funding period” means the financial year beginning on 1st April 2012;
“primary or secondary school” means a primary or secondary school which is a community,
foundation or voluntary school;
“proper practices” means those accounting practices which a local authority are required to
follow by virtue of any enactment, or which, so far as they are consistent with any such
enactment are generally regarded, whether by reference to any generally recognised published
code or otherwise, as proper accounting practices to be followed in the keeping of the
accounts of local authorities, either generally or of the description concerned(c);
“provider”, in relation to prescribed early years provision, may be a governing body of a
school or a relevant early years provider;
“prudential borrowing” means borrowing money for the purpose of facilitating the
modernisation and rationalisation of the school estate, where the revenue savings expected to
be achieved are equal to or more than the expenditure expected to be incurred in borrowing
the money;
“pupil premium” means the amount allocated by a local authority from the pupil premium
grant to a school in respect of each registered pupil at that school who is entitled to it under the
terms and conditions of the grant;
“pupil premium grant” is a grant of that name paid to a local authority by the Secretary of
State under section 14 of the 2002 Act in respect of pupils who are entitled to a pupil
premium;
“relevant early years provider” means a provider of prescribed early years provision, other
than the governing body of a maintained school;
“relevant early years provision” means prescribed early years provision provided by a relevant
early years provider;
“school census” and “termly school census” means the information of that name compiled by
the Department for Education in respect of pupils at schools;
“schools member of the schools forum” means a member of the schools forum elected under
regulation 5 of the Schools Forum (England) Regulations(d);
“school year” has the meaning given in section 579(1) of the 1996 Act(e);
(a) 1988 c.41. (b) S.I. 1997/319. These Regulations have lapsed but article 11 of the Local Authorities (Capital Finance) (Consequential,
Transitional and Savings Provisions) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/533) contains a savings provision for regulation 16 of the 1997 Regulations.
(c) This definition is taken from section 21 of the Local Government Act 2003 and regulation 31 of the Local Government (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/3146).
(d) [XXXX] (e) Section 57(1) of, and paragraph 43 of Schedule 7 to, the Education Act 1997 (c.44) inserted this definition.
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“sixth form grant” means a grant of that name paid to a local authority by the Secretary of
State under section 14 of the 2002 Act in respect of sixth form pupils, on condition that it is
passed on to a particular school;
“special Academy” means an Academy which meets the requirements of section 1A(2) of the
Academies Act 2010(a);
“specific grant” means any grant (other than the Dedicated Schools Grant or any sixth form
grant) paid to a local authority under conditions which impose restrictions on the particular
purposes for which the grant may be used;
a reference to “termination of employment costs”, for the purposes of paragraph 5(b) of
Schedule 2, is a reference to expenditure relating to the dismissal or premature retirement of,
or for the purpose of securing the resignation of, any person employed in a maintained school;
“unavoidable costs” means costs which must be incurred by virtue of a statutory requirement.
(5) In these Regulations—
a reference to a particular class or description of expenditure in relation to maintained schools
and to pupils registered at such schools includes such expenditure of that class or description
as the authority may incur in relation to Academies, and to pupils registered at Academies;
and
a reference to a person being subject to learning difficulty assessment has the same meaning as
in section 13(4) of the 1996 Act.
Revocation of previous Regulations
2. The School Finance (England) Regulations 2011(b) and the School Finance (Amendment)
(England) Regulations 2011 (c) are revoked on 1st April 2013.
Amendments
3.—(1) The Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012(d) are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 8, after paragraph (11) insert—
“(11A). Only the schools members of the schools forum who are representatives of
primary schools (other than nursery schools) may vote to decide whether or not to authorise
the matters referred to in regulation 12(1) of the School and Early Years Finance (England)
Regulations 2013 where they relate to primary schools (other than nursery schools).
(11B). Only the schools members of the schools forum who are representatives of
secondary schools may vote to decide on whether or not to authorise the matters referred to
in regulation 12(1) of the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013
where they relate to secondary schools.”
(a) c.32 as amended by section 53(7) of the Education Act 2011 (c.21). (b) S.I. 2011/371. (c) S.I. 2011/778. (d) [XXXX]
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PART 2
Action to be Taken by a Local Authority
CHAPTER 1
Appropriation of the Non-Schools Education Budget
The Non-Schools Education Budget
4. The following classes or descriptions of local authority expenditure are prescribed for the
purposes of section 45A(1) of the 1998 Act and the determination of a local authority’s non-
schools education budget, subject to the exceptions in regulation 6—
(a) those specified in Schedule 1, including expenditure on associated administrative costs
and overheads; and
(b) any expenditure which falls outside the classes or descriptions of expenditure specified in
regulation 6 and Schedule 2 (the schools budget).
CHAPTER 2
Determination of Schools Budgets, Individual Schools Budgets, and Budget Shares
Initial determination of a local authority’s schools budget
5. A local authority must not later than 15th March 2013—
(a) make an initial determination of their schools budget; and
(b) give notice of that determination to the governing bodies of the schools they maintain.
The schools budget
6.—(1) The classes or descriptions of local authority expenditure specified in sub-paragraphs (a)
to (e) and Schedule 2 are prescribed for the purposes of section 45A(2) of the 1998 Act and the
determination of a local authority’s schools budget, subject to paragraph (2) and the exceptions in
regulation 7—
(a) expenditure on the provision and maintenance of maintained schools and on the education
of pupils registered at maintained schools;
(b) expenditure on the education of pupils at independent schools, non-maintained special
schools, pupil referral units, at home or in hospital, and on any other arrangements for the
provision of primary and secondary education for pupils otherwise than at schools
maintained by a local authority;
(c) all other expenditure incurred in connection with the authority’s functions in relation to
the provision of primary and secondary education, in so far as that expenditure does not
fall within sub-paragraph (a) or (b);
(d) expenditure on the education of pupils or students up to the age of 25 years with special
educational needs, or persons provided with further education who are under 25 and are
subject to learning difficulty assessment(a), in so far as that expenditure does not fall
within sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c); and
(e) expenditure on early years provision, in so far as that expenditure does not fall within
sub-paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).
(2) Where a local authority operates a combined service for the benefit of pupils referred to in
paragraph (1), expenditure referred to in paragraph 36(c) of Schedule 2 of the 2012 Regulations is
only expenditure prescribed for the purposes of section 45A(2) to the 1998 Act and the
(a) “Learning difficulty assessment” has the meaning given in section 13(5) of the 1996 Act.
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determination of a local authority’s schools budget where that expenditure is incurred in providing
an educational benefit to those pupils.
Exceptions
7. A local authority’s non-schools education budget or schools budget must not include the
following classes or descriptions of expenditure—
(a) capital expenditure, other than—
(i) CERA,
(ii) capital expenditure appropriated to the schools budget for the purpose of funding pay
arrears due to staff whose salaries are met from the schools budget;
(b) expenditure on capital financing, other than expenditure incurred—
(i) on prudential borrowing,
(ii) for the purpose of meeting the costs of financing the payment of pay arrears referred
to in paragraph (a)(ii); and
(c) expenditure for the purposes of section 26 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(a)
(arrangements for patrolling school crossings).
Determination of the individual schools budget for the funding period and limit on increase
in central expenditure
8.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (8), not later than 15th March 2013, a local authority must
deduct from their schools budget such of the classes or descriptions of planned expenditure set out
in Schedule 2 (“the central expenditure”) as they propose to deduct, in order to determine their
individual schools budget.
(2) Central expenditure referred to at paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 (Central Services) of
Schedule 2 may only be deducted by the local authority where the expenditure is to be incurred as
a result of decisions taken in previous funding periods that commit the authority to incur
expenditure in the funding period.
(3) In deducting the central expenditure referred to in Part 1 (Central Services) of Schedule 2, a
local authority must not exceed the limits referred to in paragraph 6 of Schedule 2.
(4) A local authority may not deduct the central expenditure referred to in paragraph 9 of
Schedule 2 without authorisation from their schools forum, under regulation 12(1), or the
Secretary of State under regulation 12(3) of the criteria for determining the expenditure, and must
consult their schools forum before incurring expenditure on that item.
(5) A local authority may not deduct the central expenditure referred to in Part 1 (Central
Services), Part 2 (Central Schools Expenditure), Part 3 (Central Early Years Expenditure) or Part 5
(Items That May Be Removed From Maintained Schools’ Budget Shares) of Schedule 2 without
authorisation from their schools forum under regulation 12(1), or the Secretary of State under
regulation 12(3).
(6) Where a local authority carries forward a deficit in the central expenditure from the previous
funding period to the funding period, which reduces the amount of the schools budget available,
the funding of this deficit from the schools budget must be authorised by their schools forum
under regulation 12(1), or the Secretary of State under regulation 12(3).
(7) A local authority may apply to the Secretary of State for authorisation under regulation 12(4)
to deduct any expenditure falling outside of the classes or descriptions of planned expenditure
referred to in Schedule 2 from the authority’s schools budget in order to determine their individual
schools budget.
(a) 1984 c.27. Section 26 was amended by section 8 of, and Schedule 5 to, the Local Government Act 1985 (c.51), sections 288 and 423 of, and Schedule 34 to, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c.29) and sections 270 and 274 of, and Schedule 31 to, the Transport Act 2000 (c.38).
8
(8) References to planned expenditure in this regulation are references to that expenditure net
of—
(a) all related specific grants;
(b) all related fees, charges and income; and
(c) any funding received from the Secretary of State in respect of PFI scheme unitary
payments,
and the expenditure referred to in Schedule 2 includes expenditure on associated
administrative costs and overheads unless otherwise stated
Consultation
9.—(1) A local authority may make changes to the formulae they have used in the financial year
beginning 1st April 2012.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4), a local authority must consult their schools forum and schools
maintained by them about any proposed changes under paragraph (1), in relation to the factors and
criteria taken into account, and the methods, principles and rules adopted.
(3) Where a local authority proposes to makes changes under paragraph (1) which will affect
relevant early years providers in their area they must also consult those providers in relation to the
factors and criteria taken into account, and the methods, principles and rules adopted.
(4) Paragraph (2) does not apply to changes made relating to matters referred to in regulation 20
(sixth form funding) or 23 (excluded pupils).
Formulae for determination of budget shares etc for certain maintained schools and early
years providers
10.—(1) A local authority must, before the beginning of the funding period and after carrying
out any consultation required by regulation 9(2), decide upon the formula which they will use to
determine the budget shares for schools maintained by them (other than special schools, pupil
referral units and nursery schools).
(2) A local authority must use the formula determined under paragraph (1) in all determinations
of school budget shares in respect of the funding period.
(3) A local authority must, before the beginning of the funding period and after carrying out any
consultation required by regulation 9(2) or 9(3), decide upon the formula they will use to
determine—
(a) the budget shares for nursery schools maintained by them;
(b) the amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them;
(c) the amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area.
(4) A local authority must use the formula determined under paragraph (3) in all determinations
of budget shares for nursery schools maintained by them, the amounts to be allocated in respect of
nursery classes in schools maintained by them and the amounts to be allocated to relevant early
years providers in their area in respect of the funding period.
(5) A local authority may not make changes to their formulae after the funding period has
commenced.
Determination of allocation of budget shares etc for the funding period
11.—(1) Not later than 15th March 2013, a local authority must determine the budget share for
each of the schools maintained by them (other than special schools, pupil referral units and
nursery schools), using the formula referred to in regulation 10(1) in accordance with Part 3 of
these regulations.
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(2) After the local authority has made a determination under paragraph (1) but before giving
notice under paragraph (5), the authority, may apply to their schools forum under regulation 12(1),
or to the Secretary of State under regulation 12(3) for authorisation to redetermine schools’ budget
shares by removing any of the expenditure referred to in Part 5 of Schedule 2 (Items That May Be
Removed From Maintained Schools’ Budget Shares) from the budget shares of
(a) all primary (other than nursery) schools,
(b) all secondary schools, or
(c) all primary (other than nursery) and all secondary schools
where the expenditure is instead to be treated as central expenditure.
(3) Not later than 15th March 2013, a local authority must determine the budget share for each
of the special schools and pupil referral units maintained by them in accordance with Part 3 of
these regulations.
(4) Not later than 31st March 2013 a local authority must determine the budget share for each of
the nursery schools maintained by them, the amount to be allocated in respect of each nursery
class in schools maintained by them and the amount to be allocated to each relevant early years
provider in their area, using the formula referred to in regulation 10(3) in accordance with Part 3
of these Regulations.
(5) Not later than 31st March 2013, a local authority must give notice of each budget share or
amount determined under paragraphs (1), (3) and (4) to the governing body of the school or the
relevant early years provider concerned, except where an application has been made under
paragraph (2) and this has been authorised by the schools forum or the Secretary of State in which
case the authority must give notice of the redetermined budget share.
CHAPTER 3
Further Deductions and Variations to Limits Authorised by Schools Forums or the Secretary of State
Applications to the schools forum and the Secretary of State
12.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), on the application of a local authority, their schools forum
may authorise—
(a) the criteria for determining expenditure referred to in paragraph 9 of Schedule 2, under
regulation 8(4);
(b) the making of deductions from the authority’s schools budget of certain central
expenditure under regulation 8(5);
(b) the funding of any deficit in the authority’s central expenditure from the schools budget
under regulation 8(6); or
(c) the redetermination of schools’ budget shares by removal of any of the expenditure
referred to in Part 5 of Schedule 2 (Items That May Be Removed From Maintained
Schools’ Budget Shares) from schools’ budget shares where it is instead to be treated by
the authority as central expenditure, under regulation 11(2). .
(2) Where—
(a) a schools forum does not authorise any of the matters referred to in paragraph (1); or
(b) a local authority are not required to establish a schools forum for their area,
the authority may make an application to the Secretary of State for such authorisation..
(3) On the application of a local authority under paragraph (2), the Secretary of State may
authorise the matters referred to in paragraph (1).
(4) On the application of a local authority under regulation 8(7) the Secretary of State may
authorise the authority to deduct any expenditure falling outside of the classes or descriptions of
planned expenditure referred to in Schedule 2 from the authority’s schools budget in order to
determine their individual schools budget.
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PART 3
Formulae for Determination of Budget Shares etc
CHAPTER 1
Requirements, and Factors and Criteria Taken into Account
Pupil numbers
13.—(1) Subject to regulation 16 (special arrangements for pupils in maintained nursery schools
and nursery classes and children receiving relevant early years provision) and paragraph (2), in
determining and redetermining budget shares for primary and secondary schools, a local authority
must ascertain and take into account in their formula the number of registered pupils at those
schools on the date specified in paragraph (3).
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the number of registered pupils does not include pupils—
(a) in places in primary or secondary schools which the authority have reserved for children
with special educational needs, or
(b) in respect of whom a sixth form grant is payable.
(3) The date for ascertaining pupil numbers is 4th October 2012.
(4) Where a primary school has more registered pupils in reception classes on 19th January 2012
than on 6thOctober 2011, the authority may take into account in their formula the number of
additional pupils, and where it does so this factor must be applied to all primary schools in the
area.
(5) A local authority must include in their formula a single per pupil amount for each of the
following—
(a) the number of registered pupils in reception classes and at key stage 1 and 2,
(b) the number of registered pupils at key stage 3, and
(c) the number of registered pupils at key stage 4,
where the number of registered pupils is calculated with reference to paragraphs (1) to (4).
Places
14.—(1) In determining and redetermining budget shares, a local authority must include the sum
of £10,000 for each place (other than places for sixth form pupils) in—
(a) special schools; and
(b) primary or secondary schools with places which the authority have reserved for children
with special educational needs.
(2) In determining and redetermining budget shares a local authority must include the sum of
£8,000 for each place in pupil referral units.
Social deprivation
15.—(1) In determining budget shares for schools maintained by them, a local authority must
take into account in their formula a factor or factors based on the incidence of social deprivation
among pupils registered at the schools maintained by them, subject to paragraphs (2) to (4).
(2) The authority must base the determination of the incidence of social deprivation referred to
in paragraph (1) on one or more of the following—
(a) the pupil’s eligibility for free school meals as recorded on the October 2012 school
census,
(b) the pupil’s eligibility for free school meals as recorded on any termly school census
between and including the Summer 2006 and Spring 2012 censuses, or
(c) the pupil’s IDACI score on the date specified in regulation 13(3),
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and where it is based on an IDACI score the authority may use factors which differentiate between
different IDACI bands.
(3) In determining budget shares pursuant to paragraph (1) the authority may take into account
in their formula a single per pupil amount for each socially deprived pupil in reception classes and
at key stage 1 and 2, and a single per pupil amount for each socially deprived pupil at key stage 3
and 4.
(4) In paragraph (3) a reference to a “socially deprived pupil” is to a pupil who has been
determined as being such pursuant to paragraph (2).
(5) Other than in respect of two year olds, in determining—
(a) budget shares for maintained nursery schools,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them, and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area,
a local authority must take into account in their formula a factor or factors based on the incidence
of social deprivation among pupils registered at the nursery school or in the nursery class or
among children receiving relevant early years provision from the provider, and the determination
of the incidence of social deprivation must be based on the characteristics of the pupil or child and
not on the location of the school or provider.
(6) In determining—
(a) budget shares for maintained nursery schools,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them, and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area,
in respect of two year olds, a local authority may take into account in their formula a factor or
factors based on the incidence of social deprivation among pupils registered at the nursery school
or in the nursery class or among children receiving relevant early years provision from the
provider, and the determination of the incidence of social deprivation must be based on the
characteristics of the pupil or child and not on the location of the school or provider.
Special arrangements for pupils in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes and for
children receiving relevant early years provision
16.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), in determining—
(a) budget shares for nursery schools maintained by them,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them, and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area,
a local authority must take into account in their formula the predicted total number of hours of
attendance of registered pupils in the nursery school or nursery class or of children receiving
prescribed early years provision from the relevant early years provider, as the case may be, using
as a basis for the calculation the most recent data available about the actual numbers of registered
pupils or children.
(2) A local authority must review the budget share for each maintained nursery school and the
amount allocated in respect of each nursery class when further information about the hours of
attendance becomes available, taking into account—
(a) in the case where the local authority decide to fund only prescribed early years
provision—
(i) the predicted total number of hours of attendance of registered pupils in the nursery
school or nursery class who will receive prescribed early years provision during the
period (using as a basis for the calculation the actual hours of such attendance in
each of at least three sample weeks); or
(ii) the actual total number of hours of such attendance for the period;
12
(b) in the case where the local authority decide to fund early years provision in excess of that
which is prescribed—
(i) the predicted total number of hours of attendance of registered pupils in the nursery
school or nursery class who will receive early years provision during the period
(using as a basis for the calculation the actual hours of such attendance in each of at
least three sample weeks); or
(ii) the actual total number of hours of such attendance for the period; and
redetermine that budget share or amount allocated, as the case may be.
(3) A local authority must review the amount allocated to each relevant early years provider,
when further information about hours of attendance becomes available, taking into account—
(a) the predicted total number of hours of attendance of children who will receive prescribed
early years provision from the relevant early years provider during the period (using as a
basis for the calculation the actual hours of such attendance in at least three sample
weeks); or
(b) the actual total numbers of hours of such attendance for the period; and
redetermine the amount allocated.
(4) Where a local authority make any redetermination pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) they must
give notice to the governing body of the school or the relevant early years provider concerned of
the redetermination and the date on which it will be implemented, within 28 days of the
redetermination.
(5) When determining budget shares for maintained nursery schools, amounts to be allocated in
respect of nursery classes and amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their
area, a local authority may weight the predicted total number of hours of attendance of registered
pupils in the nursery school or nursery class or of children receiving prescribed early years
provision from the relevant early years provider, according to the special educational needs of any
such pupils or children.
(6) When determining amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area, a
local authority may weight the predicted total number of hours of attendance of children receiving
prescribed early years provision from the relevant early years provider, according to whether any
children have been admitted to the relevant early years provider in excess of the number agreed
with the authority.
(7) When determining—
(a) budget shares for maintained nursery schools,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes maintained by them and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers,
a local authority may take into account in their formula the number of places they wish to fund in
the school, class or provider (instead of the predicted total number of hours of attendance), where
those places have been reserved by the authority for children with special educational needs,
children in need, children of the description prescribed by regulation 3(2) of the Local Authority
(Duty to secure early years provision free of charge) Regulations 2012/ xxx or other two year olds
whom the local authority wish to fund in accordance with their policy set in accordance with the
guidance [name] made under section 7(3) of the Childcare Act 2006.
Differential funding
17. For the purpose of determining or redetermining—
(a) budget shares for maintained nursery schools,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area,
a local authority may use factors or criteria which differentiate between different categories or
descriptions of school or provider on the basis of unavoidable costs.
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Additional requirements, factors or criteria
18.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) and regulation 17 (differential funding), in determining budget
shares, a local authority may take into account in their formula any or all of the requirements,
factors or criteria set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3.
(2) In determining budget shares for nursery schools maintained by them, amounts to be
allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them and amounts to be allocated
to relevant early years providers in their area, a local authority may take into account in their
formula any or all of the requirements, factors or criteria set out in Part 2 of Schedule 3.
(3) The requirements, factors and criteria set out in Schedule 3 may not be taken into account by
a local authority on the basis of actual or estimated cost unless otherwise stated in that Schedule.
(4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), in determining the budget shares for schools maintained by
them (other than special schools, pupil referral units and nursery schools), with reference to the
per pupil amount of redetermined adjusted budget share for the previous funding period, a local
authority may—
(a) determine a percentage beyond which the per pupil amount of redetermined adjusted
budget share a school would otherwise be allocated must not increase by, or
(b) determine a proportionate limit to this increase.
(4) In paragraph (5) references to “redetermined adjusted budget share” and “redetermined
adjusted budget share for the previous funding period” have the same meanings as in Schedule 4.
(5) Where the authority decide to determine such a percentage under paragraph (4) it must be
applied to the budget shares of all schools in the local authority area.
Minimum funding guarantee
19.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), in determining and redetermining budget shares for primary
and secondary schools maintained by them, a local authority must ensure that an amount equal to
the guaranteed funding level is included, calculated in accordance with Schedule 4.
(2) For the purposes of determining budget shares, paragraph (1) does not apply to any school
opening during the funding period, except in the circumstances set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule
4;
(3) In determining and redetermining—
(a) budget shares for nursery schools maintained by them,
(b) amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them and
(c) amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area,
a local authority must ensure that the number by which they multiply the predicted total number of
hours calculated pursuant to regulation 15(1) is no lower than 1.5 percent less than the number by
which they multiplied the predicted total number of hours calculated pursuant to regulation 16(1)
of the 2012 Regulations for making such determinations in the previous funding period.
(4) A local authority may make changes to the operation of this regulation and to the operation
of Schedule 4 in determining and redetermining budget shares where authorised to do so by the
Secretary of State under regulation 23 (additional arrangements).
Sixth form funding
20.—(1) A local authority must include in the budget shares of secondary and special schools an
amount equal to any sum notified to the local authority by the Secretary of State as being the
allocation in respect of that school’s sixth form grant.
(2) A local authority may, in determining budget shares, use a factor which allocates funding in
respect of the number of registered pupils in sixth forms on [XXXX] October 2012 subject to the
limitation in paragraph (3).
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(3) Where a local authority use a factor in determining budget shares pursuant to paragraph (2)
they must ensure that amount allocated per pupil in respect of this factor in the funding period is
no greater that the amount that was allocated per pupil in sixth forms in the previous funding
period, save that in determining the amount allocated per pupil in the previous funding period no
account should be taken of amounts that formed part of central expenditure in that funding period..
(4) A local authority must redetermine the budget share of a secondary school before the end of
the funding period where the authority receive a written notification from the Secretary of State of
a revised allocation in respect of the sum referred to in paragraph (1).
New schools
21.—(1) A local authority must determine a budget share for any new school in its area from the
date of the school’s opening in accordance with this Part.
Federated schools
22.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), where two or more schools are federated under
section 24 of the 2002 Act, the local authority must determine a budget share for each school in
accordance with Part 3 of these Regulations.
(2) After carrying out the determination under paragraph (1) the local authority may treat the
schools as a single school for the purposes of these Regulations and, accordingly, allocate a single
budget share to the governing body of the federation.
(3) Where the local authority decide to allocate a single budget share to the governing body of a
federation under paragraph (2) they must determine this by combining the budget shares of all the
schools that form part of that federation.
(4) Where one or more schools are to leave a federation which has been allocated a single
budget share under paragraph (1), the local authority must—
(a) determine the budget share for each of the leaving schools; and
(b) redetermine the budget share for the federation,
in accordance with Part 3 of these Regulations.
CHAPTER 2
Adjustments, Correction of Errors, and Additional Arrangements Authorised by Schools Forums
or the Secretary of State
Pupils permanently excluded from, or leaving, maintained schools
23.—(1) Where a pupil is permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local authority
other than a pupil referral unit (“the excluding school”) the authority must redetermine the
excluding school’s budget share in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) The excluding school’s budget share must be reduced by the amount A x (B / 52) where—
(a) A is the amount determined by the authority in accordance with this Part, that would be
attributable to a registered pupil of the same age and personal circumstances as the pupil
in question at primary or secondary schools maintained by the authority for the full
funding period; and
(b) B is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date, except that where the permanent exclusion takes effect on or after 1st April
in a school year at the end of which pupils of the same age, or age group, as the pupil in
question normally leave that school before being admitted to another school with a
different pupil age range, B is the number of complete weeks remaining in that school
year calculated from the relevant date.
(3) Where a pupil who has been permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local
authority is admitted to another school maintained by a local authority other than a pupil referral
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unit (“the admitting school”) in the funding period, the authority must redetermine the admitting
school’s budget share in accordance with paragraph (4).
(4) The admitting school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which may not be less
than the amount D x (E / F) where—
(a) D is the amount by which the authority reduced the budget share of the excluding school,
or would have reduced the budget share had that school been maintained by the authority;
(b) E is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the
pupil is a registered pupil at the admitting school; and
(c) F is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date.
(5) Where a permanently excluded pupil is subsequently reinstated by the governing body of the
school or by an appeal panel constituted under regulations made under section 52 of the 2002 Act,
the school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which is no less than G x (H / I)
where—
(a) G is the amount by which the authority reduced the school’s budget share under
paragraph (2);
(b) H is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the
pupil is reinstated; and
(c) I is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date.
(6) Paragraphs (1) and (2) also apply where a pupil leaves a maintained school other than a pupil
referral unit for reasons other than permanent exclusion and is receiving education funded by a
local authority other than at a school which is maintained by that authority.
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), the amount attributable to a registered pupil is the sum
of the amounts determined in accordance with the authority’s formula, by reference to pupil
numbers rather than by reference any other factor or criterion not dependent on pupil numbers
(except that, where the registered pupil in question is a pupil in respect of whom a sixth form grant
is payable, the amount attributable to that pupil is £3,135 for the funding period).
(8) Where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable has been permanently
excluded from a school maintained by a local authority other than a pupil referral unit (“the
excluding school”) the local authority must redetermine the excluding school’s budget share in
accordance with paragraph (9).
(9) The excluding school’s budget share must be reduced by J x (K/52) where—
(a) J is the amount of the pupil premium allocated to the excluding school for the funding
period in respect of that child;
(b) K is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date, except that where the permanent exclusion takes effect on or after 1st April
in a school year at the end of which pupils of the same age, or age group, as the pupil in
question normally leave that school before being admitted to another school with a
different pupil age range, K is the number of complete weeks remaining in that school
year calculated from the relevant date.
(10) Where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable has been permanently
excluded from a school maintained by a local authority and admitted to another school maintained
by a local authority other than a pupil referral unit (“the admitting school”) in the funding period,
the authority must redetermine the budget share of the admitting school in accordance with
paragraph (11).
(11) The admitting school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which may not be less
than L x (M/N) where—
(a) L is the amount by which the authority reduced the budget share of the excluding school
or would have reduced the budget share had that school been maintained by the authority;
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(b) M is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the
pupil is a registered pupil at the admitting school; and
(c) N is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date.
(12) Where a permanently excluded pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable is
subsequently reinstated by the governing body of the school or by an appeal panel constituted
under regulations made under section 52 of the 2002 Act, the school’s budget share must be
increased by an amount which is no less than O x (P / Q) where—
(a) O is the amount by which the authority reduced the school’s budget share under
paragraph (9);
(b) P is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the
pupil is reinstated; and
(c) Q is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the
relevant date.
(13) Paragraphs (8) and (9) also apply where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is
payable leaves a maintained school other than a pupil referral unit for reasons other than
permanent exclusion and is receiving education funded by a local authority other than at a school
which is maintained by that authority.
(14) For the purposes of this regulation, “the relevant date” is the sixth school day following the
date on which the pupil has been permanently excluded.
Correction of errors and changes in non-domestic rates
24.—(1) A local authority may at any time during the funding period redetermine a school’s
budget share for the funding period or any earlier funding period in order to correct an error in a
determination or redetermination under these or any previous Regulations, whether arising from a
mistake as to the number of registered pupils at the school or otherwise, any such redetermination
will take effect in the following funding period.
(2) A local authority may redetermine a school’s budget share to take into account any changes
in that school’s non-domestic rate liability in relation to the funding period or any earlier funding
period.
(3) In so far as any redetermination under paragraph (1) would require the amount that would
otherwise have been the budget share of a school to be reduced, it may not be reduced to a figure
which is lower than that which could have been allocated to that school under the regulations in
force during the funding period in which the error occurred.
Additional arrangements approved by Secretary of State
25.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a local authority may apply to the Secretary of State
for authorisation or authorisations to determine or redetermine budget shares of schools
maintained by them.
(2) The Secretary of State may authorise the authority to determine or redetermine budget shares
to such extent as the Secretary of State may specify in accordance with arrangements approved by
him in place of the arrangements provided for by these Regulations but these arrangements may
only relate to—
(a) additional factors or criteria that the authority propose to include in its formula, or
(b) what amounts a school’s redetermined adjusted budget shall be reduced by for the
purpose of determining the guaranteed level of funding in paragraph 2(e) of Schedule 4,
or
(c) the variation of the operation of regulation 13 (pupil numbers).
(3) The authority may only make an application to the Secretary of State under paragraphs (2)(a)
and (b) where the nature of a school’s premises exceptionally gives rise to significant additional
cost.
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(4) A local authority may apply to the Secretary of State to include additional factors or criteria
in its formula for determining and redetermining budget shares for nursery schools maintained by
them, amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained by them and
amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area.
(5) On an application of a local authority under paragraph (4) the Secretary of State may
authorise the authority to include in its formula such factors or criteria proposed by the authority.
(6) A local authority may apply to the Secretary of State for authorisation to vary the operation
of regulation 18(3) in the determination and redetermination of budget shares for nursery schools
maintained by them, amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools maintained
by them and amounts to be allocated to relevant early years providers in their area.
(7) On application of a local authority under paragraph (6) the Secretary of State may authorise
the authority to vary the operation of regulation 18(3) as proposed by the authority.
PART 3
Schemes
Required content of schemes
26. A scheme prepared by a local authority under section 48(1) of the 1998 Act must deal with
the matters connected with the financing of schools maintained by the authority set out in
Schedule 5.
Approval by the schools forum or the Secretary of State of proposals to revise schemes
27.—(1) Where a local authority submit a copy of their proposals to revise their scheme to their
schools forum for approval pursuant to paragraph 2A(3)(b) of Schedule 14 to the 1998 Act, the
members of the schools forum that represent schools maintained by the authority may—
(a) approve any such proposals;
(b) approve any such proposals subject to modifications; or
(c) refuse to approve any such proposals.
(2) Where the schools forum approve the proposals to revise the scheme, they may specify the
date upon which the revised scheme is to come into force.
(3) Where—
(a) the schools forum refuse to approve proposals submitted under paragraph 2A(3)(b) of
Schedule 14 to the 1998 Act, or approve any such proposals subject to modifications
which are not acceptable to the local authority; or
(b) the local authority are not required to establish a schools forum for their area,
the authority may apply to the Secretary of State for approval of such proposals.
(4) The Secretary of State may—
(a) approve any such proposals;
(b) approve any such proposals subject to modifications; or
(c) refuse to approve any such proposals.
(5) When approving proposals to revise the scheme, the Secretary of State may specify the date
upon which the revised scheme is to come into force.
(6) No revised scheme is to come into force unless approved by the schools forum or the
Secretary of State in accordance with this regulation.
Publication of schemes
28.—(1) A local authority—
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(a) must publish their scheme on a website which is accessible to the general public; and
(b) may publish it elsewhere, in such manner as they see fit.
(2) Whenever a local authority revise the whole or part of their scheme they must publish the
scheme as revised on a website which is accessible to the general public by the date that the
revisions are due to come into force, together with a statement that the revised scheme comes into
force on that date.
[Name]
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
[Date] Department for Education
SCHEDULE 1 Regulation 4
CLASSES OR DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANNED EXPENDITURE PRESCRIBED FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE NON-SCHOOLS
EDUCATION BUDGET OF A LOCAL AUTHORITY
Special educational provision
1. Expenditure on services provided by educational psychologists.
2. Expenditure in connection with the authority’s functions under sections 321 to 331 of the
1996 Act (which functions relate to the identification and assessment of children with special
educational needs and the making, maintaining and reviewing of statements for such children).
3. Expenditure on monitoring the provision for pupils in schools (whether or not maintained by
the authority) for the purposes of disseminating good practice in relation to, and improving the
quality of educational provision for, children with special educational needs.
4. Expenditure on collaboration with other statutory and voluntary bodies to provide support for
children with special educational needs.
5. Expenditure in connection with—
(a) the provision of parent partnership services (that is services provided under section 332A
of the 1996 Act to give advice and information to parents of children with special
educational needs), or other guidance and information to such parents which, in relation
to pupils at a school maintained by the authority, are in addition to the information
usually provided by the governing bodies of such schools; or
(b) arrangements made by the authority with a view to avoiding or resolving disagreements
with the parents of children with special educational needs.
6. Expenditure on carrying out the authority’s child protection functions under the Children Act
1989, functions under section 175 of the 2002 Act, and other functions relating to child protection.
7. Expenditure incurred in entering into, or subsequently incurred pursuant to, an arrangement
under section 31 of the Health Act 1999(a) or regulations made under section 75 of the National
Health Service Act 2006(b) (arrangements between NHS bodies and local authorities).
(a) 1999 c.8. Section 31 was repealed by section 6 of, and Schedule 4 to, the National Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 (c.43) but section 4 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to, that Act contains a savings provision which means that arrangements made under section 31 of the 1999 Act continue to have effect as if made under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006.
(b) 2006 c. 41.
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8. Expenditure on the provision of special medical support for individual pupils in so far as such
expenditure is not met by a Primary Care Trust, National Health Service Trust, NHS foundation
trust or Local Health Board.
School improvement
9. Expenditure incurred by a local authority in respect of action to support the improvement of
standards in the authority’s schools, in particular expenditure incurred in connection with
functions under the following sections of the 2006 Act—
(a) section 60 (performance standards and safety warning notice),
(b) section 60A (teachers’ pay and conditions warning notice),
(c) section 63 (power of local authority to require governing bodies of schools eligible for
intervention to enter into arrangements),
(d) section 64 (power of local authority to appoint additional governors),
(e) section 65 (power of local authority to provide for governing bodies to consist of interim
executive members) and Schedule 6; and
(f) section 66 (power of local authority to suspend right to delegated budget).
Access to education
10. Expenditure in relation to the following matters—
(a) management of the authority’s capital programme including preparation and review of an
asset management plan and negotiation and management of private finance transactions;
(b) planning and managing the supply of school places, including the authority’s functions in
relation to the establishment, alteration or discontinuance of schools pursuant to Part 2 of,
and Schedule 2 to, the 2006 Act;
(c) the authority’s functions in relation to the exclusion of pupils from schools, excluding any
provision of education to excluded pupils, but including advice to the parents of such
pupils;
(d) the authority’s functions under sections 508A, 508E and 509 (school travel) of the 1996
Act; and
(e) the authority’s functions under sections 510 and 514 of the 1996 Act (provision and
administration of clothing grants and boarding grants), and pursuant to regulations made
under section 518(2) of the 1996 Act.
11. Expenditure arising from the authority’s functions under Chapter 2 of Part 6 of the 1996 Act
(school attendance).
12. Expenditure on the provision of support for students under regulations made under section
1(1) of the Education Act 1962 and under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act
1998.
13. Expenditure on discretionary grants paid under section 1(6) or 2 of the Education Act
1962(a) (awards for designated and other courses).
14. Expenditure on the payment of 16-19 Bursaries(b).
(a) 1962 c.12. The 1962 Act was repealed by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c.30) with transitional savings provisions. The repeal does not affect the continued operation of the provisions that relate to the making of subordinate legislation. Relevant regulations made under section 1(1) of the 1962 Act are the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1994), as amended by S.I. 2004/1038 and 2004/1792). These Regulations describe the designated courses and methodology for calculating grants.
(b) A 16-19 Bursary is financial assistance under section 14 of the 2002 Act paid to, or in respect of, a person who is aged 16 to19 in connection with his undertaking any course or training.
20
15. Expenditure on the provision of tuition in music, or on other activities which provide
opportunities for pupils to enhance their experience of music.
16. Expenditure incurred in enabling pupils to enhance their experience of the visual, creative
and performing arts other than music.
17. Expenditure on outdoor education centres, but not including centres wholly or mainly for the
provision of organised games, swimming or athletics.
Additional education and training for children, young persons and adults
18. Expenditure on the provision of education and training and of organised leisure time
occupation, and other provision under sections 15ZA and 15ZC of the 1996 Act.
19. Expenditure on the provision by the local authority under sections 507A and 507B of the
1996 Act of recreation, social and physical training, educational leisure-time activities and
recreational leisure-time activities.
Strategic management
20. Expenditure on education functions related to—
(a) functions of the director of children’s services and the personal staff of the director;
(b) planning for the education service as a whole;
(c) functions of the authority under Part I of the Local Government Act 1999(a) (Best Value)
and the provision of advice to assist governing bodies in procuring goods and services
with a view to securing continuous improvement in the way the functions of those
governing bodies are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency
and effectiveness;
(d) revenue budget preparation, preparation of information on income and expenditure
relating to education for incorporation into the authority’s annual statement of accounts,
and the external audit of grant claims and returns relating to education;
(e) administration of grants to the authority (including preparation of applications), functions
imposed by or under Chapter IV of Part 2 of the 1998 Act (financing of maintained
schools) and, where it is the authority’s duty to do so, ensuring payments are made in
respect of taxation, national insurance and superannuation contributions;
(f) authorisation and monitoring of—
(i) expenditure which is not met from schools’ budget shares, and
(ii) expenditure in respect of schools which do not have delegated budgets,
and all related financial administration;
(g) the formulation and review of the methods of allocation of resources to schools and other
bodies;
(h) the authority’s monitoring of compliance with the requirements of their financial scheme
prepared under section 48 of the 1998 Act, and any other requirements in relation to the
provision of community facilities by governing bodies under section 27 of the 2002 Act;
(i) internal audit and other tasks necessary for the discharge of the authority’s chief finance
officer’s responsibilities under section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972(b);
(j) the authority’s functions under regulations made under section 44 of the 2002 Act(c);
(a) 1999 c. 27. (b) 1972 c. 70. (c) The Consistent Financial Reporting (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/373, as amended by S.I. 2004/393, 2006/437,
2007/599 and 2008/46.
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(k) recruitment, training, continuing professional development, performance management
and personnel management of staff who are funded by expenditure not met from schools’
budget shares and who are paid for services carried out in relation to those of the
authority’s functions and services which are referred to in other paragraphs of this
Schedule;
(l) investigations which the authority carry out of employees, or potential employees, of the
authority, or of governing bodies of schools, or of persons otherwise engaged, or to be
engaged, with or without remuneration to work at or for schools;
(m) functions of the authority in relation to local government superannuation which it is not
reasonably practicable for another person to carry out, and functions of the authority in
relation to the administration of teachers’ pensions;
(n) retrospective membership of pension schemes and retrospective elections made in respect
of pensions where it would not be appropriate to expect the governing body of a school to
meet the cost from the school’s budget share;
(o) advice, in accordance with the authority’s statutory functions, to governing bodies in
relation to staff paid, or to be paid, to work at a school, and advice in relation to the
management of all such staff collectively at any individual school, including in particular
advice with reference to alterations in remuneration, conditions of service and the
collective composition and organisation of such staff;
(p) determination of conditions of service for non-teaching staff, and advice to schools on the
grading of such staff;
(q) the authority’s functions regarding the appointment or dismissal of employees;
(r) consultation and functions preparatory to consultation with or by governing bodies, pupils
and persons employed at schools or their representatives, or with other interested bodies;
(s) compliance with the authority’s duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act
1974(a) and the relevant statutory provisions as defined in section 53(1) of that Act, in so
far as compliance cannot reasonably be achieved through tasks delegated to the governing
bodies of schools; but including expenditure incurred by the authority in monitoring the
performance of such tasks by governing bodies and, where necessary, the giving of
advice to them;
(t) the investigation and resolution of complaints;
(u) legal services relating to the statutory functions of the authority;
(v) the preparation and review of plans involving collaboration with other local authority
services or with public or voluntary bodies;
(w) provision of information to or at the request of the Crown and the provision of other
information which the authority are under a duty to make available;
(x) the authority’s functions pursuant to regulations made under section 12 of the 2002 Act
(supervising authorities of companies formed by governing bodies); and
(y) the authority’s functions under the discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010(b)
in so far as compliance cannot reasonably be achieved through tasks delegated to the
governing bodies of schools; but including expenditure incurred by the authority in
monitoring the performance of such tasks by governing bodies and, where necessary, the
giving of advice to them.
Other functions
21. Expenditure in pursuance of a binding agreement, where the other party is a local authority,
or the other parties include one or more local authorities, in relation to the operation of a facility
provided partly, but not solely, for the use of schools.
(a) 1974 c.37. (b) 2010 c.15.
22
22. Expenditure on establishing and maintaining those electronic computer systems, including
data storage, which are intended primarily to maintain linkage between local authorities and their
schools.
23. Expenditure on monitoring National Curriculum assessment arrangements required by
orders made under section 87 of the 2002 Act.
24. Expenditure in connection with the authority’s functions in relation to the standing advisory
council on religious education constituted by the authority under section 390 of the 1996 Act(a) or
in the reconsideration and preparation of an agreed syllabus of religious education in accordance
with Schedule 31 to the 1996 Act.
25. Expenditure in respect of the dismissal or premature retirement of, or for the purpose of
securing the resignation of, or in respect of acts of discrimination against, any person except to the
extent that these costs are chargeable to schools’ budget shares or fall within paragraph 5(b) of
Schedule 2.
26. Expenditure in respect of a teacher’s emoluments under section 19(9) of the Teaching and
Higher Education Act 1998.
27. Expenditure on the appointment of governors, the making of instruments of government, the
payment of expenses to which governors are entitled and which are not payable from a school’s
budget share, and the provision of information to governors.
28. Expenditure on making pension payments, other than in respect of staff employed in
schools.
29. Expenditure on insurance, other than for liability arising in connection with schools or
school premises.
30. Expenditure in connection with powers and duties performed under Part 2 of the Children
and Young Persons Act 1933(b) (enforcement of, and power to make byelaws in relation to,
restrictions on the employment of children).
SCHEDULE 2 Regulations 6 and 8
CLASSES OR DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANNED EXPENDITURE PRESCRIBED FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE SCHOOLS BUDGET
OF A LOCAL AUTHORITY WHICH MAY BE DEDUCTED FROM IT TO DETERMINE THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS BUDGET
PART 1 Central Services
1. Expenditure on the operation of the system of admissions of pupils to schools (including
expenditure incurred in carrying out consultations under section 88C(2) of the 1998 Act(c)) and in
relation to appeals.
2. Expenditure incurred in connection with the authority’s functions under section 47A of the
1998 Act (establishment and maintenance of, and consultation with, schools forums)
3. CERA incurred for purposes not falling within any other paragraph of this Schedule or
Schedule 1.
(a) Section 390 was amended by section 140(1) of, and paragraph 93 of Schedule 20 to, the 1998 Act. (b) 1933 c.12. (c) Section 88C(2) was amended by section 51 of, and Schedule 4 to, the 2002 Act and sections 45 and 56 of the 2006 Act.
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4. Expenditure on—
(a) prudential borrowing;
(b) termination of employment costs, where the schools forum has approved the charging of
these costs to the schools budget for the funding period in which they were incurred and
the revenue savings achieved by the termination of employment to which they relate are
equal to or greater than the costs incurred;
(c) combined services where the expenditure relates to classes or descriptions of expenditure
falling outside those set out in this Schedule
where the expenditure has been approved by the schools forum or the Secretary of State in a
previous funding period.
5. Expenditure on purchase of CRC allowances for schools
6. Any deductions under each of paragraphs 2 to 5 must not exceed the amount deducted under
each of paragraphs 13, 31, 34, 36(a), 36(b), 36(c) and 38 of Schedule 2 to the 2012 Regulations for
the previous funding period.
PART 2
Central Schools Expenditure
7. Expenditure on pay arrears due to staff employed at maintained schools and other staff whose
salaries are met from the schools budget, and expenditure on the costs of financing payment of
such arrears, where the expenditure is not chargeable to a maintained school’s budget share under
the terms of the local authority’s scheme.
8. Expenditure pursuant to section 18 of the 1996 Act(a) in making any grant or other payment
in respect of fees or expenses (of whatever nature) which are payable in connection with the
attendance of pupils at a school which is not maintained by any local authority.
9. Expenditure to be incurred due to a significant growth in pupil numbers as a result of the local
authority’s duty under section 13(1) of the 1996 Act to secure that efficient primary education and
secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population of their area, but only where
the authority has set criteria for determining the circumstances in which the expenditure can be
incurred and the basis for calculating the amount of any such expenditure..
10. Expenditure to be incurred in order to make provision for extra classes in order to comply
with the School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012(b).
PART 3
Central Early Years Expenditure
11. Expenditure on early years provision, excluding expenditure—
(a) on such provision on a maintained school; and
(b) on relevant early years provision.
12. Expenditure on determining the eligibility—
(a) of a pupil for free school meals where that pupil is being provided with early years
provision; or
(b) of a child for prescribed early years provision.
(a) Section 18 was amended by article 5(1) of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to, S.I. 2010/1158. (b) S.I. 2012/10.
24
PART 4
Pupils With High Needs
13. Expenditure in respect of pupils with special educational needs at primary and secondary
schools, excluding expenditure—
(a) in respect of pupils in places which the authority have reserved for children with special
educational needs; or
(b) where it would be reasonable to expect such expenditure to be met from a school’s budget
share or from the general annual grant paid to an Academy by the Secretary of State.
14. Expenditure in respect of—
(a) pupils with special educational needs in special schools and special Academies; or
(b) in places at primary or secondary schools and Academies which the authority have
reserved for children with special educational needs;
where the expenditure cannot be met from the sum referred to in regulation 14(1).
15. Expenditure in respect of persons provided with further education who are aged 19 or over
but under 25 and are subject to learning difficulty assessment.
16. Expenditure on support services for pupils who have a statement of special educational
needs and for pupils with special educational needs who do not have such a statement.
17. Expenditure for the purposes of encouraging—
(a) collaboration between special schools and primary and secondary schools to enable
children with special educational needs to engage in activities at primary and secondary
schools;
(b) the education of children with special educational needs at primary and secondary
schools; and
(c) the engagement of children with special educational needs at primary and secondary
schools in activities at the school with children who do not have special educational needs
in cases where the local authority consider it would be unreasonable for such expenditure to be
met from a school’s budget share.
18. Expenditure incurred in relation to education otherwise than at school under section 19 of
the 1996 Act or in relation to a pupil referral unit where the expenditure cannot be met from the
sum referred to in regulation 14(2).
19. Expenditure on the payment of fees in respect of pupils with special educational needs—
(a) at independent schools or at special schools which are not maintained by a local authority
under section 348 of the 1996 Act; or
(b) at an institution outside England and Wales under section 320 of the 1996 Act.
PART 5
Items That May Be Removed From Maintained Schools’ Budget Shares
20. Expenditure (other than expenditure referred to in Schedule 1 or any other paragraph of this
Schedule) incurred on services relating to the education of children with behavioural difficulties,
and on other activities for the purpose of avoiding the exclusion of pupils from schools.
21. Expenditure on determining the eligibility of a pupil for free school meals;
22. Expenditure on making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for, a woman
on maternity leave or a person on adoption leave.
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23. Expenditure on making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for, any
person—
(a) carrying out trade union duties or undergoing training under section 168 and 168A of the
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992(a);
(b) taking part in trade union activities under section 170 of the Trade Union and Labour
Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;
(c) performing public duties under section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996(b);
(d) undertaking jury service;
(e) who is a safety representative under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees
Regulations 1977(c);
(f) who is a representative of employee safety under the Health and Safety (Consultation
with Employees) Regulations 1996(d);
(g) who is an employee representative for the purposes of Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Trade
Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, as defined in section 196 of that
Act or regulation 13(3) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)
Regulations 2006(e);
(h) taking time off for ante-natal care under section 55 of the Employment Rights Act 1996;
(i) undertaking duties as a member of the reserve forces as defined in section 1(2) of the
Reserve Forces Act 1996(f);
(j) suspended from working at a school; or
(k) who is appointed a learning representative of a trade union, in order for that person to
analyse training requirements or to provide or promote training opportunities, and to carry
out consultative or preparatory work in connection with such functions.
24. Expenditure on making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for, a person
who is seconded on a full-time basis for a period of three months or more other than to a local
authority or the governing body of a school.
25. Expenditure on making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for, persons
who have been continuously absent from work because of illness for 21 days or more.
26. Expenditure on insurance in respect of liability arising in connection with schools and school
premises.
27. Expenditure on services to schools provided by museums and galleries.
28. Expenditure on library services.
29. Expenditure on licence fees or subscriptions paid on behalf of schools.
30. Expenditure on the schools’ specific contingency
31. Expenditure for the purposes of—
(a) improving the performance of under-performing pupils from ethnic minority groups; or
(b) meeting the specific needs of bilingual pupils.
(a) 1992 c.52. Section 168A was inserted by section 43 of the Employment Act 2002 (c.22). (b) 1996 c.18. (c) S.I. 1977/500, amended by section 1 of the Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Act 1998 (c.8) and S.I. 1996/1513,
1999/860, 1999/2024, 1999/3242, 2005/1541, 2006/594 and 2008/960. (d) S.I. 1996/1513, amended by section 1 of the Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Act 1998 (c.8) and S.I. 1999/3242
and 2005/1541. (e) S.I. 2006/246, amended by S.I. 2010/93. (f) 1996 c.14.
26
SCHEDULE 3 Regulation 18
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, OR FACTORS OR CRITERIA WHICH MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, IN A LOCAL
AUTHORITY’S FORMULA UNDER REGULATION 17
PART 1
Applicable only to budget shares for maintained schools
1. A single per pupil amount for each looked after child based on either—
(a) the number of looked after children in the local authority area,
(b) the number of children who have been looked after for six months or more in the local
authority area, or
(c) the number of children who have been looked after for twelve months or more in the local
authority area.
2. Prior attainment of pupils at key stages 1 and 2 (excluding pupils in schools years 5 and 6)
who have achieved either fewer than 78 points or fewer than 73 points on the current Early Years
Foundation Stage Profile.
3. Prior attainment of pupils at key stages 3 and 4 who achieved a level 3 or lower in both
English and Maths at key stage 2.
4. A single per pupil amount for each pupil at key stages 1 and 2 for whom English is not their
first language, based on either-
(a) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for three years or less ,
(b) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for two years or less, or
(c) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for one year or less,
where the number of pupils in the previous three years is determined by information in the
October 2009, October2010 October 2011 school censuses.
5. A single per pupil amount for each pupil at key stage 3 and 4 for whom English is not their
first language, based on either—
(a) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for three years or less,
(b) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for two years or less, or
(c) the number of pupils for whom English is not their first language where the pupil has
been attending a school or schools in England for one year or less
where the number of pupils in the previous three years is determined by information in the
October 2009, October 2010 and October 2011 school censuses.
6. A single sum of an equal amount to be given to each school of up to £200,000 per school.
7. Where a school has a split site the funding must be in accordance with criteria published by
the authority.
8. Non-domestic rates payable in respect of the premises of each school which must be actual or
estimated cost.
9. Payments in relation to a private finance initiative (including actual or estimated cost).
27
10. Salaries of teachers at a school in the county councils of Buckinghamshire, Essex,
Hertfordshire, Kent or West Sussex .
11. A single per pupil amount, based on-_
(a) the number of pupils at key stages 1 and 2 who joined the school in the last three
academic years at any other time than August or September, (and January in the case of
reception classes), and where the school has a nursery class, excluding pupils who joined
the school in the nursery class, and
(b) the number of pupils at key stages 3 and 4 who joined the school in the last three
academic years at any other time than August or September..
PART 2
Applicable only to budget shares for, and amounts to be allocated to, providers of
prescribed early years provision
12. Incidence of looked after children.
13. Prior attainment of pupils entering a school or relevant early years provider.
14. Pupils and children for whom English is not their first language.
15. A single sum for each school and relevant early years provider which may vary according to
the type of provider.
16. Where a school or a relevant early years provider has a split site the funding must be in
accordance with criteria published by the authority.
17. Non-domestic rates payable in respect of the premises of each school or relevant early years
provider.
18. Payments in relation to a private finance initiative (including actual or estimated cost).
19. Salaries of teachers at a school or early years provider in the county councils of
Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent or West Sussex .
20. The need to improve the quality of provision by particular providers or types of provider.
21. The degree of flexibility in the hours of attendance that a provider makes available.
22. The need to secure or sustain a sufficiency of prescribed early years provision within the
authority’s area or any sub-area within that area; and in this paragraph “sub-area” means—
(a) an electoral division or ward of the authority; or
(b) such other appropriate geographical division into which the authority have notionally
divided their area.
SCHEDULE 4 Regulation 19
MINIMUM FUNDING GUARANTEE
1. In this Schedule—
(a) references to the number of pupils exclude those funded by a sixth form grant and those
in places which the local authority have reserved for children with special educational
needs;
(b) the “Schedule 2 applied to that funding period,
(i) any amount included in respect of paragraph 8 (rates) of Schedule 3 to the 2012
Regulations,
28
(c) any amount allocated to the school pursuant to paragraph 6 (single sum) of Schedule 3
relevant number” of pupils for the previous funding period is the number of registered
pupils at the school on 6thOctober 2011;
(d) the “relevant number” of pupils for the funding period is the number of pupils at the
school on4thOctober 2012;
(e) references to a redetermined adjusted budget share for the previous funding period must
be reduced by the following—
(i) any amounts included pursuant to regulation 20 (sixth form funding) of the 2012
Regulations,
(ii) any amounts allocated to the school pursuant to Schedule 3 of 2012 Regulations
where such amount has been deducted from the schools budget under Part 4 (Pupils
With High Needs) of Schedule 2,
(iii) any amounts that the local authority estimates the school would have been allocated
for places the authority reserves for children with special educational needs in the
previous funding period had Part 4 (Pupils With High Needs) of, and
(iv) any amount allocated to the school pursuant to regulation 9(3)(b) (nursery classes) of
the 2012 Regulations;
(f) references to a redetermined adjusted budget share for the funding period include the
effect of any additional arrangements approved by the schools forum or the Secretary of
State under regulation 25 (additional arrangements), but are reduced by the following—
(i) any amounts included pursuant to regulation 20 (sixth form funding),
(ii) any amount allocated under regulation 14(1) (special units and resourced provision),
(iii) any amounts included in respect of paragraph 8 (rates) of Schedule 3,
(iv) any amount allocated to the school pursuant to paragraph 6 (single sum) of Schedule
3,
(v) any amounts allocated pursuant to regulation 10(1) (formula for determining budget
shares) which would have been within a class or description of the expenditure listed
in Schedule 2 to the 2012 Regulations, and
(vi) any amount allocated to the school under regulation 10(3) (early years single funding
formula);
(g) for the purposes of this Schedule—
(i) where a school has opened during the previous funding period, its redetermined
adjusted budget share for the previous funding period is the amount that it would
have been had the school opened on 1st April 2012,
(ii) where a school opens during the funding period, its redetermined adjusted budget
share for the funding period is the amount that it would have been had the school
opened on 1st April 2013,
adjusted in accordance with sub-paragraph (d) or (e), whichever is applicable.
2. Where (A/B) is less than (C/D) then the guaranteed funding level is (C/D) x B where—
A is the redetermined adjusted budget share for the funding period,
B is the relevant number of pupils in the funding period,
C is the redetermined adjusted budget share for the previous funding period multiplied by
0.985, and
D is the number of relevant pupils in the previous funding period.
3. Where a school opens during the funding period, and is a replacement for two or more
schools being discontinued during the funding period, its guaranteed funding level must be
calculated in accordance with paragraph 2, save that the figure in respect of the new school’s
redetermined adjusted budget share for the previous funding period is to be determined using the
29
sum of the relevant number of pupils in the discontinued schools for the previous funding period
as the relevant number for the purposes of paragraph 1(b).
SCHEDULE 5 Regulation 26
CONTENTS OF SCHEMES
1. The carrying forward from one funding period to another of surpluses and deficits arising in
relation to schools’ budget shares.
2. Amounts which may be charged against schools’ budget shares.
3. Amounts received by schools which may be retained by their governing bodies and the
purposes for which such amounts may be used.
4. The imposition, by or under the scheme, of conditions which must be complied with by
schools in relation to the management of their delegated budgets and of sums made available to
governing bodies by the authority which do not form part of delegated budgets, including
conditions prescribing financial controls and procedures.
5. Terms on which services and facilities are provided by the authority for schools maintained
by them.
6. The payment of interest by or to the authority.
7. The times at which amounts equal in total to the school’s budget share are to be made
available to governing bodies and the proportion of the budget share to be made available at each
such time.
8. The virement between budget heads within the delegated budget.
9. Circumstances in which a local authority may delegate to the governing body the power to
spend any part of the authority’s non-schools education budget or schools budget in addition to
those set out in section 49(4)(a) to (c) of the 1998 Act(a).
10. The use of delegated budgets and of sums made available to a governing body by the local
authority which do not form part of delegated budgets.
11. Borrowing by governing bodies.
12. The banking arrangements that may be made by governing bodies.
13. A statement as to the personal liability of governors in respect of schools’ budget shares
having regard to section 50(7) of the 1998 Act.
14. A statement as to the allowances payable to governors of a school which does not have a
delegated budget in accordance with the scheme made by the authority for the purposes of section
519 of the 1996 Act(b).
15. The keeping of a register of any business interests of the governors and the head teacher.
16. The provision of information by and to the governing body.
17. The maintenance of inventories of assets.
18. Plans of a governing body’s expenditure.
19. A statement as to the taxation of sums paid or received by a governing body.
(a) Section 49(4) was amended by section 215 of, and paragraph 100 of Schedule 21 to, the 2002 Act. (b) Section 519 was amended by section 140 of, and paragraph 139 of Schedule 2 to, the 1998 Act.
30
20. Insurance.
21. The use of delegated budgets by governing bodies so as to satisfy the authority’s duties
imposed by or under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
22. The provision of legal advice to a governing body.
23. Funding for child protection issues.
24. How complaints by persons working at a school or by school governors about financial
management or financial propriety at the school will be dealt with and to whom such complaints
should be made.
25. Expenditure incurred by a governing body in the exercise of the power conferred by section
27 of the 2002 Act.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make provision for the financial arrangements of local authorities in relation to
the funding of maintained schools and providers of prescribed early years provision in England,
for the financial year 2013-2014.
The School Finance (England) Regulations 2011 and the School Finance (Amendment) (England)
Regulations 2011 are revoked. The School Finance (England) Regulations 2012, remain in force.
These Regulations define the non-schools education budget (regulation 4 and Schedule 1), the
schools budget (regulation 6 and Schedule 2), the central expenditure and the individual schools
budget (regulation 8 and Schedule 2). They require local authorities to determine budget shares for
schools maintained by them and the amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in
schools maintained by them and relevant early years providers in their area in accordance with the
appropriate formula (regulations 10 and 11), impose a minimum funding guarantee (regulation 19
and Schedule 4) and impose requirements in relation to local authorities’ schemes (regulation 26
and Schedule 5).
An impact assessment has not been prepared for these Regulations because no impact on the
private or voluntary sector is foreseen.
31