Issue - meetings

School Funding Reforms

 

 

Meeting: 29/10/2013 - Cabinet (Item 9)

9 Funding Formula for Mainstream Schools and Academies pdf icon PDF 389 KB

Minutes:

Background:

 

This report provided details of the proposed funding arrangements for Medway’s Schools and Academies through the Dedicated Schools Grant following consultation and initial consideration by the Schools Forum on 9 October 2013.

 

It was noted that the changes to the funding formula for 2014/2015 would create some gains or losses for individual schools, however it was reflected that schools would need a period of time to adjust to lower levels of funding so the government had set the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) at minus 1.5% for 2014/2015 (the same as 2013/14). This meant that a school could not have a cut in funding of more than 1.5% per pupil per year over this period.

 

The Schools Forum’s recommendations were set out in paragraph 4.2 of the report.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

174/2013

The Cabinetinstructed officers to implement a new funding formula for schools and academies as follows:

(i)                 To allocate 5.2% of the schools block funding through the Deprivation factors, as set out in paragraph 3.5 of the report.

(ii)               To include the new Sparsity factor within Medway’s funding formula, as set out in paragraph 3.8 of the report.

(iii)             To set the Lump Sum amount at the same level for both primary and secondary phases, as set out in paragraph 3.9 of the report.

(iv)             To continue to cap the gains from the funding formula at 1.5% per pupil, as set out in paragraph 2.8 of the report.

 

Reasons:

 

The Council is required to implement the funding formula changes from 2014-15 in accordance with the regulations and to inform the Education Funding Agency of the new formula by 31 October 2013.