School Funding and
places update
Gary Redhead
18th September 2013
CHILDREN’S & ADULTS’ SERVICES
• School Balances
• School Funding 2014-15
• Primary Places
Overall Balances in Ealing are too
high
• Over last ten years balances have:
• More than tripled in the primary sector,
£4.8m to £15.5m
• Doubled in the high school sector, £5.7m to
£11.7m
• Are the highest in cash and per school than our
statistical neighbours
Balances 2003-4 to 2012-13
Balances 2003-4 to 2012-13 by sector
Balances 2011-12 Statistical Neighbours
Reducing balances
• £9m reduction, an average of £100,000 per
school would equate to the median for similar LAs
• £13m reduction, an average of £150,000 per
school would bring us into line with Hounslow
• No school with a gross balance in excess of 15
per cent, unless for significant project agreed with
the LA,
• No school with a unearmarked balance of 8%
primary and special and 5 % high schools
How can schools do this?
• No need for panic measures just meet your
spending plans for earmarked balances,
achieving 50% of these would be a big step
forward
• 2013-14 Schools say they will spend balances on:
• Balance 13/14 budget
£6.0m
• Building Projects
£8.6m
• ICT and FF&E
£1.6m
• Other items
£4.6m
• TOTAL
£20.8m
Help and support
• Plan ahead. Building work of £8.6m is about £1m per
school vacation week. Can the supply chain cope?
• Group together similar projects with others or consider
adding your work to our summer programmes
• Professional advice and support
• Please talk to us about funding longer term projects
• Closely monitor revenue spending
• We want you to spend your money on improving
children’s experiences – claw back is a last but real
option
School Funding 2014-15: Background
• Long term desire to have a national funding
formula across main parties
• Greater certainty for existing and new providers
• Increase transparency
• Maximum delegation to schools
 Unless de-delegation approved by Schools
Forum
 Limited range of funding can be retained.
2014-15 Key Elements
•
Three notional blocks retained
 Schools, high needs and early years
•
MFG -1.5% per pupil
•
Delegation of first £6,000 of SEN statement
mandatory
• No change to notional SEN budget
• Change to mobility factor and deprivation
Consultation Key Questions
• Minor change to EYFSS
• Deprivation – proposal to move from FSM to Ever 6,
longer term stability in funding formula
• Mobility – Only funds schools with more than 10%
mobility, proposal to shift balance of funding into EAL
and Ever 6 Primary and EAL only for high schools
• Delegation of first £6K – proposal to cap losses, £10,000
primary and £20,000 secondary
• Responses emailed to tuckerl@ealing.gov.uk by FRIDAY
27th September
Funding Pressures
•
Modeling assumed cash values remain at
2013-14 levels, but key pressures:
•
Pupil Growth September 2014 up to 10 FE
more, need to fund about £750,000 in pupil
growth fund
•
Transitional Protection of £440,000 reduced
•
SEN growth pressures and potential
changes to high needs funding
•
Pressures offset to some extent by last year’s
growth in numbers
Primary Places
•
Between 2014 and 2016 project that there will
be up to 14 FE over 25.5 FE permanent
expansions agreed
•
Potential pressures across all areas but
particularly Acton and Ealing
•
Projections suggest births have peaked at
around 5,800
•
Significant uncertainties – eg benefit cap,
state of the economy
•
Mix of potential free schools, expansions and
bulge classes
For further information contact
Gary Redhead
Ealing Council
Assistant Director: Schools Planning and Resources
Children’s Services
020 8825 5773
gredhead@ealing.gov.uk