Frequently Asked Questions – Mainstream Schools
Sections
A
Consultation spreadsheet & data
B
Formula factors (including new and any changes)
C
Other consultation issues (de-delegation, restricting of
funds)
D
High Needs and Early Years
E
General queries
F
Acronyms
Any FAQ’s not in this document can be emailed to
school.fund@hants.gov.uk
1
Consultation spreadsheet & data
A.1
Why is all the pupil data expressed to 2 decimal places?
The data set to be used is supplied to Hampshire County Council by the
Department for Education. It is due to the method the DfE have used to
calculate the number of pupils eligible. For many factors a school level
weighting or percentage is calculated and this is then mapped onto the
relevant October census hence then causing decimal places.
A.2
Will funding be adjusted during the year to reflect any increase in pupils
as at a later census date in the year?
No, funding is not adjusted. It will be based on the October 2013 census.
A.3
Can I use the data provided in the spreadsheet to start planning 14/15
budget?
No, figures are illustrative and are an indication only of school budgets based
on the new formula.
A.4
A different number has been removed for my resource provision from
my total number on roll compared to 2013/14. Why is this?
In 2013/14 the number of pupils in the resource provision were removed from
the school number on roll. In 2014/15 the DfE have stipulated this must be
based on the number of places in the provision.
2
Formula factors (including new and any changes)
B.1
How is the sparsity factor calculated?
This factor measures the distance that pupils live from their second nearest
school, including those across county borders. This has been calculated using
pupil and school postcode coordinates from the October Pupil level and
School level Census. For each school the DfE have identified the pupils that
live nearest to it (although this is not necessarily the school they attend) and
have then calculated the distance they live from their second nearest school.
They have then calculated the mean distance for these pupils, and this is the
school’s sparsity distance. Examples are provided below:



School A is a primary school with a sparsity distance of 1.8 miles. As
this distance is less than the primary distance threshold of 2 miles
school A is not eligible for sparsity funding
School B is a primary school with a sparsity distance of 2.2 miles and
200 pupils. This distance is greater than the primary distance
threshold, but the number of pupils is greater than the size cap and so
school B is not eligible for sparsity funding.
School C is a primary school with a sparsity distance of 2.2 miles and
130 pupils. The school is eligible for sparsity funding. School C is
allocated £15,000.
The link below is a useful tool to calculate distances between postcodes :
http://www.freemaptools.com/distance-between-uk-postcodes.htm
B.2
How has pupil mobility been calculated?
This has been calculated by using the school start date for each pupil from the
October school census. It includes pupils who started in the last three
academic years, but did not start in August or September (or January for Year
1).
Only schools with over 10% mobility will receive funding in 14/15.
B.3
Why is the lump sum reducing from £190,000 to £175,000?
In 2013/14 the DfE set a maximum allowance for lump sums of £200,000 per
school. After extensive modelling a lump sum of £190,000 provided the most
protection for Hampshire’s smaller schools. For 2014/15 the DfE have
lowered the maximum allowable lump sum to £175,000. We have therefore
applied the maximum possible as this was again deemed most appropriate to
protect our smaller smalls.
3
B.4
Do you have any further details on the changes to the KS2
assessment?
In 2012 the KS2 English assessment methodology was changed and now
includes a reading test, a new grammar, punctuation and spelling test and
teacher assessed writing. For those assessed at Key Stage 2 up to 2011, the
English element of the KS2 measure will identify those pupils who fail to
achieve a level 4 in English.
For pupils assessed at Key Stage 2 from 2012 onwards and who have been
part of these new arrangements, the English element of the KS2 measure will
identify those who do not achieve a level 4 in either the reading or teacher
assessed writing elements
B.5
Do you have any further details on the changes to the Early Years
Foundation Stage Profile?
A new EYFSP was published in March 2012. The new Profile was introduced
in September 2012 and the first assessments using the new Profile took place
in the summer of 2013. This means that for pupils in October 2013, pupils in
year 1 will have been assessed using the new Profile and pupils in other
years will have been assessed using the old Profile.
For pupils assessed using the old Profile, local authorities will continue to be
able to choose between two EYFSP scores. Funding is targeted to all pupils
who achieved fewer than 73 points on the EYFSP.
For pupils assessed using the new Profile, funding will be targeted at all pupils
who did not achieve the expected level of development. This means that we
will provide two indicators at school level:

and

Low Prior Attainment Primary (73) which will be derived from the
number of pupils in years 2 to 5 who achieved fewer than 73 points
pupils in year 1 who did not achieve a good level of development (one
of the 12 prime areas of learning of the EYSFP).
The DfE have said they will continue to monitor this indicator, but anticipate
that as pupils on the new indicator work through the system, they will move to
a new indicator.
4
Other Consultation issues (including de-delegation and
restriction of funds)
C.1
What is de-delegation?
This is when a service has been listed as delegated but can then be dedelegated if there is agreement between phases to allow the service to
continue to be provided centrally.
C.2
Can my school individually choose to delegate or de-delegate?
No. De-delegation relates to budgets for specific services. The decision will be
made by primary and secondary school representatives on Schools Forum.
Each phase will vote separately. This is reviewed annually.
C.3
Why are only primary and secondary mainstream schools allowed to
vote on de-delegation?
This is a DfE requirement. De-delegation is not an option for special schools
and academies because funding for these services has to be delegated to
them.
C.4
What will the impact be for my school if the number on roll is falling?
There is no more Real Term Protection for schools. This was a local factor
applied by Hampshire to put protection in place to stop funding falling in real
terms due to falling numbers on roll. This is not one of the 12 specified factors
from the DfE so is no longer an allowed as a formula factor.
However from 14/15 the DfE have allowed Local Authorities to include a
central fund from DSG to support schools and academies with falling rolls in
exceptional circumstances. See consultation document paragraph 51 for
further information regarding this.
C.5
What is the difference between a CAP and a Scale Factor?
A cap works in a similar way to MFG and would mean the maximum gain a
school could receive per pupil in the new formula.
A scale factor applies a percentage reduction to any increase in the pupil
value. This means that all gainers receive a fixed proportion without any
maximum threshold figure.
Whichever option is chosen we have to calculate the figures to ensure that the
overall value is affordable.
5
C.6
How long will we get MFG for?
MFG will apply in 2014/15. The DfE have said some form of protection will
exist in future years but they have not yet released details on the method or at
what level the protection is offered.
C.7
My 2013/14 original budget is less than the new formula funding in
2014/15 but the indicative budget spreadsheet says that I have
gained?
To calculate the MFG/ gains position for a school the 2013/14 original budget
has the following excluded factors that are deducted to calculate the adjusted
budget:



Rates
Lump Sum (14/15 lump sum value – proposed £175,000)
Sparsity (14/15 fixed sum value – proposed £15,000)
For 2014/15 the same factors are excluded. The MFG/ gains calculation will
break this down for more information.
6
High Needs and Early Years
D.1
Will we still receive a notional SEN budget?
Yes, when the final budget shares are published they will include a notional
SEN budget, which will be made up of elements of AWPU, low attainment
funding and deprivation funding.
D.2
Will there be a separate budget share for resourced provision?
Yes.
D.3
How much additional funding would I receive for high cost needs?
From financial year 2013/14 onwards, the distinction between high and low
incidence statements was replaced by a distinction between low and high cost
SEN. Schools will fund the first £6,000 of additional support for each pupil in
their school with a statement of SEN from their delegated budgets. The SEN
Service will allocate top-ups for Hampshire pupils who are assessed as
requiring more than £6,000 of additional support. Funding for non Hampshire
pupils will need to be reclaimed directly from the relevant local authority.
D.4
Will there be any change to Early Years funding?
Yes, there is a separate consultation being held with Early Years providers
during October 2013.
D.5 Will the £15,000 flat rate for primary schools with nursery units remain
the same?
Yes, this will continue to be paid annually.
7
General
E.1
When will we find out our final 2014/2015 budget share allocation?
These will be published by 28th February 2014.
E.2
How many consultation response forms can my school fill out?
There is no limit on how many but we would prefer to have only one per
school. Schools may submit more than one but we will need to take account
of multiple forms from individual schools when analysing and summarising the
responses. It is obviously administratively easier if we receive only one per
school.
E.3 Will funding for Infant Class Size Funding and Growing Schools still be
funded outside of the funding formula?
Yes, these elements will remain outside of the budget share and allocated to
schools separately.
E.4
Where can I find the full documents from the DfE?
Please click on the link below:
School Funding Reform: Arrangements for 2014-15
E.5
I have a question that is not answered by the consultation document or
this FAQ document. Who should I ask?
Either email school.fund@hants.gov.uk or attend the briefing session
mentioned in paragraph 12 of the consultation document.
8
Acronyms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AP – Alternative Provision
AST – Advanced Skills Teachers
AWPU – Age Weighted Pupil Unit
DCLG – Department for Communities and Local Government
DfE – Department for Education
DSG – Dedicated Schools Grant
EAL – English as an Additional Language
EFA – Education Funding Agency
EYFSP – Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
EYSFF – Early Years Single Funding Formula (known as SEYFF
locally)
EMTAS - Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service
FSM – Free School Meals
HCC – Hampshire County Council
IDACI – Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index
IMD – Index of Multiple Deprivation
KS 3/4 – Key Stage 3/4
LA – Local Authority
LAC / CiC – Looked after Children/ Children in Care
LACSEG – Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant
LDD – Learning Difficulties & Disabilities
MFG – Minimum Funding Guarantee
NQT – Newly Qualified Teachers
PRU – Pupil Referral Unit (Education Centre)
PVI – Private, Voluntary or Independent
SEN – Special Educational Needs
SOA – Super Output Area
SLA – Service Level Agreement (SLA)
9