Schools Funding Formula Survey

Annual consultation on the Schools Funding formula, including consultation on a possible transfer from the Schools block to High Needs

Which sector do you represent?

Primary

Secondary

How many schools are you responding on behalf of, please show split between primary & secondary schools?

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School Funding Formula Affordability, if insufficient funding

If the initial formula allocations using the full NFF factor rates proves unaffordable, the Local Authority proposes to adjust the following elements, for the reasons outlined below:

To reduce the level of the annual contribution to the Growth Fund as this will not affect the formula factor rates that schools receive. The growth fund is funding set aside to support new & growing schools & bulge classes. Reducing the growth fund on a one-off basis will not reduce the amount paid to schools eligible for growth funding.

This is the Council's preferred option

An alternative option is to set the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) at a level lower than the maximum allowed – The MFG protects the per-pupil funding of schools from one year to the next. Local Authorities have the flexibility in 2022-23 to set MFG between 0% and plus 0.5%. In order to maximise the funding passed to schools the authority propose to set an MFG level of plus 0.5% (mirroring the funding floor in the NFF). However, should this not be affordable, the MFG percentage could be reduced toward the minimum level of 0%.

This is not the preferred option

Do you support the LA approach to achieving affordability through adjusting the Growth Fund?

Yes

Use of surplus funding after delivering the NFF in full

The overall Schools Block level of funding maybe more than enough to deliver the NFF level of funding in full. There may, therefore, be one-off funding available in 2023-24.

The Local Authority preference will be to transfer any surplus funding to help reduce the forecast £21.6m annual deficit on the High Needs Block through an early intervention programme.

The funding will be used to pump prime investment in Early Intervention and Prevention. Early feedback from partnerships suggests this is likely to take the form of:

a) Helpdesk / phoneline offering immediate help and peer to peer support for solutions that can be implemented in the classroom.

b) A new service that provides short, local interventions for children attending mainstream who need additional support

Which of these options do you support if there is more than enough funding to deliver the NFF factor rates in full?

a) transfer funding to the High Needs block to support the Early Intervention / Inclusion programme in schools

This is the Local Authority preferred option

b) increase funding factor rates for schools on a one-off basis

Transfer funding to the High Needs block to support the Early Intervention / Inclusion programme in schoolsHigh Needs provision in schools

Increase funding factor rates for schools on a one-off basis

Other (please specify)

Please provide any additional comments to support your views

The question above referred to a surplus within the School Block after applying the National Funding Formula.

The DfE guidance allows for the Local Authority to request a transfer from the Schools to the High Needs block as stated below:

The Schools Block will be ring-fenced in 2023 to 2024, but local authorities will retain limited flexibility to transfer up to 0.5% of their Schools Block funding into another block, with the approval of their Schools forum.
To make such a transfer, local authorities should consult with all local maintained schools and academies and the Schools forum should take into account the views of the schools responding before making their decision

Oxfordshire is requesting a transfer from the Schools Block to the High Needs block of 0.5% or £2.3m (averaging to approximately £27 per pupil) to support the Early Intervention programme as set out in question 4 above.

a) It is helpful for us in applying for funding from the DfE to understand whether schools support the introduction of the Early Intervention and prevention as discussed in the October partnership meetings.

Do you support the proposed investment?

Yes

Do you support a transfer of funding from the School Block to the High Needs Block for 2023-24 to support this investment? The transfer would reduce schools funding on average by £27 per pupil (based on the October 2021 census data)

Yes

Methodology for implementing a transfer from Schools to High Needs block

In the event of an agreement to a transfer to the High Needs block by either Schools Forum or the Secretary of State, the methodology for reducing schools funding allocations needs to be agreed.

The LA proposes a percentage reduction to Basic Entitlement (otherwise known as Age Weighted Pupil Units or AWPU) Factor values for Primary, Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. This is in line with the proposals in the recent DfE Direct NFF Consultation and has a number of advantages over adjusting all or other factor values. These include being of relative benefit to schools with high proportions of pupils with additional needs, and, by not applying a percentage reduction to the Lump Sum, it is also of relative benefit to smaller schools.

Modelling has been undertaken using the October 2021 census data, 2023-24 NFF factor values, and the provisional DSG figures published in July 2022. This suggests that a percentage reduction to AWPU factor rates of less than 1% (approximately 0.8%) could achieve a £2.3m transfer (0.5%) and still allow all other NFF factor values to be met in full (including Oxfordshire’s Area Cost Adjustment - ACA). The potential impact on different size schools is shown in the full document.

For Primary, the adjustment represents an approximate reduction of £26 on the 2023-24 NFF AWPU rate, including the Area Cost Adjustment for Oxfordshire. For Key Stage 3, approximately £36 and Key Stage 4 approximately £41 reduction. These are different to the average per pupil reduction of £27, as the reductions are proportional to the AWPU rates (Primary, KS3 and KS4), some schools will receive protection to maintain the Minimum per pupil level of funding (MPPL) and there are variations to the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG).

If a block transfer is agreed, do you agree with the proposed methodology to adjust for any agreed transfer by a percentage reduction to the Basic Entitlement (AWPU) factor values?

Select option

Please add any other comments