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ITEM EX11

EXECUTIVE – 6 FEBRUARY 2001

FUNDING OF ATTACHED NURSERY SCHOOLS

Report by Acting Chief Education Officer

1. Following last year’s Best Value Review of Early Years and Childcare provision, the Chief Education Officer reviewed the funding arrangements for the six attached Nursery Schools in the County. The Annex gives details of the schools concerned and explains how they differ from other types of nursery provision in the County.
2. In addition, the Annex sets out the reasons for reviewing the funding of these particular schools and outlines the main issues that have been discussed over the past few months with the headteachers and governing bodies of the schools concerned. Officers are convinced that there is scope for efficiency gains and for some efficiency savings in the funding of these schools. These efficiency benefits can be achieved without detriment to the quality of the educational provision made for young children or to the effective operation of the schools overall.

Proposals

3. The Annex contains a set of proposals that are intended to bring the new funding arrangements into effect. These would start in April 2002 and would be phased in over two years. Briefly the proposals are as follows:

Year 1 - 2002/03

Introduce formula funding for attached nursery schools and supplement this with a fixed "small schools allowance" for each of the schools concerned.

Year 2 - 2003/04

Introduce full pupil-led funding and maintain the small schools allowance. Delegate this funding to the school. (Under the provisions of the new Education Bill, delegation of budgets to nursery schools is expected to become a legal requirement in April 2004). Allow governors greater flexibility to vire funds across the primary and nursery school budgets. Review the continuation of the small schools allowance in 2004/05 and beyond.

4. With the agreement of the school’s management, it is further proposed to reduce the operation of Wheatley Nursery School from full-time to half-time from September 2002. This is due to a long-term lack of numbers at the school.
5. It is estimated that the above measures will yield savings amounting to £50,000 per annum in 2002/03. It is proposed that these savings are used to fund measures that will help to implement the first year’s action plan of the County’s Education Development Plan.

  RECOMMENDATION

6. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to agree the proposals set out in the report aimed at changing the funding arrangements for the County’s six attached nursery schools in 2002/03 and 2003/04 and to note that the proposals will yield estimated savings of £50,000 in 2002/03 and beyond.

ROY SMITH

Acing Chief Education Officer

Background Papers Nil

Contact Officer: Rick Harmes, Principal Education Officer, Tel: (01865) 810626

January 2002