Oxfordshire County Council logo

Meeting documents

Cabinet
Tuesday, 26 May 2009

 

Return to Agenda

 

Division(s): All

 

ITEM CA5

 

CABINET – 26 MAY 2009

 

STRATEGIC REVIEW OF SCHOOLS’ FUNDING FORMULA

 

Report by Director for Children Young People & Families

 

Introduction

 

1.                  This report seeks Cabinet agreement to a strategic review of the school’s funding formula. The report sets out: the reasons for the review; its intended outcomes; the principles which should underpin it; key questions to be asked; and the process to be followed.

 

Reasons for a Review

 

2.                  To ensure best value for public money by distributing funding to schools according to need.

 

3.                  To address the criticism in the Annual Performance Assessment 2008, which states that: “Delegated School funding does not fully reflect the council’s priorities for areas of disadvantage.”

 

4.                  As current financial circumstances are likely to result in a decrease to the size of the overall fund, it is even more important to ensure the sum available is fairly distributed without wastage.

 

Intended Outcomes of a Change to the Formula

 

5.                  Reduction in number of schools with deficit budgets.

 

6.                  Reduction in number of schools with excess balances.

 

7.                  Reduction in number of schools causing concern.

 

Guiding Principles

 

8.                  Any formula should:

 

·        reflect the political commitment to sustaining small schools;

 

·        address twin County Council priorities of raising achievement and narrowing the gap in performance between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils;

 

·        be clear, transparent and easily understood by schools.

 


9.                  The review should establish the extent to which it is feasible to:

 

·        base funding upon pupil characteristics rather than school characteristics;

·        distribute the Dedicated Schools Grant  to support the additional needs of identified pupils;

·        give schools greater flexibility to meet the needs of pupils with challenging behaviour or requiring additional help;

·        distribute funding to reflect the additional costs of serving the most deprived communities in the County. (A disproportionate number of schools serving disadvantaged communities are judged as failing and have deficit budgets, causing significant financial costs to the Council.)

 

Key Questions to be considered as part of the Review

 

10.             Should the new formula separate Special Educational Needs (SEN) from deprivation?

 

11.             Which criteria should be used to form the deprivation index?

 

12.             Should the SEN measure change from hours of support to categories of need?

 

13.             What are the implications of future developments, such as Building Schools for the Future (BSF), Academies, and changes to 16-19 and Early Years funding?

 

Process

 

14.             Preliminary consultancy work to be commissioned to look at options and identify potential winners and losers.

 

15.             The results of this work to go back to Cabinet Members informally in late Summer 2009.

 

16.             If considered appropriate, the Schools’ Forum will be asked in Autumn 2009 to commission a full review of school funding in Oxfordshire.

 

17.             The recommendations from the preliminary work and any review will be fed into the national formula consultation process in 2010-2011.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

18.             The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree that a review should proceed on the basis outlined in the report

 

 

JANET TOMLINSON

Director for Children Young People & Families

 

Contact Officer:         Janet Tomlinson, Director for Children Young People & Families Tel: (01865) 815122                                                      May 2009

Return to TOP