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National Funding Formula Consultation - Stage 2

Just before the Christmas break, the Department for Education published its long awaited second stage of the consultation on a new National Funding Formula for schools.

The first phase of the consultation set out the principles that would underpin the new funding system.  This second stage has a lot more detail about the effect of cash weightings that each funding formula factor is due to receive, and what that will mean in terms of cash values per pupil or per school. Therefore, this consultation is incredibly important in assisting schools to understand the future funding that they are likely to receive direct from Government.  

At a national level, there are roughly equal numbers of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. At a local level, it is quite difficult to ascertain a pattern of winners and losers throughout the Warwickshire area, but it looks as if schools that serve pupils who live in areas with above average levels of deprivation have tended to gain.

Overall though, the results for Warwickshire as a whole are disappointing.  In the first year of transition to the new National Funding Formula, the whole of the Warwickshire area gains by only £1.2m, or 0.4%. When the Formula is eventually implemented in full (that is, without transitional protections) there is an overall gain of about £2.2m, or 0.7%.  Clearly we were hoping that Warwickshire, as a relatively underfunded area, would have received far more than this.  In particular, the majority of secondary schools seem to have lost funding.  There are some large gainers (7 primary schools gain over 10%) but equally 28 schools will lose over 2% of their current funding levels.

The consultation itself is called the Schools National Funding Formula Government Consultation - Stage 2.  The closing date for responses is 22 March 2017.  The Department for Education’s website does include indicative future budgets for every school in the country (see ‘Impact of the proposed schools NFF_20161220.xlsm’).  The link is as follows:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/

Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire Schools Forum will be responding to the consultation, but I would encourage individual schools to respond as well.

John Betts

Head of Finance

Resources Group

Early Years Funding Formula

 **Update - 24th January 2017**
 
Changes to Early Years Funding

Do you have a nursery class or early years’ provision run under governors’ powers? If you do, your funding is about to change.

The Government is introducing a National Early Years Funding Formula from April 2017, which will mean a standard base rate paid to every different type of provider. At the moment, Warwickshire pays an enhanced rate to nursery classes and an even higher rate to nursery schools and specialist nursery classes.

Warwickshire is one of the 20% of local authorities to lose funding under these new arrangements.

You can find details of the Government proposals, alongside the operational guidance for the new Early Years’ National Funding Formula, by following the links below

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-changes-to-funding-for-3-and-4-year-olds

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance

Warwickshire is consulting on its local proposals until 3 February at
https://askwarks.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/early-years-funding-formula-consultation/

The confirmed hourly rates for the next financial year will be dependent on the outcome of this consultation, and the final budget available, as agreed by Schools Forum.


In August 2016, the Department for Education (DfE) consulted on proposals to change the way it funds free childcare and early years education. The DfE’s response to the Early Years National Funding Formula consultation was published on 1 December 2016 alongside operational guidance for the new early years national funding formula for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
 
From April 2017, there will be a change to the way the amount of funding for early years is calculated by Government. Less will be coming into the Warwickshire area and there will be further restrictions on how Local Authorities can then distribute this funding to providers. The chief change is that a universal base rate will apply to all types of provider. This means that schools with nursery classes will receive the same rate of funding as the private, voluntary and independent sectors. There will be supplementary funding for the duration of this Parliament, but only for maintained nursery schools (not nursery classes in primary schools). 
 
There will also be the introduction of a Disability Access Fund and a requirement for authorities to establish a special educational needs inclusion fund, although the latter is already well established in Warwickshire. 
 
Implementation is incredibly tight, so the Local Authority is undertaking a swift consultation on how to implement this, including the proposed universal rate and whether there should be any additional funding factors or supplements for deprivation, quality etc. Please look out for the consultation.
 
John Betts 
Head of Finance
Resources Group
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