Agenda item

Context:

To scrutinise details of the current breach in the Fair Funding (Scheme for Financing Schools) Regulations and actions to address this and to seek exception for the financial year 2017-18.

Key Issues:

The Fair Funding (Scheme for Financing Schools) is the funding framework in which schools and the Local Authority operate, and is based on the legislative provisions in Section 45-53 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

In line with the timescales outlined in the Fair Funding Regulations, the Local Authority received all school budgets approved by the governing body by 31^st May 2017. On receipt of these, the Section 151 Officer was informed that collectively, schools were reporting a deficit of £608,000. 

Primary schools reported a surplus of £74,000, whilst secondary schools reported a deficit of £667,000 and the special school and pupil referral unit a deficit of £15,000.  With regard to the deficit in secondary schools, there have been particular circumstances which have contributed to this issue including the late notification of post 16 funding reductions from Welsh Government. 

School balances on the 1^st April 2017 stood at a surplus of £269,000 and the collective reserve use during the year is anticipated to be £877,000. Schools have been made aware of the cumulative deficit position and are working together to both minimise the anticipated spend in year but also to try and maintain surplus budgets where they exist.

The actions that the Local Authority has put in place are detailed below:

·         Immediate work with all schools has ensured that the month 2 report details an improvement in the school balances of £180,000.

·         All schools with a significant deficit have met with the Chief Officer for Children and Young People and relevant Finance officers. At these meetings the schools have outlined how they are intending to recover from the deficit with timescales.

·         All recovery plans will be monitored on a monthly basis and head teachers and Governing Bodies are held to account to ensure all the savings will be made.

·         Where applicable, the Cabinet Members for Finance and Children and Young People will meet with schools in the autumn term of 2017 to gain reassurance and an understanding of each recovery plan.

·         Hereford College presents a significant challenge to the north of the County and is drawing students away from Monmouthshire. As an Authority, we are ensuring that we have the best teaching and learning that can be provided in Monmouthshire’s schools with a range of subjects being offered to students.  Post 16 provision is a real area of focus for the Authority now and in the coming years. With the four secondary schools in Monmouthshire working more closely together their strengths can be recognised and economies of scale with regard to the provision of the post 16 curriculum can be identified also.

Member Scrutiny:

·         Post 16 grant comes directly from Welsh Government which goes to Monmouthshire’s secondary schools for the teaching of A levels.  In previous years, Welsh Government has informed the Authority as to how much of this grant should be given to each of the four secondary schools within the County. However, in recent years, this was set aside by Welsh Government allowing the Authority to develop its own formula which was mainly based on pupil numbers.  When delegating the funding to the Authority, Welsh Government uses a formula and the Authority is looking to mirror that formula when allocating funding to the four secondary schools within the County.  This is driven mainly by pupil numbers. Therefore, where there were schools with reducing numbers at post 16, that had an impact on the funding being provided to that school.  More significantly for the Authority was that the schools already have the teachers in place to teach the curriculum that has already been planned.  However, it was the lateness of the notification of the grant that had a severe impact on the Authority.

·         Though this is a volatile period, there has already been a significant improvement in the first two months between budget setting and month 2.  It is anticipated that improvements will continue throughout the remainder of the year.

·         The issues relating to the reduction in the post 16 grant funding were twofold.  The one reason was due to the number of children staying on to study A level.  The other reason was that Welsh Government does not fund units at a flat rate.  The cumulative effect of these two reasons has led to a 9% reduction in terms of the overall grant.

·         There is an opportunity with the two new secondary schools to maximise some of the resources that those new settings will offer with a view to retaining some more students into Monmouthshire’s post 16 provision. Options are being explored with Coleg Gwent regarding ways of working together.

·         The geographical location of King Henry VIII Comprehensive School does allow for some students to choose to go to Hereford College and Crickhowell School for post 16 education.  However, the school is losing fewer students to these facilities with sixth form numbers increasing and an improvement in performance and examination results.

·         Chepstow Comprehensive School has performed well this year showing excellent progress in A level results. Chepstow has a high level of post 16 student retention within the school.