SECONDARY SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA 2012/13
1 The Funding Formula
The formula for determining the budget share for each secondary school can be summarised as follows:
PUPIL LED FUNDING
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PUPIL/PLACE LED SEN FUNDING
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OTHER FUNDING
2 Pupil-Led Funding
2.1 Age Weighted Pupil Units (AWPU) - The majority of funding for secondary schools is allocated through the AWPU, for the 11+ to 15+ age groups. Funding is based on the actual January Census numbers.
An AWPU rate is applied to any Post 16 pupils who are on roll but who are not funded via the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
2.2 Pupil Number Adjustment – Some schools are funded for an agreed number of places over and above the January Census count. This allows the school flexibility to take additional pupils during the academic year from families moving into the area. For reorganising/growing schools that have an additional class in September, there is an allocation based on 7/12ths of the AWPU for each additional pupil. (The allocation is 3/12ths if the class opens in January.)
2.3 Personalisation – This allocation is broken down into three parts:
· 15% of the allocation is based on the numbers of pupils on the January Census count day.
· 35% of the allocation is based on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals.
· 50% of the allocation is based on prior attainment in Maths and English.
3 SEN Funding in Secondary Schools
3.1 SEN Departments - Place numbers at SEN departments will continue to be determined annually and will be amended in consultation with the school and with regard to the predicted need in the authority. Where there is an agreed change to the funded place number at the change of an academic year a 5/12 allocation will be made for the period April to August plus a 7/12 allocation for the period from September to March using the respective planned place numbers. If the number of placements in a unit exceeds the number of funded places over the financial year, additional funding will be provided to the school, at the rate of the funded place.
3.2 Proxy Indicators - With effect from April 2012 all schools will receive SEN funding based on the following proxy Indicators:
· Pupil Numbers
· Free School Meals
· Three year average of number of pupils categorised as School Action Plus or statemented
This is to provide funding to meet the first 20 hours of support for statemented pupils with High Incidence/Low need.
3.3 Statemented Pupils - Funding for individual named pupils is provided for all the hours of identified need for Low Incidence/High need pupils and for all High Incidence/Low need pupils over and above the first 20 hours of need, as set out in the tables below:
Table 1: Classification of Need
High Incidence / Low need / Low Incidence / High needBehaviour, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) / Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) / Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) / Hearing Impairment (HI)
Visual Impairment (VI)
Physical Difficulties (PD)
Social Communication (SC)
Speech and Language (SL)
Table 2: Funding Arrangements
Arrangement until 31 March 2012 / Arrangement from 1 April 2012 / ChangeHigh Incidence Low need / First 10 hours met from delegated budget / First 20 hours met from delegated budget / 10 hours of need has been pooled and distributed through the proxy indicators
Low Incidence High need / All hours will be funded for individual pupils / All hours will be funded for individual pupils / No change
4 Other SEN Funding Treated as Pupil-Led (Educational Disadvantage) –
4.1 Funding is allocated to schools by using the Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) scores. Data is collected to calculate a three- year average for the CAT scores for the years 7 to 11.
For funding purposes the CAT scores are added together and the result applied as an average to the age group 11+ to 15+ in each school. The answer is then weighted in the ratio 6:2:1 for Stanines 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
5 Other Funding
5.1 Additional Educational Needs Factors – A number of factors have been built into the Funding Formula to take account of Social Disadvantage Factors and Free School Meal delegation. The data is collected based on a January pupil count in line with the timing of the January Census.
5.2 Social Disadvantage Factors - This is a composite factor made up of three elements; Free School Meals – Eligibility, English as an Additional Language and Mobility.
· Free School Meals – Funding is allocated based on the number of pupils up to the minimum school leaving age entitled to a free school meal as recorded on the January Census. It is not the number of actual free school meals provided.
· English as an Additional Language - Funding is allocated based on the number of pupils recorded on the January Census as having English as an Additional language.
· Mobility - Funding is allocated based on the number of FTE pupils that have been admitted to/left the school between the previous two January Census days, excluding pupils admitted as normal admissions / leaving at the end of the term.
5.3 Pockets of Deprivation – This is an allocation for schools with a deprivation factor of greater than 45%. This is based on the tax credit data for the postcodes of the individual pupils that attend the school. The allocation is the schools deprivation factor x number pupils on roll x unit rate. This focuses funding in a differentiated way to schools with high disadvantage.
5.4 Free School Meals Entitlement - Funding is allocated based on the number of eligible pupils up to the minimum school leaving age that can have a free school meal, multiplied by the unit rate.
5.5 Facilities Time- Funding is allocated to those schools where staff have been released from their contracted duties, to enable the school to cover the agreed period of release.
5.6 Site Specific Factors
· Rates (Including Rents & Joint Provision) - A direct allocation is made to schools equivalent to the actual rates payable during the course of the financial year. Foundation schools will only receive 20% of their NNDR bill as they are eligible to claim 80% charitable relief. The allocation will be adjusted in year if the rates liability is revalued as either higher or lower. Rents will only be reimbursed where schools have to rent buildings to provide curriculum teaching areas. Joint Provision figures are based on historical data and uplifted each year for inflation.
· Split Site Allowance - An allocation for schools operating on a split site of more than 500 metres apart.
5.7 Schools Specific Factors
· Curriculum Protection - The purpose of this allocation is to ensure that schools have the resources to deliver the curriculum without removing the incentive to attract more pupils. It currently applies to new schools and well established schools with a pupil population of less than 1000 and is calculated as follows:
An allocation is made where the number on roll is below 520 and for the more established schools the number on roll is >520 but <1000. Funding is then allocated based on the difference between the formula pupil numbers and the factor within which the school falls. This is then multiplied by the relevant allocation rate determined for each category.
· New School Initial Allocation - A lump sum is given to new schools for a period before the official opening of the school. Currently a secondary school will receive the funding for three terms prior to opening.
· New School Set-up Allocation - An allowance based on the statutorily agreed pupil numbers for the phase multiplied by a unit rate will be phased over three years in a profile of 60%, 20% and 20%.
· Amalgamation Allowance - An allocation is made to any newly amalgamated school, as a one off payment, in the financial year in which the amalgamation occurs. This allocation is equivalent to the pro rata cost of a teacher and is intended to cover the unusual costs arising from the amalgamation. Where a new school is formed following the closure of two or more existing schools a funding allocation will be made to the new school for the two terms prior to opening, where a need for additional expenditure can be demonstrated.
· Admissions - Admissions have been delegated to voluntary aided and foundation schools on an amount per pupil basis as they are their own admissions authority.
· Alternative Provision - There is an allocation to the lead school in the MK Behaviour Partnership for the commissioning and management of secondary alternative education.
· Permanently Excluded Pupils - statutory addition/deduction to any school admitting/excluding a pupil. The amount is based on the value of the AWPU for the year the pupil is in and the period of the year that is remaining. For a pupil in the last statutory school year the addition/deduction will be based on the period until the end of August. From April 2012 any Pupil Premium allocation attributable to an excluded pupil will also follow that pupil.
5.8 Grants mainstreamed into the DSG - With effect from April 2011, various Standards Funds grants were mainstreamed into the DSG. Consequently, within the school budget share, there is now an additional funding stream that is the allocation of the mainstreamed grants to each school. Funding will continue in 2012/13 on the basis of the allocation to schools in 2011/12. Grants relevant to the secondary sector that have been mainstreamed are as follows:
· School Development Grant
· Specialist Schools (incl HPSS)
· School Standard Grant
· School Standard Grant (Personalisation)
· Advance Skills Teachers
· Secondary Strategy
· Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant
· School Lunch Grant
· 1:1 Tuition
· Extended Schools
5.9 Minimum Funding Guarantee - The MFG is a protection mechanism that is intended to limit the turbulence at an individual school level of the per pupil funding between financial years. It is subject to a number of exceptions e.g. rates, AER, new school funding and changes to place numbers in SEN departments. For 2012/2013, the MFG is set nationally at a decrease of no more than 1.5% per pupil compared to the 2011/12 budget.
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