Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall. View directions

Contact: Elizabeth Patterson  01597 826980 Email: elizabeth.patterson@powys.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive apologies for absence.

2.

Declarations of interest

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Declarations of Party Whips

To receive disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.

 

(NB: Members are reminded that under Section 78 Members having been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on a matter before the Committee.)

Minutes:

There were no declarations of party whips.

4.

Chair's Briefing

To receive a verbal update from the Chair of Learning, Skills and Economy Scrutiny Committee.

Minutes:

In the absence of the substantive Chair there was no briefing.

5.

Funding Formula Review

To receive a presentation on the Fair Funding Formula Review.

Minutes:

Background

 

The Committee had previously considered the proposal to review the Funding Formula and had presented a number of observations to Cabinet.  Assurance had been given that there would be a further opportunity to scrutinize the proposals prior to the commencement of the formal consultation period.

 

The Director of Education acknowledged the level of engagement in the process of the review including Head Teachers, Governor representatives and the Schools Forum.

 

A Funding Formula is a key statutory responsibility.  It should be transparent, equitable and simple to administer and understand.  Transparency was necessary to enable any party to check how funds had been allocated and to assist in considering future priorities.  Equity was also important in adding to the debate and ensuring effective decision making.  It was essential that the Formula, once agreed, was maintained to accommodate changing legislation, priorities etc.

 

A Schools Finance Specialist had been engaged to support the process of the review.  She informed the Committee that in developing the proposals, there were a number of balancing questions to be addressed.  The Formula would need to have a fixed element and a variable element.  Every pupil in the County should be funded on the same basis.  The first challenge was in describing the Education Offer that required funding.  Discussions are ongoing with schools and options are emerging.  Further open questions would be put to schools to enable constructive feedback to add to the process.  No single proposal would be put forward as this would be disingenuous.

 

Underlying principles to support each phase of the Offer would be adhered to unless there was a clear reason for variation.  Diversity of need would have to be addressed.  It was also essential that the level of resourcing needed to be safe.

 

The areas covered by the Formula would include class sizes, leadership and management, additional support and repairs and maintenance.

 

The Head of Financial Services reminded the Committee that the Formula was a mechanism for funding schools but that it did not dictate to the schools how those funds were spent.  It was acknowledged that one Formula will never satisfy every school.  The Formula was intended to provide a consistent, minimum level of delivery to schools.  This would assist in comparing schools and in addressing the reasons for deficits in some schools.

 

Discussion

 

 

 

Would the cost per pupil be higher where schools are smaller and, within key stages, would KS2 and KS3 be more expensive?

 

Foundation Phase has a specified staffing ratio and KS5 is grant funded outside of the Formula.  KS4 tends to be smaller but gains additional funding to reflect the GCSE offer.  Generally, funding is lower for KS2.

 

Members questioned why no Formula had been presented to them

 

It had been decided not to provide a Formula at this stage but to establish the principles upon which a Formula could be based.  Once those principles have been agreed, additional information will be provided regarding individual allocations to schools.  This process is in line with other reviews across Wales  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Work Programme

Forthcoming dates for this Committee are:

·         14th September 2018 – 10.00am (9.30am briefing) – School Budgets

·         1st October 2018 – 10.00am (9.30am briefing) – School Standards

 

Education scrutiny briefing dates:

·         19th September 2018 10.00am

·         25th September 2018 10.00am

Minutes:

Forthcoming dates for this Committee are:

 

14th September 2018 – 10.00am (9.30am briefing) – School Budgets

1st October 2018 – 10.00am (9.30am briefing) – School Standards

 

Education scrutiny briefing dates:

19th September 2018 10.00am

25th September 2018 10.00am