To consider a report by County Councillor Phyl Davies, Portfolio Holder for Education and Property and County Councillor Aled Davies, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transport.
Minutes:
Cabinet considered responses received to the consultation to changes to the School Funding Formula for mainstream Primary phase schools and revisions to the Powys Scheme for Financing Schools.
The formula had been developed as part of the Authority’s Post Inspection Action Plan following the Estyn inspection in July 2019.
A Formula Review Group had been established with a range of stakeholders along with Council officers, chaired by the Strategic Lead for Education. The group reviewed a range of school funding formulae from other rural Welsh local authorities before developing a set of formula proposals for mainstream primary phase schools that were consulted upon in October 2021.
The aim of the proposed formula was to support a move to a pupil-led formula that would provide a stable, transparent and equitable funding arrangement for mainstream, primary phase schools, which would
· Create a more equitable provision for all learners across Powys
· Support the aspirations of the transformation programme
· Support all learners including helping offset the effects of disadvantage
· Support a collaborative schools’ community which offers effective professional learning to facilitate the self improving system.
· Support inclusion and bilingualism, and promote access to excellence for all learners.
County Councillor Pete Roberts presented the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee comments. The Committee were supportive of the proposals and pleased that they were being phased in to give schools time to adjust. The Committee had recommended that indicative figures for individual schools should be published within a month of the Cabinet decision and that when the review of the new formula was undertaken, that the Scrutiny Committee have an opportunity to scrutinise the outcome of that review.
The Portfolio Holder for Education and Property confirmed that he would be happy to bring the revised formula back to Scrutiny. He also confirmed the fact that small streams continued to be funded was a recognition of the situation as it was but that the Cabinet remained committed to transformation.
RESOLVED
1. the proposed amendments to the current formula for primary schools with specialist centres be implemented in full from 1 April 2022;
2. the initial Per Pupil Allocation is calculated using the cost elements set out in Appendix A of the Consultation document;
3. Component 3 includes a top up for small schools, scaled by bands of pupil numbers, for schools with fewer than 91 pupils;
4. Component 3 includes a class size top up for schools with between 61 and 149 pupils (inclusive) as calculated in 3.9 above;
5. Component 3 includes a junior school top up as set out in 3.10 – 3.11 above;
6. Component 3 includes a dual stream top up which includes a small stream top up and a dual stream class size top up as set out in 3.12 above.
7. Component 3 includes a bilingual top up for Welsh medium or dual stream schools, as set out in 3.13 above;
8. Component 3 includes a surplus internal area top up as set out in 3.14 above;
9. Component 3 includes a surplus external grounds area top up as set out in 3.15 above;
10. Component 3 includes a building condition top up as set out in 3.16 above;
11. Component 3 includes a top up to match the actual cost of non-domestic rates, statutory testing, insurance for premises and employees;
12. Implementation is phased over a three year period;
13. The revisions to the Powys Scheme for Financing Schools as set out in Appendix B and approved by Schools Budget Forum are agreed.
Supporting documents: