This paper set outs the proposals for the Shropshire Schools Funding Formula agreed by the Shropshire Schools Forum

60.1    Members received the report of the Director of Children’s Services which set out the proposals for the Shropshire Schools Funding Formula agreed by the Shropshire Schools Forum.

60.2    The Service Delivery Manager advised that the funding formula proposed by the Schools Forum had been formally ratified by Cabinet at the 10 December meeting.

60.3    The Service Delivery Manager advised that Shropshire had received an extra £10 million funding to address previous underfunding in the schools grant, and this additional funding had led to less schools requiring the minimum funding guarantee.  He added that in the future there would be a National Funding Formula and that work was ongoing to enable Shropshire schools to take the best advantage of this.

60.4    The Service Delivery Manager advised that there were still issues around the sustainability of some schools and that the Schools Forum Task and Finish Group would continue to meet to monitor the situation. He added that work was also being done with schools to address the problem.

60.5    A Member commented that small schools were still not receiving sufficient funding and it was important that they were able to deliver good outcomes for their pupils and that collaborative working may be the way forward.  The Service Delivery Manager commented that there was need for Officers to work proactively with schools to address problems.  The Head of Education Improvement and Efficiency advised the Committee that currently there were 10 primary schools in formal federations and 3 more in the process of federating, and that this would enable 4 of the 13 schools involved to deliver better outcomes as they were more sustainable.  She added that with regard to management of school budgets the deficit protocol was being reviewed and work was being done with schools to address any problems.

60.6    In response to a Member’s query the Head of Education Improvement and Efficiency advised that the formula applied only to maintained schools.  The Director of Children’s Services advised that academies were funded on the same basis as maintained schools in Shropshire although they had more freedom in how they spent the money.

60.7    A Member commented that falling pre-school rolls in rural areas were making them unsustainable.  The Service Delivery Manager commented that the Council was required to assess sufficiency of places in pre-schools. The Director of Children’s Services suggested that a report be brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

60.8    A Member expressed concern that sparsity had not been sufficiently recognised within the formula and that this may affect funding in the future.  The Service Delivery Manager informed the meeting that the Task and Finish Group had fully considered sparsity during its deliberations and had found that some schools which fitted the definition of sparsity did not actually require the extra funding and hence the formula was developed to reflect this.

60.9    A Member thanked the Schools Forum for all the hard work they had undertaken to develop the formula.  This was endorsed by all Members.

60.10  Resolved: -

            That the recommendations made by the Schools Forum be noted.