School leaders recommend budget

School leaders have agreed their budget recommendations for the next financial year.

Herefordshire schools forum members unanimously agreed six of the seven proposals but before them on Tuesday.

These include final funding values of £3,500 per pupil for primary schools and £4,800 for secondaries with the adoption of the national funding formula sparsity taper.

The Department for Education introduced the sparsity factor to provide important support for remote schools in rural communities.

The budget also includes proposals to fund £10 per pupil in addition to the national funding formula, that the minimum funding guarantee be set at 0.33% to ensure those schools on the guarantee also receive the £10 per pupil additional funding.

A total of £112,000 will be transferred to the high needs block to help fund the primary special educational needs protection scheme and ensure the current cap of 130 pupils continues for 2019/20.

The additional funding within the schools block of £197,000 will be allocated so that primary and high schools receive an extra £5 per pupil and a further increase 0.17% in the minimum funding guarantee.

And an extra £103,000 will be transferred to support the increase in special school places.

Forum members agreed that the central school services block should be used to fund the former Education
Services Grant retained duties of £360,000, national licences for schools £131,000, the schools forum which totals £12,000 and admissions £132,000.

The remaining £56,000 will be transferred to the high needs block.

In terms of early years funding there will be no change in the formula for the county’s providers.

The forum approved central spending of £335,000 for early consultants and nursery education funding payment
costs for 2019/20.

And for the pass through percentage to three and four year old providers to be at 97.5%.

After some discussion over local authority maintained schools approving de-delegation of funding, those members who could vote approved it with four votes in favour and one abstention.

They will advise children and families cabinet member Elissa Swinglehurst to keep trade union facilities funding at £2.90 per pupil, ethinic minority support at £1.12 per pupil and an extra £6.60 per free school meals for Ever 6 pupils.

A total of £107 extra per pupil will go towards English as an additional language for the first year only.

The software licence costs for financial planning comes at £350 per school and education functions for local authority maintained schools will be at £13.50 per pupil.

They also agreed that the free school meals administration will be transferred to a service level agreement through the schools portal from April 2019.