Management Information Sheet
National Funding Formula for Schools and High Needs Stage 2 Consultation
Schools National Funding Formula Consultation Stage 2
The Department for Education has launched Stage 2 of the National Funding Formula for Schools and High Needs.
The consultation is open until 22 March 2017, and the outcome will be published in July 2017.
The new formula will be introduced in financial year 2018-19, this will be a transitional year with Local Authorities in consultation with schools, deciding how quickly schools are moved onto the new formula within the funding available from the Department of Education.
The new formula will be fully implemented in financial year 2019-20.
What it means for Norfolk Schools
Norfolk schools will receive an extra £4.75m of funding when the formula is fully implemented in 2019-20.
In the first year of implementation there is transitional protection across the country and Norfolk schools will receive an additional £3.561m of funding in 2018-19.
At an individual school level in Norfolk there are gainers and losers. 54% (220) of schools will gain under the proposed new formula and 45% (182) of schools will possibly see a reduction in their funding, 1% will see no change.
The figures the DFE use in the consultation are based on 2016/17 numbers of pupils and the same pupil characteristics the school currently has in 2016/17.
To see what the new formula means for your school, please click the link below and select the 4th document, 'Impact of the proposed schools NFF 20161220.xslm'
Proposed Changes
Please take time to read the full consultation, the Executive Summary at the above link provides a good overview of the proposed changes.
At a national level the proposals reduce the amount of funding distributed via the basic per pupil amount each school receives for every pupil.
Nationally the proposals increase the amount of funding distributed via the per pupil amount for additional needs factors (deprivation, low prior attainment and English as an Additional Language).
It sets the lump sum at one amount for all schools to £110,000. Reducing the amount nationally distributed via lump sums.
It proposes to change the maximum sparsity sums to £25,000 for primary and £65,000 for secondary and all through schools. This will change the funding of the 51 schools that currently receive sparsity funding in Norfolk.
Transition and protection
Schools due to gain under the formula will see per pupil increases of up to 3% in 2018-19 and up to a further 2.5% in 2019-20.
Schools will not lose more than 3% per pupil as a result of the new formula.
There will continue to be a national minimum funding guarantee so no individual school budget reduces more than 1.5% on the same level of pupil numbers, so there will be no greater loss than is currently allowed.
Norfolk Schools Forum has formed a working group of members to put together a joint response reflecting the views of the Education sectors they represent, with the intention of submitting this as part of the DFE Consultation. Schools can respond directly to the consultation at;
consult.education.gov.uk - schools national funding formula
High Needs National Funding Formula
The consultation on the high needs block funding formula is following the same timescales.
The formula will change the way Local Authorities receive their High Needs Block allocation.
No Local Authority will lose funding for the next four years. There will be an element of historic spending protection, to recognise the actual cost of maintaining the provision of those with high needs already placed in schools and colleges.
There is a separate consultation for the high needs block which is at the below link, a joint response will be submitted by Norfolk Schools Forum Learning Difficulties and Disabilities sub group. Schools can respond separately at the below link .