Indicative Budget Shares, 2009/10 and 2010/11

As you will be aware, the indicative budget shares for 2009/10 and 2010/11 were released on to the Children's Services Finance website on 14 March, 2008.

These budgets were calculated using pupil forecasting data from our Pupil Place Planning Team. However, it has become apparent that, for some schools, the data was not accurate.

Staff in Finance Support have been collecting and collating data from schools and have identified those schools with significant variances in the pupil number forecasts. For those schools, the 2009/10 indicative budget share will be recalculated and reissued. If yours is a school that has been identified, your Finance Support Officer will notify you separately.

For all other schools, and for the 2010/11 indicative budget share in all schools, we have developed a spreadsheet that can be used to recalculate the Age Weighted Pupil Allowances and the Infant Class Size Grant that the school should use in its budget plans, should the need arise. The spreadsheet will be available via the EFS website in due course.

Where schools have already completed their 3 year budget plan, it may be submitted in the normal way. Pupil numbers can be adjusted at the time of the first revision to the plan in the second half of the summer term.

In schools that have so far been unable to complete a 3 year budget plan due to concerns over pupil number forecasts, but where the variance will not trigger recalculation, please complete the spreadsheet with your revised forecasted numbers, and revise the budget share figures in lines I01 by the amount shown. The spreadsheet must be signed by the Headteacher and attached to your submitted, authorised budget plan.

Please do not make any other unauthorised changes to your budget share figures.

Schools should be aware that any pupil number forecast used by a school will not affect the LA's numbers used for pupil place planning, although our figures will be revised for those schools that are having their indicative budget shares recalculated.

The budget for 2009/10 actual and 2010/11 indicative will be recalculated in 2009 to reflect updated pupil numbers.

In recognition of the problems that schools have been experiencing in the completion or their budget plans because of this issue, I am extending the deadline for submission of original plans to Friday, 23 May, 2008.

Staff are reviewing existing processes with a view to eliminating significant variances in projected numbers.

If you have any queries, please contact Alison Randall, School Support Manager, on (01603) 224273.