Agenda item

DfE High Needs funding formula and other reforms - consultation stage 1

To discuss the consultation issues to enable Schools Forum to formulate a response.

Minutes:

Principles for a reformed funding system

 

1 Do you agree with our proposed principles for the funding system?

Yes

 

Should there also be a principle to support early intervention?

 

The Forum queried whether a formula-driven and transparent principle is rather undermined by the phrase " it is not necessary or desirable to have complete

consistency across the country" on p20 of the paper.

 

Distributing high needs funding to local authorities

 

2 Do you agree that the majority of high needs funding should be distributed to local authorities rather than directly to schools and other institutions?

 

Yes

 

Please provide any further comments:

However, schools must be able to rely on the transparency principle so that forward planning and future proofing are enabled.

 

3 Do you agree that the high needs formula should be based on proxy measures of need, not the assessed needs of children and young people?

 

No

 

Please provide any further comments:

 

There is more work to be done on the measures to capture all additional needs. For instance, we could not see where so-called high-functioning autistic children's

needs would be met. We were also concerned that the wording of the question is likely to provoke an emotive rather than a well-informed response.

 

Formula design

 

4 Do you agree with the basic factors proposed for the formula?

Yes/No - Basic entitlement:

 

Agree

 

Yes/No - Population:

 

Agree

 

Yes/No - Child health:

 

Disagree

 

Yes/No - Child disability:

 

Agree

 

Yes/No - Low attainment at key stage 2:

 

Disagree

 

Yes/No - Low attainment at key stage 4:

 

Disagree

 

Yes/No - Deprivation - free school meal eligibility:

 

Agree

 

Yes/No - Deprivation - income deprivation affecting children index:

 

Agree

 

Yes/No - Adjustments - for "imports/exports":

 

Agree

 

Please provide any further comments:

 

There is limited confidence in the accuracy of data captured through census checks and even less through NHS records, to secure up-to-date, current data sets

for strategic budget planning at school level.

 

5 We are not proposing to make changes to the distribution of funding for hospital education, but would welcome views as we continue working with representatives of this sector on the way forward.

 

Please provide your comments::

No opinion

 

6 Which methodology for the area cost adjustment do you support?

 

general labour market methodology

 

Please provide any further comments:

 

Managing a smooth transition

 

7 Do you agree that we should include a proportion of 2016-17 spending in the formula allocations of funding for high needs?

 

Yes

 

Please provide any further comments:

 

8 Do you agree with our proposal to protect local authorities' funding through an overall minimum funding guarantee?

 

Yes

 

Please provide any further comments::

 

The inclusion of an on-going damping mechanism to smooth out step changes in funding would be a welcome addition.

Changes to the way high needs funding supports mainstream schools

 

9 We welcome views on what should be covered in any national guidelines on what schools offer for their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

 

10 Do you agree with the proposed changes to the funding of special units in mainstream schools?

 

Agree

 

11 We welcome examples of local authorities that are using centrally-retained funding in a strategic way to overcome barriers to integration and inclusion.

 

12 We welcome examples of where centrally-retained funding is used to support schools that are very inclusive and have a high proportion of pupils with particular types of special education needs, or a disproportionate number of pupils with high needs.

 

Please provide any comments:

 

There is evidence that where a school gets a reputation for excellent provision for high needs children, that reputation drives attraction and there becomes an

uneven distribution of high needs children across the LA.

 

Changes to the way high needs funding supports independent special schools

 

13 Do you agree that independent special schools should be given the opportunity to receive place funding directly from the Education Funding Agency with the balance in the form of top-up funding from local authorities?

 

Disagree

 

Please provide any further comments:

 

It rather depends on whether the ISS is within the LA and impacts on its budget.

Changes to the way high needs funding supports post-16 providers.

 

14 We welcome views on the outline and principles of the proposed changes to post-16 place funding and on how specialist provision in further education colleges might be identified and designated.

 

Please provide any comments:

 

Any scheme which gives greater simplicity would be welcome.