Agenda item

Atul Lad presented the report to inform the Schools Forum of the 2013-14 Growth Fund outturn.

Atul reported the fund was set at £385,000 and the report details the schools it has gone to. It was noted that the underspend of £54,353 will carry forward into 2015/16.

Atul reported that the agreed criteria for 2013/14 was that schools that have a bulge class or are in the first year of expansion receive funding.

There was discussion about the gap in funding for schools because of lag funding meaning that those schools not in the first year of expansion have been underfunded.  This has been put right for 2014/15 by the change to the Growth Fund criteria and the increase of that fund to £1.5 million.  However, schools missed out in 2013/14. Maggie Stacey proposed that that there is a check on how many schools were not funded in 2013/14 as they were not in the first year of expansion.

Schools Forum agreed the need to look back at figures for 2013/14 and that this information be brought back to the 2^nd May meeting alongside wider information regarding any schools which were not funded in the same way prior to 2013/14.

The DfE does not fund the LA for the additional pupils which the Growth Fund will fund in 2014/15. Barbara Clark asked who is responsible for going back to the Department for Education to argue this case for the Forum.

Maggie Waller to write to the Department for Education as the Schools Forum Chair, however the Forum felt it would be better to have a joint letter to go from the Forum and Local Authority. Jane Wood agreed to take this back to the Local Authority and Robin Crofts to take back through the School Places work. Jane Wood will raise the issue with Joseph Holmes.

It was noted that the current DfE Fair Funding consultation will also provide another vehicle by which to lobby the DfE.

Tony Smith suggested that other LAs will be in a similar position and a collective approach may be useful.

Report on Growth Fund outturn to come back to July’s meeting.