Recommendations & Conclusions
11 items
4
Recommendation
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
Schools are having to cross-subsidise their sixth forms with funding intended to support younger pupils. Between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the balance of funding shifted from secondary schools to primary schools. Secondary school funding per pupil dropped by 3.9% in real terms, while primary school funding increased by 4.2%. Part of …
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Schools are having to cross-subsidise their sixth forms with funding intended to support younger pupils. Between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the balance of funding shifted from secondary schools to primary schools. Secondary school funding per pupil dropped by 3.9% in real terms, while primary school funding increased by 4.2%. Part of the reason for this was that the Department reduced funding per sixth-form student, which fell by 11.4% in real terms. The Department concedes that it chose to prioritise funding for children aged 5 to 16. Local authorities have also protected funding for primary schools. The Department accepts that 16-to-19 education is facing challenges, and that some schools cross-subsidise in order to keep their sixth forms going. It has increased funding for students aged 16 to 19 in the past two years, in order to start redressing the balance. Recommendation: In making and communicating decisions about school funding, the Department should explicitly consider how different funding streams interact so that schools do not have to cross-subsidise, for example, in order to support sixth-form provision.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to continue considering how different funding streams interact to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms in future funding decisions, noting significant additional investment in 16-19 education.
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HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department does not seem to have a grip on the impact of falling rolls on schools. Most school funding follows the pupils—under the national funding formula, the Department allocates nearly three-quarters of schools block funding on the basis of pupil numbers. We know of schools whose rolls are falling …
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The Department does not seem to have a grip on the impact of falling rolls on schools. Most school funding follows the pupils—under the national funding formula, the Department allocates nearly three-quarters of schools block funding on the basis of pupil numbers. We know of schools whose rolls are falling due to changes in their local populations. These schools still have to cover their fixed costs, but are seeing their funding fall significantly. The Department highlights that there is a ‘falling rolls fund’ that local authorities can use to help schools in this position, and that the national funding formula provides a lump sum for each school regardless of size. However, the Department does not appear to have a strong understanding of the practical financial impact of falling rolls on individual schools. Recommendation: The Department should carry out an evidence-based assessment of whether there is enough support for schools whose rolls are falling, and write to us by the end of March 2022 with an update on the results of its assessment and what it is doing to address any concerns.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to writing to the Committee by March 2022 with an updated assessment of support for schools with decreasing pupil numbers.
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HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals) to less deprived schools. Between 2017–18 and 2020–21, average per-pupil funding for the most deprived fifth of schools fell in real terms by 1.2% to …
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There has also been a relative re-distribution of funding from more deprived schools (those with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals) to less deprived schools. Between 2017–18 and 2020–21, average per-pupil funding for the most deprived fifth of schools fell in real terms by 1.2% to £5,177, while funding for the least deprived fifth of schools increased by 2.9% to £4,471.7
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and will publish an analysis of the impact of transitional steps towards a hard National Funding Formula on individual schools and different types of schools in July 2022, updated annually.
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HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department said that the national funding formula had fixed a system that had become broken. It explained that, between 2005 and 2017–18, school funding had not been adjusted to reflect changes in pattens of need across the country. For example, while the proportion of pupils eligible for free school …
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The Department said that the national funding formula had fixed a system that had become broken. It explained that, between 2005 and 2017–18, school funding had not been adjusted to reflect changes in pattens of need across the country. For example, while the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals nationally went up from 16% to 17% between 2005 and 2020, in Inner London, the proportion dropped from 38% to 25%.10
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Government response AI summary
The government agreed with the Committee's observation that the national funding formula (NFF) fixed a broken system and fairly distributes funding. It committed to publishing an analysis of the impact of its proposed transitional step towards a hard NFF in July 2022, with annual updates.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of deprivation—some areas remained very deprived but were not as deprived as they had been in the early 2000s, while other areas remained less deprived but were significantly more deprived than they had been. This situation …
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The Department told us that funding allocations were now catching up with changing levels of deprivation—some areas remained very deprived but were not as deprived as they had been in the early 2000s, while other areas remained less deprived but were significantly more deprived than they had been. This situation had created what on the face of it looked like a slightly peculiar pattern of some areas that were less deprived having larger funding uplifts than other areas that were more deprived.11
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Government response AI summary
The government explains that the National Funding Formula (NFF) fairly distributes funding based on school and pupil needs, and the shifting patterns reflect the NFF catching up with changes in deprivation levels since the early 2000s.
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HM Treasury
11
Recommendation
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the distribution of funding. The effect of these had been to shift funding in the direction of schools that had very low levels of deprivation.12 The Department told us that it had always known that the …
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The Department also highlighted the impact of the new minimum per-pupil funding levels on the distribution of funding. The effect of these had been to shift funding in the direction of schools that had very low levels of deprivation.12 The Department told us that it had always known that the minimum funding levels were likely to benefit the least deprived schools. This was because the national funding formula was weighted towards disadvantage, so the schools with the lowest per-pupil funding were highly likely to the least deprived schools. It noted that only a small proportion of funding (less than 2% of total schools block funding) was distributed via the minimum funding mechanism.13
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the implicit recommendation to monitor funding impacts, committing to publish an annual analysis of the impact of transitional funding steps on individual and different types of schools, with the first due in July 2022.
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HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department told us that it was mindful of the challenges facing 16-to-19 education, including significant demographic pressures.28 It recognised that some schools with sixth forms were cross-subsidising their post-16 provision from the rest of their budgets, and said that this was one of the reasons why it had increased …
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The Department told us that it was mindful of the challenges facing 16-to-19 education, including significant demographic pressures.28 It recognised that some schools with sixth forms were cross-subsidising their post-16 provision from the rest of their budgets, and said that this was one of the reasons why it had increased funding for 16- to 19-year-olds in the past two years.29 Impact of falling school rolls
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and commits to explicitly considering how different funding streams interact in future funding decisions for 5-16 and post-16 provision, aiming to support the financial sustainability of schools with sixth forms.
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HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
We have heard concerns about the funding of schools, across London and elsewhere, whose rolls are falling. Small schools, such as those with a single-form entry, may face a disproportionate financial impact if their pupil numbers fall. The Department recognised the themes we described including the impact in London, with …
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We have heard concerns about the funding of schools, across London and elsewhere, whose rolls are falling. Small schools, such as those with a single-form entry, may face a disproportionate financial impact if their pupil numbers fall. The Department recognised the themes we described including the impact in London, with changes in patterns of living and people moving out of the capital in some circumstances.31
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to the recommendation to carry out an evidence-based assessment of support for schools with falling rolls and will provide an update to the Committee by March 2022.
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department emphasised that all schools receive a single lump sum regardless of size to cover some of the fixed costs that do not vary with pupil numbers. In addition, 25 C&AG’s report, para 1.12 26 Q 32 27 Q 33 28 Q 39 29 Q 40 30 C&AG’s Report, …
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The Department emphasised that all schools receive a single lump sum regardless of size to cover some of the fixed costs that do not vary with pupil numbers. In addition, 25 C&AG’s report, para 1.12 26 Q 32 27 Q 33 28 Q 39 29 Q 40 30 C&AG’s Report, para 2.7 31 Q 65 12 School Funding the funding system includes a mechanism called the falling rolls fund, which allows local authorities to support schools where declining pupil numbers are affecting their financial sustainability, but whose provision will still be needed in the longer term.32
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Government response AI summary
The government explained that existing National Funding Formula elements support schools with falling rolls, and local authorities are responsible for managing school places efficiently, with discretion to use Dedicated School Grant funds for this purpose. The department will provide an updated assessment of support for …
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HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The school funding system currently involves local discretion in that local authorities and academy trusts are free to vary the allocations that the Department calculates using the national funding formula. The government has said that it intends to move to a ‘hard’ national funding formula, where the Department would set …
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The school funding system currently involves local discretion in that local authorities and academy trusts are free to vary the allocations that the Department calculates using the national funding formula. The government has said that it intends to move to a ‘hard’ national funding formula, where the Department would set schools’ budgets directly.43
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges its intention to move to a 'hard' national funding formula, stating it has recently published a consultation on completing reforms to the NFF, proposing direct funding allocation based on a single national formula.
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HM Treasury
35
Conclusion
Twenty-First Report - School Funding
Accepted
The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It explained that it had had to adjust the rate of progress towards this based on conversations with HM Treasury and on the wider context. It stated that pay increases in September would represent an average …
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The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It explained that it had had to adjust the rate of progress towards this based on conversations with HM Treasury and on the wider context. It stated that pay increases in September would represent an average rise of 3.1%, but this would be significantly weighted towards starting salaries, with 5.5% going on salaries for new teachers.51 The Department said that the question of when it might implement its commitment on starting salaries could only be answered after the next Spending Review.52 Education recovery and catch-up learning
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Government response AI summary
The government agreed with the Committee's observation regarding its commitment to a £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It committed to providing written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body in early 2022, outlining its intended approach to delivering this commitment, subject to STRB recommendations.
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HM Treasury