Decision details

17      SCHOOLS FUNDING FORMULA AND EARLY YEARS FUNDING FORMULA 2023-24 – The Directors: Governance and Communities, and Children and Families submitted a joint report updating the 2023-24 funding allocations for Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and the amount available for Individual School Budgets (ISB) and Early Years providers; seeking approval for the proposed Schools Funding Formula for North Lincolnshire mainstream schools; and seeking approval for the proposed Early Years Funding Formula (EYFF) for early years providers.

The local authority was required to notify mainstream maintained schools of their school budget shares by 28 February 2023 and indicative allocations to early years providers by 1 April 2023.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) published operational guides annually to help local authorities and their Schools Forum plan the local implementation of school funding formulas and deliver early years entitlements for the forthcoming year.

On 16 December 2022 the ESFA published the 2023-24 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Allocations, based on October 2022 School Census data. The allocation for North Lincolnshire was £167.638m after recoupment and deductions for National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) and direct funding of High Needs Places by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). This was an increase of £8.736m from last year. The DSG consisted of four funding blocks:

·       Schools Block £129.981m

·       High Needs Block £26.736m

·       Early Years Block £9.892m

·       Central Schools Services Block £1.029m

The schools block funded all mainstream schools and was ring fenced. The Operational guide set out how Individual School Budget (ISB) shares could be calculated.

North Lincolnshire Councils local school funding formula mirrored the schools National Funding Formula (NFF).

Key changes to the schools NFF in 2023 to 2024 were detailed at paragraph 2.5; and the key features of the local authority formula arrangements at paragraph 2.6 of the report.

The Early Years Block funded all providers of early education to two, three and four-year-olds.

It was a statutory duty of the local authority to provide up to a maximum of 15 hours funded early education for 38 weeks of the year for all three and four-year olds in North Lincolnshire, and an additional extended 15 hours for children of working parents that met an eligibility criteria.  More than 90% of three and four-year olds took up their universal 15 hours entitlement to early education, of these approximately 44% took up additional extended hours. 

Two-year olds could claim up to 15 funded hours of early education for 38 weeks of the year where their family circumstances make them eligible.  To meet the criteria families must have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) or be in receipt of Universal Credit/tax credits and have an annual income of under £16,190 before tax or where a child was looked after by a local authority. Take-up of two-year olds was consistently higher than the national average.

Local authorities determined their own local formula that met the requirements of statutory guidance in consultation with Schools Forum.  Early years’ providers received funding based on participation of individual children each term.

The report set out the final proposals for the North Lincolnshire schools funding formula and the North Lincolnshire Early Years Formula for 2023-24.

Resolved – (a) That the factors detailed in Appendix 1 of the report to calculate the individual schools budget shares for mainstream schools within North Lincolnshire for 2023/24 be applied, (b) that the schools block earmarked reserve to finance the shortfall between the schools block allocation and the total cost of the school funding formula be applied, and (c) that the early years formula factors and values as presented in Appendix 2 of the report for the financial year 2023/24 be approved.