I have been asked for a quick way of identifying funding problems, what is set out below are two very quick ways you can crudely view your funding allocation using only your allocation statement.
The Education Funding Agency (EFA) are in the process of uploading the 6 form funding allocations and in their covering documentation
They state
“For some schools and academies the allocation based on your data is likely be considerably lower than you might expect.” (p3)
The reasons behind this reduced allocation are identified mainly as issues relating to
• The funding band that individual learners from 2014/15 census data are placed in for allocation purposes.
• And errors related to the English and Maths condition of funding data
What would indicate a possible problem?
I would carry out a crude calculation from your Allocation Statement using the boxes from the Programme Funding Formula, divide the total funding in the National Funding Rate Per Student box by the number of students in the Student Numbers for 2016/17 Box
This will give you a total that will not exceed £4,000
If 100% of your learners are 16 and 17 you should achieve £4,000 as an answer
The exact make up of your funding depends very much on the nature of your sixth form, the higher the % of your Sixth Form who are in Y14 aged 18 at start of academic year, the lower this total will be
If 4% of your learners are 18 you should achieve £3,972
If 10% of your learner is 18 you should achieve £3,930
In practice many 6 Forms also have a few learners who do fall into the Band 1 2 and 3 categories (namely 18 year olds sweeping up subjects)
If your answer is below £3,950 you need to carefully review your data and consider if you have a business case option
This is crude but fast
For issues related to English and Maths Condition of Funding, if your allocation is being reduced by this you need to investigate the data.
Please feel free to contact me via Paul@pro16plus.com if you require any help or advice
