12 October 2018 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Schools’ Local Funding Formula Consultation for 2019-20

Next Monday, we are launching our School Funding Consultation. The Consultation will run for five weeks and closes on Friday, 16 November 2018.

We are pleased to confirm that we are not proposing any further changes to the Local Funding Formula (LFF) funding rates for 2019-20 that we published alongside the 2018-19 school budgets at the end of February 2018. Stability in school funding remains a key objective for this authority in this period of transition towards a National Funding Formula.

The Consultation focuses on two proposals:

• The introduction of a Split Site factor into the LFF, to provide additional funding to schools and academies for unavoidable costs incurred due to a school being located on more than one site.
• Continue to maintain the 0.5% transfer of the Schools Block (SB) to the High Needs Block (HNB) agreed in 2018-19 and add a further 0.5% transfer from the SB to the HNB in 2019-20, making a total of 1%. This will help to meet the growing demand for High Needs Funding that supports the needs of children with profound and complex SEND.

I encourage all Kent maintained schools, academies and free schools to respond to the Consultation.

You can access the Consultation documentation online Please note, the link will not be live until Monday, 15 October 2018. This will comprise:

• A Word document that explains in detail, the proposals and why we believe they are necessary.
• An online Consultation Response Form.
• An Equality Impact Assessment.

If you have any questions about the Consultation, please email your enquiry to: schoolfunding@kent.gov.uk.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education