Chapter 3 - The Budgetary Framework · Chapter 3 - The Budgetary ... 1.7.1 Capital expenditure from...

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Chapter 3 - The Budgetary Framework

__________________________________________________________________ 3.1 The Borough Council’s education expenditure (revenue) is partly controlled by Cabinet and partly by the Swindon Schools Forum. 3.2. The LA total revenue expenditure on education is divided into two categories:

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Non-Dedicated Schools Grant (non DSG)

3.3 Within the DSG the amount available for delegation to schools after provision has been made for centrally retained items is known as the Individual Schools Budget (ISB). The Swindon Schools Forum has decision making powers in determining the levels of budget funded within the DSG. Swindon Borough Council holds the decision making power in relation to the non DSG budgets. 3.4 Regulations under section 47 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (the regulations) apply for the purpose of determining the amount which an LA may determine as a maintained school’s budget share for a financial year. This is then subject to approval by the Swindon Schools Forum. 3.5 An LA shall allocate each financial year in accordance with the regulations all of their Individual Schools Budget for that financial year to schools which it maintains subject to the approval of the Swindon Schools Forum. 3.6 An LA shall consult the governing body and head teacher of all schools in its area in relation to the factors and criteria which the authority propose to take into account in determining budget shares. The results of consultation with head teachers and all other education stakeholders shall be considered by the Swindon Schools Forum. 3.7 Consultation with head teachers and education stakeholders shall take place in accordance with the normal procedures for consultations. 3.8 Once the funding formula has been agreed by the Schools Forum it will be used to calculate school’s budget shares in accordance with the regulations. 3.9 The Schools Budget in Swindon is made up of the following parts. The total cost of all the following is met by the DSG. Under the regulations the DSG cannot be used for any other expenditure unless there is express agreement from the Schools Forum and that the expenditure meets the education benefit test. At the end of the year if the total cost of the following items is less than the DSG the ‘underspend’ is carried forward and added to the following years allocation of DSG. If the total cost

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is higher than the DSG then the ‘overspend’ is carried forward and becomes a first call on the following years DSG. The numbers cross reference to the lines within the section 52 budget statement 2008/9. Schools Budget 1.0.1 Individual Schools Budget 1.0.2 Schools Standards Grant – Maintained Schools 1.0.3 Schools Standards Grant – Pupil Referral Units 1.0.4 Schools Standards Grant (Personalisation) – Maintained Schools 1.0.5 Schools Standards Grant (Personalisation) – Pupil Referral Units 1.0.6 School Development Grant 1.0.7 Other Standards Fund Allocation - Devloved 1.0.8 Threshold and Performance Pay - Devolved 1.0.9 Expenditure on Under 5’s in Private, Voluntary and Independent settings 1.1.1 Support for Schools in Financial Difficulty 1.1.2 Schools Specific Contingencies 1.2.1 Provision for pupils with SEN 1.2.2 Provision for pupils with SEN, provision not included in 1.2.1 1.2.3 Support for inclusion 1.2.4 Fees for pupils at independent special schools 1.2.5 SEN Transport 1.2.6 Fees to independent schools for pupils without SEN 1.2.7 Inter Authority Recoupment

1.2.8 Contribution to combined budgets 1.3.1 Pupil Referral Units 1.3.2 Behaviour Support Services 1.3.3 Education Out of School 1.3.4 14-16 More practical learning options 1.3.5 Central expenditure on children under 5s 1.4.1 School meals – nursery, primary and special schools 1.4.2 Free school meals eligibility 1.4.3 Milk 1.4.4 School kitchens – repair and maintenance 1.5.1 Insurance 1.5.2 Museum and library services 1.5.3 School Admissions 1.5.4 Licenses / subscriptions 1.5.5 Miscellaneous (not more than 0.1% of net ISB) 1.5.6 Servicing of Schools Forum


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1.5.7 Staff Costs (supply cover not sickness) 1.5.8 Supply Cover – long term sickness 1.5.9 Termination of employment costs 1.6.1 School development grant – non devolved 1.6.2 Other Standards Fund – non devolved 1.6.3 Other specific grants 1.6.4 Performance reward grant 1.7.1 Capital expenditure from revenue (CERA) (Schools) 1.7.2 Prudential Borrowing Costs 3.10 The Other Children Services budget is made up of the following items. These expenditure areas are not met from the DSG and are subject to approval by Cabinet (ultimately it is full Council that set the overall budget). Unlike the DSG budget items there is no statutory requirement to spend at predetermined levels on these expenditure areas. There is no statutory requirement to treat overspends and underspends in the same way as DSG however it is normal practise that overspends are a first call on the following years budget allocation and underspends are returned to the corporate centre. Again the numbers cross reference to the section 52 statement. 2 Other Education and Community Budget Special Education 2.0.1 Education Psychology Service 2.0.2 SEN Administration, Assessment and Co-ordination 2.0.3 Therapies and other health related services 2.0.4 Parent Partnership, Guidance and Information 2.0.5 Monitoring of SEN Provision Leaner Support 2.1.1 Excluded pupils 2.1.2 Pupil support 2.1.3 Home to School Transport – SEN 2.1.4 Home to School Transport – Other 2.1.5 Home to College Transport – SEN 2.1.6 Home to College Transport – Other 2.1.7 Education Welfare Service 2.1.8 School Improvement Access 2.2.1 Asset management – education 2.2.2 Supply of school places 2.2.3 Music Services 2.2.4 Visual and performing arts


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2.3.1 Outdoor education including environmental and field studies (not sports) 3 Youth and Community 3.0.1 Youth service 3.0.2 Adult and community learning 3.0.3 Connexions 3.0.4 Discretionary awards 3.0.5 Student support under new arrangements and mandatory awards 3.0.6 Capital expenditure from revenue (CERA) (Youth and Community) 4 Youth Justice 4.0.1 Secure Accommodation (youth justice) 4.0.2 Youth Offender teams 4.0.3 Other youth justice services 5 Children’s and Young People’s Services Children Looked After 5.0.1 Residential care 5.0.2 Fostering services 5.0.3 Other children looked after services 5.0.4 Secure accomodation (welfare) 5.0.5 Short breaks (respite) for looked after disabled children 5.0.6 Children placed with family and friends 5.0.7 Advocacy services for children looked after 5.0.8 Education of looked after children 5.0.9 Leaving care support services Children and Young People’s Safety 5.1.1 Children death review process 5.1.2 Preventative services (formerly the children’s fund) 5.1.3 LA functions in relation to child protection 5.1.4 Local safeguarding children’s board Family Support Services 5.2.1 Direct payments 5.2.2 Short breaks (respite) for disabled children 5.2.3 Home care services 5.2.4 Equipment and adaptations 5.2.5 Other family support services 5.2.6 Substance misuse services (Drugs, alcohol, volatile substances) 5.2.7 Contribution to health care of individual children 5.2.8 Teenage pregnancy services


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Asylum Seekers 5.4.1 Asylum seeker services – children 5.4.2 Unaccompanied asylum children 5.4.3 Accommodation 5.4.4 Assessment and care management Other Children’s and Families Services 5.5.1 Adoption services 5.5.2 Special guardianship support 5.5.3 Other children and families services Children’s Services Strategy 5.5.1 Children’s and young people’s plan 5.5.2 Children’s workforce development strategy 5.5.3 Partnership costs 5.5.4 Central commissioning function 5.5.5 Commissioning and social work 5.6.1 CERA Children’s and young people’s services 6 Local Authority Central Functions Education 6.0.1 Statutory / Regulatory duties 6.0.2 Premature Retirement costs 6.0.3 Existing Early Retirement Costs 6.0.4 Residual pension liability 6.0.5 Joint Use arrangements 6.0.6 Insurance 6.0.7 Monitoring national curriculum assessment Specific Grants and Specific Formula Grants 6.1.1 School Development Grant – non devolved 6.1.2 Other Standards Fund – non devolved 6.1.3 Other specific grant Capital Expenditure from Revenue 6.2.1 Capital Expenditure from Revenue (CERA) Education functions


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Chapter 4 – Financial Requirements

_________________________________________________________________________________ 4.1 Schools are required to abide in the management of their delegated budgets by the LA’s requirements on financial controls and monitoring which are as follows: Conditions And Requirements Applicable To The Scheme 4.2 From inception of the scheme, all existing schools will have delegated budgets as required under the Act. 4.3 Although Governors are free to deploy their budget share as they feel fit in exercising their delegated powers, they must comply with the conditions set out in this chapter. Financial Conditions 4.4 (a) The delegation of responsibility for managing schools budgets is to school governors, who must act in consultation with and on advice of the head teacher. Governors are free to determine the extent to which decisions should be delegated to the head teacher or a Committee of the governors. It is likely that the full governing body will wish to approve the school’s annual budget estimates and major decisions on virement between budget heads during the year. Beyond this, decision making, including decisions where finance is involved, often needs to be short notice and it is anticipated that governors will wish to delegate the day to day management of the school’s budget to the head teacher. The head teacher is the ‘Accounting Officer’ for each school and is responsible for ensuring that the correct financial practises and procedures are followed. (b) As Accounting Officer the head teacher is responsible to the governors and to the Council for the probity of accounting and financial management within the school and must ensure that all govenors, members of staff and volunteers working within the school are aware of the financial regulations as they affect them. The head teacher is responsible for bringing to the attention of the Director any breach of financial regulations which results in either a loss of public or voluntary funds, or a financial gain by governors, members of staff or their immediate families by award of a contract where a declaration of interest has not been made. 4.5 Governors and head teachers must work within the LA’s financial regulations where they are relevant to the delegation of budgets to schools. 4.6 The Director is responsible for the management of the School’s Budget and the DF is responsible for the probity and regularity of the LA’s financial activities. The Director and the DF (or their representatives) are available to advise head teachers


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and governors and reserve the right to attend governing body meetings where they deem it necessary to give advice on, or to report on, the management of a school’s financial activities. 4.7 The LA maintains a regular internal audit of school accounts and will provide additional services if governors wish to purchase them through delegated funds. The LA’s auditors have a right of access at all times to documents, records and assets relating to the LA’s accounts and are entitled to receive from any member of staff such information and explanation as necessary for the purpose of audit. 4.8 Further detail on all matters relating to financial regulations is set out in Financial Regulations for Schools (see annex 6). Personnel Conditions 4.9 Although the LA remains the legal employer of staff in Community and Controlled schools, governors of schools with delegated budgets have extensive powers, both legal and otherwise, in relation to the employment of staff. They will carry out ‘employer functions’ and at Community and Voluntary Controlled schools governors will have powers to: a) decide how many staff will work at the schools having taken the advice of the Director (or his/her representative) and the head teacher b) appoint a head teacher, deputy or other teacher in accordance with the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document having first considered the advice of the Director (or his/her representative) c) determine the number of deputy head posts and pay scales for teachers in accordance with the current Teachers Pay and Conditions Document. d) for new non-teaching staff appointments, specify the duties to be performed, the appropriate grade (within the scale of grades adopted by the LA) and starting pay e) be responsible for establishing and taking action under the disciplinary and grievance procedures having taken account of exisiting good practice within the LA f) be responsible for establishing and taking action under termination of employment procedures, having taken account of existing good practice within the LA g) suspend on full pay anyone who works at the school (having first considered the advice of the Director or his/her representative). 4.10 In exercising these responsibilities, governors will have to operate within: a) the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Act 1991


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b) the conditions of service for non-teaching staff determined by the LA (usually those defined in collective agreements) c) agreed procedures which have been made known to staff. 4.11 The LA has produced model personnel procedures which have been agreed with recognised teaching and non-teaching unions for adoption by governing bodies. 4.12 Head teachers in controlling teachers directed time will remain subject to any policies of the LA in exercising this function. 4.13 The governors of voluntary aided schools and foundation schools remain the employers of teaching and non-teaching staff working at the school (other than contracted staff such as DSO catering staff). They will be able to determine the staff complement for their school and determine the number of deputy head teacher posts and pay scales for teachers subject to the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Act 1991. 4.14 Where governors depart from the LA’s advice and subsequently incur additional expenditure then that cost will be charged against a school’s budget share. Examples might be where an employment tribunal finds against a governing body or where a governing body incurs premature retirement and redundancy costs which exceed the provision under the LA’s policies. Charging and Remissions Policies 4.15 Sections 449-462 of the Education Act 1996 provide a stautory framework for charging policy in LA maintained schools. In particular these sections define the respective responsibilities of LA and governing bodies in relation to charging and remissions; define the circumstances in which charges may and may not be made; set certain limits to the level of charges and require their remission in certain circumstances; and preclude charging except where the LA (or as the case may be the governing body) has adopted a policy for charging and remissions. 4.16 The Borough Council will provide all governing bodies a statement of its policies in regard to those aspects of charging for which it is responsible, together with guidance which governing bodies are invited to take into account in discharging their own resposnibilities. 4.17 It should be noted that where the LA has delegated resources to provide a service for which a charge is allowed, if a governing body adopts a remissions policy which is less generous than the LA’s, the LA may reduce the school’s budget share accordingly.


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Chapter 3 - The Budgetary Framework · Chapter 3 - The Budgetary ... 1.7.1 Capital expenditure from...

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