The School Finance (England) Regulations 2012

CHAPTER 2 Adjustments, Correction of Errors, and Additional Arrangements Authorised by Schools Forums or the Secretary of State

Pupils permanently excluded from, or leaving, maintained schools

23.—(1) Where a pupil is permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local authority (“the excluding school”) the authority must redetermine the excluding school’s budget share in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) The excluding school’s budget share must be reduced by the amount A x (B / 52) where—

(a) A is the amount determined by the authority in accordance with this Part, that would be attributable to a registered pupil of the same age and personal circumstances as the pupil in question at primary or secondary schools maintained by the authority for the full funding period; and

(b) B is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date, except that where the permanent exclusion takes effect on or after 1st April in a school year at the end of which pupils of the same age, or age group, as the pupil in question normally leave that school before being admitted to another school with a different pupil age range, B is the number of complete weeks remaining in that school year calculated from the relevant date.

(3) Where a pupil who has been permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local authority is admitted to another school maintained by a local authority (“the admitting school”) in the funding period, the authority must redetermine the admitting school’s budget share in accordance with paragraph (4).

(4) The admitting school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which may not be less than the amount D x (E / F) where—

(a) D is the amount by which the authority reduced the budget share of the excluding school, or would have reduced the budget share had that school been maintained by the authority;

(b) E is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the pupil is a registered pupil at the admitting school; and

(c) F is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date.

(5) Where a permanently excluded pupil is subsequently reinstated by the governing body of the school or by an appeal panel constituted under regulations made under section 52 of the 2002 Act, the school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which is no less than G x (H / I) where—

(a) G is the amount by which the authority reduced the school’s budget share under paragraph (2);

(b) H is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the pupil is reinstated; and

(c) I is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date.

(6) Paragraphs (1) and (2) also apply where a pupil leaves a maintained school for reasons other than permanent exclusion and is receiving education funded by a local authority other than at a school which is maintained by that authority.

(7) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), the amount attributable to a registered pupil is the sum of the amounts determined in accordance with the authority’s formula, by reference to pupil numbers rather than by reference to the number of places at the school or any other factor or criterion not dependent on pupil numbers (except that, where the registered pupil in question is a pupil in respect of whom a sixth form grant is payable, the amount attributable to that pupil is £3,135 for the funding period).

(8) Where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable has been permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local authority (“the excluding school”) the local authority must redetermine the excluding school’s budget share in accordance with paragraph (9).

(9) The excluding school’s budget share must be reduced by J x (K/52) where—

(a) J is the amount of the pupil premium allocated to the excluding school for the funding period in respect of that child;

(b) K is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date, except that where the permanent exclusion takes effect on or after 1st April in a school year at the end of which pupils of the same age, or age group, as the pupil in question normally leave that school before being admitted to another school with a different pupil age range, K is the number of complete weeks remaining in that school year calculated from the relevant date.

(10) Where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable has been permanently excluded from a school maintained by a local authority and admitted to another school maintained by a local authority (“the admitting school”) in the funding period, the authority must redetermine the budget share of the admitting school in accordance with paragraph (11).

(11) The admitting school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which may not be less than L x (M/N) where—

(a) L is the amount by which the authority reduced the budget share of the excluding school or would have reduced the budget share had that school been maintained by the authority;

(b) M is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the pupil is a registered pupil at the admitting school; and

(c) N is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date.

(12) Where a permanently excluded pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable is subsequently reinstated by the governing body of the school or by an appeal panel constituted under regulations made under section 52 of the 2002 Act, the school’s budget share must be increased by an amount which is no less than O x (P / Q) where—

(a) O is the amount by which the authority reduced the school’s budget share under paragraph (9);

(b) P is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period during which the pupil is reinstated; and

(c) Q is the number of complete weeks remaining in the funding period calculated from the relevant date.

(13) Paragraphs (8) and (9) also apply where a pupil in respect of whom a pupil premium is payable leaves a maintained school for reasons other than permanent exclusion and is receiving education funded by a local authority other than at a school which is maintained by that authority.

(14) For the purposes of this regulation, “the relevant date” is the sixth school day following the date on which the pupil has been permanently excluded.

Correction of errors and changes in non-domestic rates

24.—(1) A local authority may at any time during the funding period redetermine a school’s budget share for the funding period or any earlier funding period in order to correct an error in a determination or redetermination under these or any previous Regulations, whether arising from a mistake as to the number of registered pupils at the school or otherwise, provided the error is of a kind not provided for by any specific error correction provision in the authority’s formula.

(2) A local authority may redetermine a school’s budget share to take into account any changes in that school’s non-domestic rate liability in relation to the funding period or any earlier funding period.

(3) In so far as any redetermination under paragraph (1) would require the amount that would otherwise have been the budget share of a school to be reduced, it may not be reduced to a figure which is lower than that which could have been allocated to that school under the regulations in force during the funding period in which the error occurred.

Additional arrangements approved by Secretary of State or the schools forum

25.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), on application by a local authority to the Secretary of State for any authorisation or authorisations to determine or redetermine budget shares, the Secretary of State may authorise the authority to determine or redetermine budget shares to such extent as the Secretary of State may specify in accordance with arrangements approved by him in place of the arrangements provided for by these Regulations.

(2) The Secretary of State may not authorise a local authority to determine or redetermine budget shares in the cases referred to in paragraph (3) unless—

(a) the authority have first made an application to their schools forum for such authorisation which has been refused; or

(b) the authority are not required to establish a schools forum for their area.

(3) In determining or redetermining budget shares for schools which they maintain, a local authority may, when calculating the guaranteed funding level in accordance with paragraphs 1-4 of Schedule 4—

(a) replace the figure of 0.985 referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Schedule 4 with a higher figure,

(b) exclude from the redetermined adjusted budget share for the previous funding period any amounts included in the budget share in respect of any of the following factors or criteria—

(i) advanced skills teachers employed at the school,

(ii) the funding of places in primary or secondary schools which the authority have reserved for children with special educational needs,

(iii) any factor specific to a site or school used only in exceptional circumstances, but the circumstances which attracted that factor no longer apply to the school,

(iv) an amount which replicates the cash value or formulaic calculation of any sum paid to the school in the form of a Diploma Formula Grant in an earlier funding period,

(v) any factor or criterion which enables the authority to take into account the particular needs of a proposed school, a school proposals for the establishment of which have not been fully implemented, a school which is the subject of a prescribed alteration within the meaning of regulations made under section 18 of the 2006 Act, a school which is to be discontinued or a school which is to be the subject of a significant change as determined by the authority,

where authorised to do so by their schools forum.

(4) In determining or redetermining budget shares for nursery schools which they maintain or the amounts to be allocated in respect of nursery classes in schools which they maintain, a local authority may disregard regulation 19, where authorised to do so by their schools forum.

(5) Subject to the approval of the schools forum, any authorisations given by the Secretary of State under the 2011 Regulations for the previous funding period may continue to apply in relation to the funding period.

(6) Unless the contrary intention appears in any authorisations given by the schools forum or the Secretary of State or any arrangements approved by the Secretary of State under any previous regulations, such authorisations or arrangements, as the case may be, continue to apply in relation to the funding period, provided the method of calculating the relevant factors or criteria has not changed.