Funding news

Post-16 funding

Issues with post-16 funding for both colleges and school sixth forms continue to rumble on, with many members have voiced concerns at how this year's post-16 funding has been allocated. There are a number of ongoing issues that ASCL is trying to resolve with the DCSF and LSC.

The first refers to the late production of the allocation for colleges which has caused a planning nightmare, particularly as many are predicting a drop in funding on their estimates based on the new LSC formula.

For schools, the issue is with those sixth forms that have not been funded at the level of their plan, even when this plan was essentially agreed with the local LSC. However, ASCL's bargaining position is not helped by the number of school sixth forms which overestimated their numbers.

Nationally, school sixth forms put in plans for a 28,000 student growth at a time of demographic decline. This may be why very few schools have seen their original funding settlement overturned.

Malcolm Trobe, immediate past president, and funding specialist Lindsey Wharmby have both had email exchanges and meetings with LSC officers and have made some progress on how the system may be changed for next year. Further details will appear in the email newsletter and in Leader.