2. Contingency The DfE listed a limited range of services where central provision for maintained schools may be argued on the grounds of economies of scale or pooled risk, which included contingencies. This is a de-delegated budget and relates to maintained primary and secondary schools. The range of circumstances for which this policy applies are: Exceptional unforeseen costs Schools in financial difficulties Deficits of closing schools The requirements for holding contingencies are that: For each service retained centrally, authorities will need to make a clear statement of how the funding is being taken out of the formula and has been allocated When a school becomes an academy during the school year, the authority can retain any de-delegated funding to help services plan their future operations until the following September or April (whichever comes first), at which point the Academy will receive the full formula allocation and this will be recouped Where there has been agreement that a school is entitled to a contingency allocation, that agreement will be honoured if it converts to an Academy at any point in the year Exceptional unforeseen costs These are costs which it would be unreasonable to expect governing bodies to meet. This would usually be where there are consequences of decisions by bodies outside the school’s governing body that impose additional costs on the school and have had a disproportionate effect on the school. Such examples may include form closure or substantial back-dated claims where there has been an error by another party. Should a school believe that their circumstances warrant further consideration and financial support under exceptional circumstances, then a case must be submitted to Schools Forum for such consideration. Any submission will need the support of the school’s governing body and the relevant phase executive. It will need to be reviewed by the Education and Inclusion Area Director and the Head of Education Financial Services prior to formal consideration by Schools Forum.
2. Contingency The DfE listed a limited range of services where central provision for maintained schools may be argued on the grounds of economies of scale or pooled risk, which included contingencies. This is a de-delegated budget and relates to maintained primary and secondary schools. The range of circumstances for which this policy applies are: Exceptional unforeseen costs Schools in financial difficulties Deficits of closing schools The requirements for holding contingencies are that: For each service retained centrally, authorities will need to make a clear statement of how the funding is being taken out of the formula and has been allocated When a school becomes an academy during the school year, the authority can retain any de-delegated funding to help services plan their future operations until the following September or April (whichever comes first), at which point the Academy will receive the full formula allocation and this will be recouped Where there has been agreement that a school is entitled to a contingency allocation, that agreement will be honoured if it converts to an Academy at any point in the year Exceptional unforeseen costs These are costs which it would be unreasonable to expect governing bodies to meet. This would usually be where there are consequences of decisions by bodies outside the school’s governing body that impose additional costs on the school and have had a disproportionate effect on the school. Such examples may include form closure or substantial back-dated claims where there has been an error by another party. Should a school believe that their circumstances warrant further consideration and financial support under exceptional circumstances, then a case must be submitted to Schools Forum for such consideration. Any submission will need the support of the school’s governing body and the relevant phase executive. It will need to be reviewed by the Education and Inclusion Area Director and the Head of Education Financial Services prior to formal consideration by Schools Forum.
2015-2016SchFundReportSchoolsForumPaper-DecemberPolicyPackAppendix1.docx