Section 251 financial data collection 2023 to 2024 guidance for local authorities compiling their outturn statement

Question 1

About this guidance

Accepted Answer

As per section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, local authorities are required to submit an education and children and young people’s services outturn statement to the Secretary of State for Education.

The outturn statement applies to the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and must be submitted by 23 August 2024.

Question 2

Expiry or review date

Accepted Answer

This guidance applies to returns for the financial year 2023 to 2024.

Question 3

Who is this publication for?

Accepted Answer

This guidance is for local authority finance officers.

Question 4

Main points

Accepted Answer

Regulatory provisions directly affecting the education content of these outturn statements are also made in the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023 .

Where guidance material in this document is interpreted in such a way as to conflict with any regulations currently in force, those regulations take precedence.

Question 5

Purpose of financial statements

Accepted Answer

Local authorities have a statutory duty to publish their outturn statements as outlined in the 2023 to 2024 administrative direction issued by the Secretary of State for Education.

The section 251 outturn statement is intended to:

inform debate around differing levels of expenditure between local authorities and schools
provide schools, parents and others with an interest in education and children’s services with details about schools and local authority funding and expenditure
inform HM Treasury for monitoring purposes
inform Parliament in its role of monitoring the department’s accountability for public funds (MPs ask about school and local authority expenditure via the mechanisms of Parliamentary Questions or through the Education Select Committee)

It is therefore important that robust finance data is available. All statements must be prepared to a common format and be accurate. This will allow the Department for Education (DfE) to use this data in the publication of statistics, in the constructing of benchmarking tables for local authorities, and for answering Parliamentary Questions and other data requests.

Question 6

Publication and submission of outturn statements

Accepted Answer

Local authorities must submit their 2023 to 2024 outturn statement to the Secretary of State for Education by 23 August 2024 using DfE’s centralised data collection and management system for education, COLLECT. Local authorities can return their statements by either:

manually entering data into COLLECT (instructions on how to use COLLECT are available)
uploading their data to COLLECT in XML format - an XML generator that mirrors the structure of the COLLECT tables is published alongside this guidance

A copy of the outturn statement must be made available as set out in the administrative direction.

Where local authorities adjust their tables to suit their own local publishing standards, all the headings for categories and items of expenditure must be listed, whether or not they are relevant to their expenditure activity in the year. Local authorities should ensure that when adapting tables for local publication, no font size used in the finished publication is less than 7pt and no shading or colouring is used. Figures might otherwise become unreadable when tables have to be photocopied.

The section 251 collection on GOV.UK contains the most up-to-date reports for all local authorities.

Technical help with the COLLECT system

For advice and assistance with meeting the standards and using the system please contact the data collections helpdesk via the data collections service request form.

Question 7

Direct payments to academies

Accepted Answer

Direct payments by local authorities to academies must be recorded in the section 251 tables. For example, special educational needs (SEN) funding paid by the local authority in respect of top-up funding for individual pupils in academies needs to be included in the appropriate SEN lines.

Question 8

FRS17

Accepted Answer

These tables should not be completed on a FRS17 or IAS19 basis. Funding for schools should reflect what is actually paid in year.

Question 9

Format, content of statements and data entry

Accepted Answer

The administrative direction sets out the Secretary of State’s requirements relating to this data collection. Additional information can be entered in the notes section on COLLECT.

The outturn statement must be presented in 2 parts in the order specified below:

Table A - this is information at local authority level that provides an overall picture of the expenditure on schools and the amount being spent on education centrally
Table A1 - this relates to the expenditure on children’s and young people’s services including:
- Sure Start children’s centres and early years
- children looked after
- other children and family services
- safeguarding children and young people’s services
- family support services
- services for young people and youth justice

Do not use dashes and do not leave blank cells.

Amounts are to be shown to the nearest whole pound.

If a negative figure is entered into COLLECT, it will automatically be shown in brackets.

Advice on the regulations and guidance

For advice on the contents of the regulations and guidance, authorities should in the first instance email the Funding Data and Financial Monitoring Team (FDFMT) via:

outturnqueries.s251@education.gov.uk

Question 10

Main changes for 2023 to 2024

Accepted Answer

Below you will find details of some of the key changes we would like to highlight.

1.2.1 Top-up funding – maintained schools

Guidance has been updated to say that moneys paid to local authority maintained special schools (including hospital schools) and pupil referral units (PRUs) (including medical PRUs) under the additional condition of grant (5.3 and annex B) of the dedicated schools grant (DSG): conditions of grant 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK that requires payment of a sum equivalent to 3.4% of total grant funding should be included in this line.

1.2.2 Top-up funding – academies, free schools and colleges

Guidance has been updated to say that moneys paid to special academies and free schools (including hospital schools), and to alternative provision (AP) academies and free schools (including medical AP facilities), under the additional condition of grant (5.3 and annex B) DSG: conditions of grant 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK that requires payment of a sum equivalent to 3.4% of total grant funding should be included in this line.

1.2.12 Carbon reduction commitment allowances (PRUs)

This this line has been removed as the scheme has ended.

1.7.1 Other specific grants

Guidance has been updated to say that the mainstream schools additional grant should be excluded in this line.

2.4.1 Other specific grants

Guidance has been updated to say that income and expenditure under the Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme should be included in this line.

Question 11

General principles for completion

Accepted Answer

Guidance for the completion of the local authority level information covers funding period 2023 to 2024.

Outturn statements give details of local authority revenue expenditure.

Enter in each line, as appropriate, the amount of spending by the local authority (excluding any delegated or devolved funding) on the expenditure categories in the lines. Where there is no amount to be entered in any particular cell, use a zero (0).

Administrative costs or overheads attributable to that description of expenditure must be included under the appropriate item head, if necessary, suitably apportioned between school types. Similar treatment will apply to expenditure in relation to support for IT systems.

Question 12

High needs expenditure

Accepted Answer

1.2.1 Top-up funding - maintained schools

Include expenditure on top-up funding for maintained schools, including PRUs. Top-up funding is paid to schools for pupils with high needs in:

mainstream classes
special units and resourced provision attached to mainstream schools
special schools
PRUs
sixth forms

Top-up funding is usually administered directly by local authorities from a central high needs budget. Where such funding has been devolved to groups of schools or individual schools for them to decide what to pay other schools (for example, when a school pays top-up funding for a pupil it places in a PRU), this funding should also be included. It is important, however, that this excludes any funding already in schools’ budget shares and included in line 1.0.1. This line should also include any high needs funding paid to maintained special schools and PRUs for teachers’ pay and pensions (employer contributions) costs, under the additional condition of grant attached to local authorities’ DSG (section 3.6(7))

Moneys paid to local authority maintained special schools (including hospital schools) and PRUs (including medical PRUs) under the additional condition of grant (5.3 and annex B) DSG: conditions of grant 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK DSG: conditions of grant 2023 to 2024 that requires payment of a sum equivalent to 3.4% of total grant funding should also be included in this line.

1.2.2 Top up funding - academies, free schools and colleges

Include expenditure on top-up funding for academies and free schools. Top-up funding is paid to academies for pupils with high needs in:

mainstream classes
special units and resourced provision attached to mainstream academies and free schools
special academies and free schools
AP academies and free schools
academy and free school sixth forms

Also include in the post-school column top-up funding for students with high needs in:

further education colleges
sixth form colleges
16 to 19 schools and academies without pupils of compulsory school age
local authority post-16 provision

Top-up funding is usually administered directly by local authorities from a central high needs budget. Where such funding has been devolved to schools and academies for them to decide what to pay other schools (for example, when an academy pays top-up funding for a pupil it places in an alternative provision free school), this funding should also be included. It is important, however, that this excludes any funding already in academies’ budget shares. This line should also include any high needs funding paid to special academies and free schools, and to AP academies and free schools, for teachers’ pay and pensions (employer contributions) costs, under the additional condition of grant attached to local authorities’ DSG (section 3.6(7)).

Also include any post-16 place funding for academies, free schools or colleges that has been retained by the local authority in 2023 to 2024, rather than recouped by ESFA.

Moneys paid to special academies and free schools (including hospital schools), and to AP academies and free schools (including medical AP facilities), under the additional condition of grant (5.3 and annex B) DSG: conditions of grant 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK that requires payment of a sum equivalent to 3.4% of total grant funding should also be included in this line.

1.2.3 Top-up and other funding - non-maintained and independent providers

Include expenditure on top-up funding for non-maintained special schools in the special schools column.

Expenditure on pupils with EHC plans at independent schools, including pupils in sixth forms. Most of these independent schools are special schools so the expenditure should normally be included in the special school column.

Expenditure on mainstream independent schools should be recorded in the primary or secondary columns, as for mainstream maintained schools and academies

In the post-school column, include expenditure on top-up funding for:

students at independent learning providers of post-16 education and training (previously called commercial and charitable providers)
independent specialist colleges
other independent special post-16 institutions

While independent and non-maintained schools and colleges frequently offer integrated education, health and social care provision, only costs which are considered provision for meeting special educational needs should be charged to the DSG. The social care element of accommodating children with special educational needs in schools should be recorded elsewhere (for example, 3.1.1). In the event that health and social care costs are recorded here (for example, paid up-front as part of an integrated package of support), they should be recorded with associated health and social care income.

Also include any post-16 place funding for these institutions that has been retained by the local authority in 2023 to 2024 rather than recouped by ESFA.

1.2.4 Additional high needs targeted funding for mainstream schools and academies

Include expenditure from the local authority’s high needs budget which is given to mainstream schools and academies (and exceptionally colleges) to ensure that they have enough funding to meet additional support costs up to £6,000 for pupils with SEN, where they cannot reasonably do this out of their budget share or other mainstream funding. Local authorities were asked to give more detailed information about such targeted funding for mainstream schools in their APT guidance.

1.2.5 SEN support services

Include the costs of non-delegated centrally retained specialist SEN support services for pupils with or without statements or EHC plans, whether supported directly by the local authority or commissioned by them.

This will include services for:

visual, hearing and physical impairment
specific learning difficulties
speech
language and communication
profound and severe learning difficulties
autism

You should include:

the costs of these services for 0 to 5-year-olds
any costs of providing these services to home educated children
the costs of early years special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) who are centrally managed across a number of early years providers

Do not include the costs of behaviour support services which are not in support of pupils with SEN (see line 1.1.2).

Do not include recharges or the cost of monitoring SEN provision. This should be included in the ‘Other Education and Community Budget, 2.1.2 Monitoring of SEN provision’.

1.2.6 Hospital education services

Hospital education is defined in the regulations as education provided at a community special school or foundation special school established in a hospital (usually called a hospital school), or under any arrangements made by the local authority under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. This is normally provision in PRUs or services centrally managed by the local authority, where the child is being provided with such education by reason of a decision made by a medical practitioner.

In line 1.2.6 only include expenditure on hospital education services. It should include both services made available to children and young people resident in the local authority’s area and services made available to those who are in the area because that is where they are receiving their health care. It should also include expenditure on pupils who are resident in the local authority’s area who are receiving their education from an independent hospital education provider elsewhere.

It is important to exclude from this line any funding for hospital education places in special schools (including those special schools that are hospital schools) or PRUs (sometimes these are known as medical PRUs), which should instead be included in line 1.0.2.

1.2.7 Other AP services

Include expenditure on AP services provided directly or commissioned by the local authority. This may include funding for home educating parents.

Also include funding for AP providers other than PRUs, AP academies and AP free schools. Include funding for commissioned services delivered by PRUs, AP academies and AP free schools, but exclude any funding for high needs places at PRUs (which should instead be included in line 1.0.2) and any top-up funding in respect of pupils at these providers (see lines 1.2.2 and 1.2.3).

1.2.8 Support for inclusion

Include expenditure for:

collaboration between mainstream and special schools and primary and secondary schools to enable children with special educational needs to take part in mainstream activities
devolved expenditure for the integration of children from specialist to mainstream settings and the provision of discrete services or projects to promote such integration, such as commissioned outreach services

Do not include recharges or the cost of monitoring SEN provision. This should be included in line 2.1.2 under ‘Monitoring of SEN provision’.

1.2.9 Special schools and PRUs in financial difficulty

Include expenditure on assisting special schools and PRUs in financial difficulty.

1.2.10 Private finance initiative (PFI)/Building schools for the future (BSF) costs at special schools, AP/PRUs and post-16 institutions only

Include expenditure on PFI or BSF costs at special schools, special academies, AP/PRUs and AP academies, where the local authority has decided to fund this outside the place funding and top-up funding. Also use this line for funding PFI or BSF costs at maintained 16 to 19 institutions and 16 to 19 academies, which can no longer be funded through the schools formula as the post-16 factor has been discontinued.

1.2.11 Direct payments (SEN and disability)

Include all expenditure planned by the local authority under the SEN (Personal Budgets) Regulations 2014 to provide a direct payment to the parents of children, or to young people, with an EHC plan.

Include here SEN transport expenditure where there have been direct payments made to families to cover these costs.

1.2.12 Carbon reduction commitment (CRC) allowances (PRUs)

This code is no longer in use.

Include costs associated with the provision or purchase of speech, physiotherapy and occupational therapies. Include any expenditure on the provision of special medical support for individual pupils which has been deemed to be special educational provision (for example, recorded under section F of an education, health and care plan) and therefore the responsibility of the local authority.

Note that the DSG may not be used to meet non-educational costs, except where specifically permitted. Therefore, the costs of securing health provision (specified in section G of an EHC plan) should be met by either the Integrated Care Board (ICB) or NHS England. Where health provision is deemed to educate or train a child or young person it should be recorded in this section.

Question 13

Early years expenditure

Accepted Answer

This applies whether the provision is attached to a maintained school or whether it is private provision funded by the local authority, but not Sure Start which includes a wide range of services and is included in s251 Table A1.

Question 14

Guidance to column headings

Accepted Answer

Early years column

Includes the free entitlement in maintained nursery schools, nursery classes and private, voluntary and independent providers (including funded childminders), and therefore must include the total expenditure within the early years local funding formula for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds. Also include other relevant expenditure on early years children, for example the special educational needs inclusion fund top-up grant, the early years pupil premium (EYPP), and the disability access fund (DAF).

In this column include everything funded from the DSG early years block relating to children under 5 who are not in reception classes. Nothing for this age range should appear in the primary column.

Primary (reception +) column

Includes, first, infant, junior and middle-deemed-primary schools plus units attached to them, such as immigrant centres, and special education units attached to primary phase schools. This must exclude all expenditure within the early years local funding formula.

Secondary column

Includes secondary and middle-deemed-secondary schools. Include all special units attached to secondary schools. Include funding for sixth forms.

All through schools

These should be apportioned between phases and between the appropriate columns.

SEN/special schools column

this covers special schools and special academies, including hospital schools. Do not include special education units attached to, or resourced provision in, primary and secondary schools.

AP/pupil referral unit (PRU) column

This covers pupil referral units, and other AP made under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, including hospital education provision in PRUs and AP academies.

Post-school column

This covers further education (FE) colleges, sixth form colleges, independent colleges, special post-16 institutions and other post-16 providers that do not provide for pupils of compulsory school age, including 16 to 19 maintained schools and academies.

Gross total of all the columns

The figures entered in each individual column should be gross figures, that is actual total estimated costs of the activities before allowance for any expected income, but after allowing for any buy-back income from the local authority’s own schools to avoid double-counting. Both expenditure and income should be excluded where maintained schools or recoupment academies within the local authority’s area are buying services. This column should be the total of the previous columns.

COLLECT will include validation on Table A gross column for those lines where comparisons can be made with the local authority’s 2023 to 2024 budget and 2022 to 2023 outturn figures. A warning will be created if the total gross for a line is outside a given range compared with the previous year’s expenditure, and local authorities are asked to give explanations in the notes area of COLLECT. The 2023 to 2024 and 2022 to 2023 data used for the comparison and the parameters of the range can be viewed in the error/queries area.

Income column

This column should be used for indicating any estimated income the local authority expects to be able to offset against gross expenditure on an activity. This will only include central government grants if they are additional to the DSG and to funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for post-16 provision. The DSG and funding from ESFA for post-16 provision should not be shown as income. Other grants that should be excluded are universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), PE and sport funding, mainstream schools additional grant, teachers’ pay additional grant, and COVID-19 related funding and grants for schools (income from the National Tutoring Programme and recovery premium). Income sources could also include private sources, fees from other local authorities, charges paid by parents (such as for meals, music, board/lodging) and income from lettings.

Income from maintained schools should not be shown as income. This is because the expenditure is already within the ISB and this would result in double counting.

No government grants inside or outside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) or ESFA grants should be entered in this column - they should be entered in line 1.7.1 (other specific grants). Milk subsidy, lottery money and any other non-government contributions/grants should be included. Academy income can also be added here.

Net column

This column will be calculated automatically.

Net (budget totals) column

This column is populated automatically from the 2023 to 2024 budget data and is only shown when reports are produced.

Question 15

Defining what is chargeable to the schools expenditure

Accepted Answer

Where a local authority is paying a contractor to carry out functions on its behalf, it must include the expenditure information relating to these functions in its statement (amount paid to the contractor by the local authority). Payments under the contract should be apportioned to the relevant functions.

The ISB is allocated to schools without reference to income accruing to schools. Any interest earned on schools’ balances should be excluded from these outturn statements.

For overheads associated with buy back, where delegation is required (that is, where an item falls within the schools budget but is not included in Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023), the amount to be delegated should be determined on a full-cost basis inclusive of overheads. Where a local authority has voluntarily chosen to delegate funding for an item which it could have funded centrally, it is for the local authority to determine the extent to which overheads should be taken into account.

All the financial information in the outturn statement should be represented in pounds and not in thousands.

Items that may be charged to the schools budget are set out in regulations 6 and 8 of Part 2 and in Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023). Schedule 1 items cannot be included in the schools budget and therefore must, by definition, be in lines 2.1.1 onwards. The DSG is intended to meet the educational costs of pupils in primary and secondary education, as well as the costs of special educational provision for children and young people with special educational needs in post-16 provision, including those aged over 19 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The DSG may not be used for purposes other than those specified in the regulations.

Administrative costs and overheads attributable to a particular category of expenditure that regulations allow to be charged to the schools budget should in general be included under the appropriate item heading, if necessary, suitably apportioned between school types. This may include expenditure in relation to:

ensuring payments are made in respect of taxation, National Insurance and superannuation contributions
recruitment, training, continuing professional development, performance management and personnel management of staff
investigation and resolution of complaints
legal services related to education functions

Except in the case of permitted spend on prudential borrowing and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA), capital charges should not appear in this table in any form. However, back pay that is capitalised through the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government should be included. If funded from central DSG, then it should appear on line 1.4.9 ‘Equal pay – back pay’. If charged to delegated school budgets, then it will fall within the ISB total.

Question 16

Schools budget

Accepted Answer

1.0.1 ISB (school budget shares, after academy recoupment), including sixth form grant for maintained schools, but excluding all high needs place funding

Within the schools budget, the amount available for delegation to schools after provision has been made for retained items is known as the ISB. The same figure will appear in the ‘gross’ and ‘net’ columns.

Note that the ISB continues to include funding for school business rates - national non-domestic rates (NNDR), despite how these are paid changing at the beginning of 2022 to 2023.

Authorities that are part of the centralised payments system for rates should enter the actual rates charges for their maintained schools.

Authorities that are not part of the new system should enter the national funding formula (NFF) rates funding.

Line 1.0.1 excludes the high needs place funding for:

special schools
pupil referral units
hospital schools
special units and resourced provision attached to nursery, primary and secondary schools and the place funding for the equivalent academies

Instead, high needs place funding is covered in line 1.0.2. Top-up and other high needs funding for these schools should not be included in this line as they form part of the high needs budget - covered in section 1.2.

Funding for maintained secondary schools and pupil referral units with sixth forms should include funding for the pupils in the sixth forms.

Please note that line 1.0.1 is to be shown net of any de-delegated funding that appears in lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9, and any central provision funded from the budgets of maintained schools that appears in lines 1.6.1 to 1.6.7.

Free entitlements for 2-year-olds and 3 and 4-year-olds

Funding within the schools budget allows for a free entitlement of 15 hours per week per child for disadvantaged 2, 3 and 4-year-olds, and 30 hours per week for working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds.

The ISB also includes the amount made available to private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers for the free entitlement for 3 and 4-year-olds. This also includes early years funding for academies. Funding for disadvantaged 2-year-olds should be included within the ISB.

If a local authority makes payments to maintained schools for early years provision for hours above the universal/additional 15 hours through its early years formula, include this here.

Please include the funding for special educational needs inclusion fund top up grant, EYPP and DAF here.

High needs place funding within ISB (within school budget shares), including all pre and post-16 place funding for maintained schools

Line 1.0.2 separates out the high needs place funding for:

special schools
PRUs
hospital schools
special units and resourced provision attached to nursery, primary and secondary schools

High needs place funding for maintained special schools and PRUs with sixth forms should include the place funding for these 16 to 19-year-old pupils; likewise for any special units attached to maintained secondary schools that include 16 to 19-year-old pupils.

For special units and resourced provision in primary and secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units, the delegated amount is only the place funding under Regulation 14 of the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023. Top-up funding will appear in section 1.2 of the form.

Funding for nursery places funded from the high needs block should also be included.

Do not include place funding for:

academies and free schools
FE colleges
sixth form colleges
independent colleges
special post-16 institutions and other post-16 providers that do not provide for pupils of compulsory school age
maintained schools and academies that provide only for 16 to 19-year-olds

1.0.1 and 1.0.2

The total of these 2 lines will be the equivalent of the single line 1.0.1 before 2018 to 2019.

Total ISB must be consistent with figures for maintained schools recorded in the local authority proforma tool (APT) and accompanying tables submitted to ESFA in January, and should include the following when populated in the workbook:

early years column - the total early years local funding formula including PVI providers, maintained nursery schools and nursery classes, SEN inclusion fund top-up grant, EYPP and DAF
primary column - total budget share including all primary minimum funding guarantee with the early years element removed
secondary column - total budget share, including sixth forms and including all secondary minimum funding guarantee with the early years element removed
special schools column - total budget share, including sixth forms (the high needs place funding)
alternative provision/pupil referral units column - total budget share (for example, the high needs place funding)

Question 17

De-delegated items

Accepted Answer

These only apply to maintained primary and secondary schools.

1.1.1 Contingencies

Include expenditure as defined in Part 1 of the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023. This ‘expenditure on the schools specific contingency’ is central expenditure deducted for the purpose of ensuring that monies are available to enable increases in a school’s budget share after it has been allocated, and where a governing body has incurred expenditure where it would be unreasonable to expect it to meet this from the school’s budget share. This may include expenditure in relation to:

schools in financial difficulty
the writing-off of deficits of schools which are discontinued, excluding any associated costs and overheads
new, amalgamating or closing schools
other expenditure where such circumstances were unforeseen when initially determining the school’s budget share

1.1.2 Behaviour support services

Include the cost of providing or purchasing specialist behaviour support services, both advisory and teaching.

1.1.3 Support to under-performing pupils from ethnic minority groups and bilingual learners

Include expenditure for the purposes of improving the performance of underperforming pupils from ethnic minority groups and meeting the specific needs of bilingual pupils.

1.1.4 Free school meals - eligibility

Include expenditure on determining the eligibility of a pupil for free school meals.

1.1.5 Insurance

Include expenditure on insurance in respect of liability arising in connection with schools and school premises and on membership of the risk protection arrangement where schools have joined it collectively through de-delegation.

1.1.6 Museum and library services

Include expenditure on services to schools provided by museums and libraries.

1.1.7 Licences/subscriptions

Include expenditure on licence fees or subscriptions paid on behalf of maintained schools. A number of licences are now dealt with through a central contract with DfE, and funding to pay for this (for maintained schools and recoupment academies) should appear in line 1.4.14 ‘Other items’.

1.1.8 Staff costs - supply cover (excluding cover for facility time)

Include expenditure in making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for:

a woman on maternity leave
a man on paternity leave
a person on shared parental leave
a person on adoption leave
a person on parental bereavement leave

Also, expenditure of the same kind in respect of persons:

Plus, expenditure in making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for:

a person who is seconded on a full-time basis for a period of 3 months or more other than to a local education authority or the governing body of a school
persons who have been continuously absent from work because of illness for 21 days or more

1.1.9 Staff costs - supply cover for facility time

Include expenditure in making payments to, or in providing a temporary replacement for, persons:

carrying out trade union duties or undergoing training under section 168 and 168A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
taking part in trade union activities under section 170 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (although such activities should attract unpaid time off)
who are officials of a recognised trade union acting as safety representatives under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977
who are officials of a recognised trade union acting as employee representatives for the purposes of Chapter II of Part IV of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as defined in section 196 of that Act or regulation 13 (3) of the Transfer of Undertakings(Protection of Employment) Regulations 2009
who are appointed learning representatives of recognised trade unions, in order for them to analyse training requirements or to provide or promote training opportunities, and to carry out consultative or preparatory work in connection with such functions

Question 18

Early years budget

Accepted Answer

1.3.1 Central expenditure on early years entitlement

This line should reflect the total funding for early years contingency and centrally retained spending for the disadvantaged 2-year-old, and 3 and 4-year-olds early years entitlements.

Question 19

Central provision within schools budget

Accepted Answer

The finance regulations restrict a number of central schools block lines to historic commitments entered into prior to 1 April 2013 and the budget for these cannot increase over the budget held in 2012 to 2013. The relevant expenditure lines are 1.4.1, 1.4.4, 1.4.6, 1.4.7 and 1.4.11. These are defined in regulations as:

‘Expenditure referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 (Historic Commitments) of Schedule 2 may only be deducted by the local authority where the expenditure is to be incurred as a result of decisions taken before 1 April 2013 that commit the local authority to incur expenditure in the funding period.’

The ‘funding period’ here refers to the forthcoming financial year.

Schedule 2 also states that, other than in the case of paragraph 1 (capital expenditure funded from revenue), the schools forum or the Secretary of State must have approved the original decision. Schedule 2 does not allow local authorities to maintain a budget of indefinite size for an indefinite period against these funding lines.

More information can be found in the 2017 to 2018 schools funding historic commitments guidance.

1.4.1 Contribution to combined budgets

Expenditure under this heading should only reflect the contribution to a combined service approved by the schools forum. The service must be partly funded from outside the schools budget and there should be an educational benefit arising from the service. These require annual authorisation, as specified in paragraph 2(c) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023.

Also include in the line expenditure on miscellaneous purposes, provided the expenditure does not amount to more than 0.1% of the local authority’s schools budget and was approved by the schools forum or Secretary of State before 1 April 2013, as specified in (paragraph 2(e) of Schedule 2).

1.4.2 School admissions

Include expenditure incurred in connection with the local authority’s functions under section 85A of the 1998 Act (as inserted by s46 2002 Act). This includes the administration of the system of admissions of pupils to schools including expenditure incurred:

1.4.3 Servicing of schools forums

Include expenditure incurred in connection with the local authority’s functions of running the forum as defined under section 47A of the 1998 Act (addition under Section 43 of Education Act 2002) (establishment and maintenance of, and consultation with, schools forums).

1.4.4 Termination of employment costs

Only include expenditure in respect of premature retirement costs, or for the purposes of securing the resignation of any person employed in a maintained school where there are consequential savings to the schools budget and where the cost relating to that individual had been approved by the schools forum prior to 1 April 2013 (paragraph 2 (b) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023). It does not count as a commitment to have identified a budget for different individuals’ costs each year or to support new redundancy costs in schools.

1.4.5 Falling rolls fund

Include expenditure to be incurred due to a decline in pupil numbers in:

(a) schools which were awarded either the highest or the second highest grade in their last inspection under section 5 of the 2005 Act, including those inspected during the funding period (b) academy schools that have not previously been inspected under section 5 of the 2005 Act and have a predecessor school (or schools) which was awarded the highest or second highest grade in its last inspection under section 5 of the 2005 Act, including those inspected during the funding period

Where funding is likely to be necessary due to subsequent growth in pupil numbers at such schools before the end of the next 3 financial years after the funding period.

1.4.6 CERA

Include expenditure commonly known as CERA (capital expenditure which an authority expects to charge to a revenue account of the local authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Local Government Act 2003) and where the expenditure relating to the specific project had been approved prior to 1 April 2013.

It does not count as a commitment to have identified a budget for different capital works each year or a general contribution to the capital programme. PFI costs should be delegated through the funding formula.

1.4.7 Prudential borrowing costs

Include expenditure incurred in repayment of loans under paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023.

PFI costs should be delegated through the funding formula.

1.4.8 Fees to independent schools without SEN

Include expenditure pursuant to section 18 of the 1996 Act in making any grant or other payment in respect of fees or expenses (of whatever nature) which are payable in connection with the attendance of pupils without SEN at a school which is not maintained by any local authority and is not an academy. This does not include fees to independent schools providing AP or hospital education, or to independent AP institutions, which should be shown in lines 1.2.6 or 1.2.7 as appropriate.

Include expenditure on post-16 students without SEN in independent schools.

1.4.9 Equal pay - back pay

Include centrally retained provision for meeting the cost of equal pay settlements in schools.

1.4.10 Pupil growth

Include the following:

expenditure incurred due to a significant growth in pupil numbers as a result of the local authority’s duty under section 13(1) of the 1996 Act to ensure that sufficient primary education and secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population in their area
expenditure to be incurred prior to the opening of new schools to fund the appointment of staff and to enable the purchase of any goods and services necessary in order to admit pupils

This includes pre and post opening funding for new schools (including academies) built to meet basic need.

1.4.11 SEN transport

Only include expenditure that has been offset by savings to the schools budget and has been approved by the schools forum (paragraph 2(d) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023).

1.4.12 Exceptions agreed by the Secretary of State

Include centrally retained schools budget expenditure approved by the Secretary of State and falling outside the classes or descriptions of planned expenditure in Schedule 2 of the 2023 regulations. Schools forum approval is required on an annual basis for historic or new commitments if it is to continue. This excludes expenditure on licences, which should be under 1.4.14.

1.4.13 Infant class sizes

Include expenditure incurred in order to make provision for extra classes in order to comply with the School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) (England) Regulations 2012.

1.4.14 Other items

Include expenditure on:

(a) Copyright licences which are negotiated centrally by the Secretary of State for all publicly funded schools - for 2023 to 2024 these are:

The Copyright Licensing Agency licence
The School Printed Music licence
The Newspaper Licensing Agency Schools licence
The Educational Recording Agency licence
The Public Video Screening licence
The Motion Picture Licensing Company licence
The Performing Rights Society licence
The Phonographic Performance licence
The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society licence
The Christian Copyright Licensing International licence

(b) remission of boarding fees payable in connection with the attendance of pupils at maintained schools and academies

(c) Any funding for additional costs covered from DSG arising from the increase in the employer’s contribution rate on 1 September 2019 for members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme that are employed by the local authority and not employed to work in maintained schools, that does not fit within any other line of section 1. The regulations (paragraph 24 of Schedule 2) allow authorities to charge to the Schools Budget 30.5% of the total employer contribution to the pension costs for such teachers. Many of these teachers’ salaries will be funded from the Schools Budget (e.g. in line 1.2.5) and in that case the full cost of the teacher should be entered in that line; but where the teacher’s salary would appear in section 2, or would not appear on this form at all, the chargeable pension cost contribution should appear in this line.

Question 20

Central provision within schools budget (former ESG retained duties)

Accepted Answer

From 2017 to 2018 that part of the education services grant (ESG) which related to retained duties (those that apply to both maintained schools and academies) was added to the DSG. This provision now falls within the schools budget, provided it is funded out of DSG (see section 2.0 below for provision not funded out of DSG). Additional lines have been provided in section 1 for the purpose of recording it.

1.5.1 Education welfare service

Include the following expenditure:

functions in relation to the exclusion of pupils from schools, excluding any provision of education to excluded pupils (paragraph 20 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
school attendance (paragraph 16 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
responsibilities regarding the employment of children (paragraph 18 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)

1.5.2 Asset management

Include the following expenditure:

management of the local authority’s capital programme including preparation and review of an asset management plan, and negotiation and management of private finance transactions (paragraph 14 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
general landlord duties for buildings owned by the local authority, including those leased to academies

1.5.3 Statutory/regulatory duties

Include the following expenditure:

director of children’s services and personal staff for director (paragraph 15(a) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
planning for the education service as a whole (paragraph 15(b) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
revenue budget preparation, preparation of information on income and expenditure relating to education, and external audit relating to education (paragraph 22 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
authorisation and monitoring of expenditure not met from schools’ budget shares (paragraph 15(c) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
formulation and review of local authority schools funding formula (paragraph 15(d) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
internal audit and other tasks related to the local authority’s chief finance officer’s responsibilities under Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972, except duties specifically related to maintained schools (paragraph 15(e) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
consultation costs not relating to maintained schools (paragraph 19 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
plans involving collaboration with other local authority services or public/voluntary bodies (paragraph 15(f) of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
Standing Advisory Committees for Religious Education (paragraph 17 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)
provision of information to, or at the request of, the Crown, other than relating specifically to maintained schools (paragraph 21 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023)

Question 21

Central provision funded through maintained schools budget

Accepted Answer

The general duties part of ESG (that part relating to maintained schools only) ceased from September 2017. Local authorities are able to deduct funding from maintained schools budgets, with the consent of maintained school members of the schools forum, in much the same way as for existing de-delegated items, in order to fund these services. Provision funded in this way should be recorded in this section. For provision not funded from DSG see section 2.0.

1.6.1 Central support services

Include the following expenditure:

1.6.2 Education welfare services

Include expenditure on inspection of attendance registers (paragraph 80 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023).

1.6.3 Asset management

Include expenditure on general landlord duties for all maintained schools (paragraph 78 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023), (section 542(2) Education Act 1996; School Premises Regulations 2012) to ensure that school buildings have:

appropriate facilities for pupils and staff (including medical and accommodation)
the ability to sustain appropriate loads
reasonable weather resistance
safe escape routes
appropriate acoustic levels
lighting, heating and ventilation which meets the required standards
adequate water supplies and drainage
playing fields of the appropriate standards

You should also include:

1.6.4 Statutory/regulatory duties

Include expenditure on the following:

1.6.5 Premature retirement costs/redundancy costs (new provisions)

Include expenditure on dismissal or premature retirement when costs cannot be charged to maintained schools (paragraph 79 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023).

1.6.6 Monitoring national curriculum assessment

Include expenditure on monitoring of national curriculum assessments (paragraph 76 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023).

1.6.7 School improvement

School improvement covers any school improvement activities provided for maintained schools by the local authority. With effect from 2022 to 2023, this line can cover activities that used to be within the scope of the separate local authority grant for school intervention and improvement (see line 2.0.3).

The grant covers activities in relation to intervening in underperforming maintained schools, monitoring maintained schools in order to identify those at risk of becoming eligible for intervention and the commissioning of support for them. This line has been moved from section 1.1 to section 1.6, since funding can now be deducted from maintained special schools and PRUs, as well as maintained primary and secondary schools (paragraph 53 of Schedule 2 to the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2023).

1.7.1 Other specific grants

Include other specific grants, whether devolved or not devolved to schools.

Do not include:

any grants reserved for a specific purpose such as the DSG
any element of the pupil premium grant (which should not be entered anywhere on the form)
sixth form funding
UIFSM
free school meal supplementary grant
PE and sport funding
year 7 catch-up funding
teachers’ pay additional grant
mainstream schools additional grant

COVID-19 grants for schools should also be excluded.

Note that the early years pupil premium is part of the Early Years block budget and not part of the pupil premium grant and is to be included on the form under 1.0.1.

Where this line is used both the grant and the expenditure funded by the grant should be entered, so that the line nets to zero in all circumstances (local authorities should be planning to spend all of the grants, since grants cannot be used for any other purpose).

1.8.1 Total schools expenditure (after academy recoupment)

Memorandum line 1.8.1a:

Please enter the allocated DSG funding and expenditure for the four blocks shown on the local authority table. Allocated DSG funding should be taken from the tables of the 2023 to 2024 DSG allocations published by DfE on 30 March 2024, after deductions for post-school high needs place funding, and any recoupment for academies. Actual spending should be derived from the net spending entered in sections 1.0 to 1.6 of the table, appropriately assigned against the four DSG blocks. Where a transfer has been made between blocks, the spending will appear against the block where it was actually spent, for example, high needs rather than schools. You should, however, ensure that all expenditure supported by the funding in line 1.9.4 (grant supporting post 16 education) is excluded from this table.

In general terms, we would expect that expenditure entered in the early years column would relate to the early years block. For the other columns:

line 1.0.1, section 1.1, lines 1.4.5, 1.4.10 and 1.4.13, and section 1.6 would relate to the schools block
line 1.0.2, section 1.2 and line 1.4.11 would relate to the high needs block
the rest of section 1.4 along with section 1.5 would relate to the central school services block

However, local authorities may have other ways of attributing expenditure, particularly as regards early years pupils with high needs, and should assign expenditure in line with local practice.

Expenditure should include everything that has actually been spent, regardless of whether the source of funding is the 2023 to 2024 DSG, funds brought forward from previous years or a deficit to be carried forward to the following year.

Question 22

Reconciliation of schools expenditure (after academy recoupment)

Accepted Answer

Figures in the outturn statement should be consistent with those in the DSG note to the local authority’s statement of accounts. The table below shows the correspondence between section 251 and the CIPFA format for the DSG note.

Section 251 line	DSG note
1.8.1 Total schools expenditure (after academy recoupment) minus 1.9.4 Grant for maintained school sixth forms	Actual central expenditure plus Actual ISB deployed to schools
1.9.1 Dedicated Schools Grant for 2023 to 2024 (after academy recoupment and direct funding of high needs places by ESFA)	Total DSG after academy and high needs recoupment for 2023 to 2024
1.9.1a Dedicated Schools Grant in year adjustments	In year adjustments
1.9.2 Dedicated Schools Grant brought forward from 2022 to 2023	Brought forward from 2022 to 2023 (surplus) or DSG unusable reserve at the end of 2022 to 2023 (deficit)
1.9.3 Dedicated Schools Grant carry forward to 2024 to 2025	(-1) x Net DSG position at the end of 2023 to 2024
1.9.4 Grant for maintained school sixth forms	N/A
1.9.5 Local authority additional contribution	Local authority contribution for 2023 to 2024

1.9.1 DSG for 2023 to 2024 (after academy recoupment and deductions for academy and post school high needs place funding)

The local authority’s DSG after recoupment. This is the final DSG, as notified in March 2024, adjusted by the deductions from the high needs block of place funding for:

mainstream academies
special academies and free schools
AP academies and free schools
hospital academies
16 to 19 academies and free schools,
FE colleges and independent learning providers

Funding for NNDR continues to be part of DSG and should be included here. This should be the NFF rates funding for maintained schools.

NOTE: The way in which local authorities account for DSG deficits has been altered by the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which requires DSG deficits to be held in a separate reserve. But this does not alter the way in which local authorities should fill in the section 251 forms. DfE still requires local authorities to record the net position on DSG, adding up deficits and surpluses across all years up to and including 2022 to 2023 for line 1.9.2, and further adding any expected deficit or surplus in 2023 to 2024 for line 1.9.3.

1.9.1a DSG in-year adjustments

Changes to the final DSG allocation, as notified in March 2024, for example, adjustments for exclusions, or final early years block adjustment.

Authorities that are part of the centralised payments system for rates should enter an adjustment for the difference between the NFF rates funding for maintained schools and actual payments made by ESFA.

Any funding the local authority has received under the Safety Valve programme should be included here.

1.9.2 DSG brought forward from 2022 to 2023

The total amount of DSG reserves brought forward from previous years. Reserves should be entered as a positive number and deficits as a negative number. These will result from carry forward from financial years before 2022 to 2023 plus:

the difference between the final DSG in 2022 to 2023 and earlier estimates of DSG on which the schools budget was based
an under or overspend in 2022 to 2023 against the central elements of the schools budget

1.9.3 DSG carry forward to 2024 to 2025 (negative or positive)

Include any amount which the local authority is carrying forward to 2024 to 2025 from the 2023 to 2024 DSG, or from DSG carried over from earlier years. A negative number represents a reserve being carried forward, and a positive number indicates a deficit being carried forward.

1.9.4 Grant for maintained school 6th forms

This is a grant supporting post-16 education in maintained schools. This includes student financial support funding for special schools. The corresponding expenditure should be shown in the ‘Secondary’ column of line 1.0.1.

1.9.5 Local authority additional contribution

This includes any additional funding provided by the local authority to support the schools budget. If the local authority had a DSG deficit as at the end of the financial year 2022 to 2023, a contribution from non-DSG sources requires the consent of the Secretary of State.

1.9.6 Total funding supporting the schools budget (lines 1.9.1 to 1.9.5)

This line records the total sources of income to the schools budget, taking into account balances brought forward from 2022 to 2023 and those it is carrying forward to 2024 to 2025, as well as any additional funds provided by the local authority. This line should match the local authority’s actual spending from the schools budget (line 1.8.1).

Question 23

Other education and community budget

Accepted Answer

Subject to what is said below in relation to specific grants, administrative costs and overheads attributable to a particular category of expenditure should be included under the appropriate item head. Similar treatment applies to expenditure in relation to support for IT systems.

The lines on section 2.0 relate to functions formerly funded from ESG. They should be used to record provision for these functions that is not funded from DSG in 2023 to 2024, and is funded from the local authority grant for school intervention and improvement, or other council sources of funding rather than from DSG. It is therefore not part of the schools budget.

2.0.1 Central support services

Include expenditure on:

pupil support - provision and administration of clothing grants and board and lodging grants, where such expenditure is not supported by grant
music services - expenditure on the provision of music tuition or other activities which provide opportunities for pupils to enhance their experience of music
visual and performing arts (other than music) - expenditure which enables pupils to enhance their experience of the visual, creative and performing arts other than music
outdoor education including environmental and field studies (not sports) - expenditure on outdoor education centres, field study and environmental studies for example, but not including centres wholly or mainly for the provision of organised games, swimming or athletics

2.0.2 Education welfare service

Include education welfare service and other expenditure arising from the local authority school attendance functions. Where education welfare officers are directly involved in issues related to The Children Act 1989, the relevant expenditure should be charged to line 3.3.2.

Also include expenditure in connection with powers and duties performed under Part 2 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (Enforcement of, and power to make bylaws in relation to, restrictions on the employment of children).

2.0.3 School improvement

Include expenditure incurred by the local authority in respect of action to support the improvement of standards in the local authority’s schools, in particular expenditure incurred in connection with functions under the following sections of the Education and Inspections Act 2006:

section 60 (performance standards and safety warning notice)
section 60A (teachers’ pay and conditions warning notice)
section 63 (power of local authority to require governing bodies of schools eligible for intervention to enter into arrangements)
section 64 (power of local authority to appoint additional governors)
section 65 (power of local authority to provide for governing bodies to consist of interim executive members) and Schedule 6
section 66 (power of local authority to suspend right to delegated budget)

2.0.4 Asset management - education

Include expenditure in relation to:

the management of the local authority’s capital programme
preparation and review of an asset management plan
negotiation and management of private finance transactions and contracts (including academies which have converted since the contracts were signed)
landlord premises functions for relevant academy leases
health and safety and other landlord premises functions for community schools

This line should not include payments made by the local authority to a PFI provider or any capital expenditure or income.

2.0.5 Statutory/regulatory duties - education

This line should not include any expenditure or income relating to sold services to schools. It should include expenditure on education functions related to:

2.0.6 Premature retirement costs/redundancy costs (new provisions)

Include any expenditure for payments to be made by the local authority in respect of the dismissal, or for the purpose of securing the resignation, of any member of the staff of the school, after 1 April 2023 under section 37, Education Act 2002.

This line is meant to be for new costs in the financial year, in this case 2023 to 2024. For old costs please record in line 2.3.3 (pension costs, includes existing early retirement costs).

2.0.7 Monitoring national curriculum assessment

Include expenditure on monitoring national curriculum assessment arrangements required by orders made under section 87, Education Act 2002.

2.1.1 Educational psychology service

Include all expenditure on psychology services here.

The cost of educational psychology (EP) services should not be apportioned elsewhere unless an educational psychologist is specially appointed to undertake an alternative function (for example, responsibility for managing the behaviour support service).

Expenditure on EP bespoke/commissioned work in behaviour support should go into line 1.1.2 ‘Behaviour support services’.

2.1.2 SEN administration, assessment, coordination and monitoring

Include expenditure on identification and assessment of children with SEN and disability, information about the local offer to children with SEN, and the making, maintaining and reviewing of EHC plans under section 36 to 45 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and of statements under sections 321 to 331 of the Education Act 1996.

Include the cost of strategic management and planning of services to support the inclusion and attainment of children and young people with SEN, preparing relevant strategic plans, SEN administration, planning and coordination.

Include expenditure on the monitoring and accountability functions of the SEN core teams and support services, including support for school self-evaluation. Also include the proportion of time devoted to SEN and other inclusion activities by inspectors and advisers in the local authority’s school improvement team.

Monitoring of individual EHC plans and statements and annual reviews should be included here.

2.1.3 Independent advice and support services (IASS) (parent partnership) guidance and information

Include expenditure in connection with the provision, or commissioning of, IASSs/parent partnership services and related guidance and information to the parents of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities which, in relation to pupils at a school maintained by the local authority, is in addition to the information usually provided by the governing bodies of such schools. This also includes the provision of information services for young people with SEN and disabilities.

Also include arrangements made by the local authority with a view to providing mediation services and avoiding or resolving disagreements with the parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

2.1.4 Home to school transport (pre-16): SEN transport expenditure

Include expenditure on:

travel between home and school for children of compulsory school age where the travel is agreed for reasons of the child’s SEN and/or disability
this includes transport to qualifying schools as set out in the home to school travel and transport guidance www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance
the cost of passenger assistants provided to support children with SEN and/or a disability when travelling between their home and a qualifying school, and
any travel provided to enable children below compulsory school age to attend an early years setting named in their EHC Plan.

2.1.5 Home to school transport (pre-16): mainstream home to school transport expenditure:

Include expenditure on

travel between home and school for children of compulsory school age where travel is agreed for reasons other than SEN/disability
this includes transport to qualifying schools as set out in the home to school travel and transport guidance www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance, and
the cost of passenger assistants provided to support children when travelling between their home and a qualifying school

2.1.6 Home to post-16 provision - SEN/LLDD transport expenditure (aged 16 to 18)

Include all gross expenditure, income, and net expenditure incurred by local authorities for transporting learners with SEN aged 16 to 18, and those with an EHC plan aged over 19 who started their course before their nineteenth birthday, to post-16 education and training provision including:

school sixth form
sixth form college
FE college
independent specialist providers
apprenticeships
traineeships
supported internship
other work-based learning provision

Your return should include, as a minimum, the expenditure on:

transport provided by local authority owned vehicles
provision of independent travel training
taxi fares
local authority contracted vehicles
subsidies or a financial contribution to travel passes
fuel allowances for parents

2.1.7 Home to post-16 provision - SEN/LLDD transport expenditure (aged 19 to 25)

Include all gross expenditure, income, and net expenditure incurred by local authorities for transporting learners with SEN aged 19 to 25 who started their course after their 18th birthday, to post-16 education and training provision including:

school sixth form
sixth form college
FE college
independent specialist providers
apprenticeships
traineeships
supported internship
other work-based learning provision

Your return should include, as a minimum, the expenditure on:

transport provided by local authority owned vehicles
provision of independent travel training
taxi fares
local authority contracted vehicles
subsidies or a financial contribution to travel passes
fuel allowances for parents

2.1.8 Home to post-16 provision transport - mainstream home to post-16 transport expenditure

This line should include home to post-16 provision transport other than for learners with SEN. Include all gross expenditure, income, and net expenditure incurred by local authorities for transporting learners aged 16 to 18 (including those who become 19 during their course) to post-16 education and training provision, including:

school sixth form
sixth form college
FE college
apprenticeships
traineeship
other work-based learning provision

Your return should include, as a minimum, the expenditure on:

transport provided by local authority owned vehicles
taxi fares
local authority contracted vehicles
subsidies or a financial contribution to travel passes and moped/scooter schemes

Do not include expenditure on home to learning transport for young people with SEN in this line.

2.1.9 Supply of school places

Include expenditure on planning and managing the supply of school places, including the local authority’s functions in relation to the establishment, alteration or discontinuance of schools pursuant to Part 2 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

2.2.1 Other spend not funded from the schools budget

Local authorities have pointed out to us that because some of the lines in section 1.4 of this form require schools forum approval, authorities may incur expenditure funded from outside the schools budget under these headings that cannot be recorded in section 1. We are therefore providing an additional line in section 2 for recording expenditure on lines in section 1.4 that is not funded out of DSG. This will apply to lines 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.4.8 and 1.4.14(b).

2.3.1 Young people’s learning and development

This includes 16 to 18 provision other than schools and FE, and covers non-advanced direct provision on 16 to 18 apprenticeships and entry to employment. This line also includes:

14 to 19 reform
education business links
learning agreement pilots
young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs)
increasing flexibility for 14 to 16-year-olds
young apprenticeships (key stage 4 for 14 to 15-year-olds)
14 to 19 fighting funds, for example support learning and development initiatives
16 to 18 structural support which has not been included within the lines above

This line relates to the education service.

2.3.2 Adult and community learning

Include adult/community education and ‘lifelong learning’ programmes. Some authorities operate adult, community and youth work as a whole. Items appropriate to this part are:

adult education
community education, that is, education offered primarily for the purpose of enhancing the capacities of communities rather than the aspirations of individuals
family learning
other community services (but not youth work)

Income from ESFA should be shown in the income box.

2.3.3 Pension costs - includes existing early retirement costs

The budget for expected expenditure for commitments for former school and local authority staff should be included under this heading. Also, residual pension liability (such as FE, careers service and so on), ex-FE college staff; ex-career service staff; ex-teacher training institute staff; and the London Pensions Fund Authority levy are included here.

This line covers any on-going commitment incurred in previous years. For new costs please record in line 2.0.6 (premature retirement costs/redundancy costs (new provisions), or in line 1.6.5 where the costs are funded out of DSG.

2.3.4 Joint use arrangements

Include expenditure in pursuance of a binding agreement, where the other party is a local authority or the other parties include one or more local authorities, in relation to the operation of a facility provided partly but not solely for the use of schools.

2.3.5 Insurance

Include any expenditure on insurance relating to education other than for liability arising in connection with schools or school premises.

Do not include other children’s services.

2.4.1 Other specific grants

Other specific grants, whether devolved or not devolved to schools, including DBV expenditure and grant.

Do not include:

any grants relating to childcare
any ring-fenced grants such as DSG
any element of the pupil premium grant, which should not be entered anywhere on the form
sixth form funding

Note that the early years pupil premium is part of the Early Years block budget and not part of the pupil premium grant and is to be included on the form under 1.0.1.

COVID-19-related grants should also be excluded.

Where this line is used both the grant and the expenditure funded by the grant should be entered, so that the line nets to zero in all circumstances (local authorities should be planning to spend all of the grants, since the grant cannot be used for any other purpose).

2.4.2 CERA (non-schools budget functions)

Include expenditure commonly known as CERA which is capital expenditure that an authority expects to charge to a revenue account of the local authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Local Government Act 2003.

2.4.3 Total other education and community expenditure

2.5.1 Capital expenditure (excluding CERA)

Include all capital expenditure on education, which:

the local authority proposes to capitalise in their accounts in accordance with proper practices, being those accounting practices
- which the local authority are required to follow by virtue of any enactment
- which, whether by reference to any generally recognised published code or otherwise, are regarded as proper accounting practices to be followed in the keeping of accounts of local authorities, either generally or of description concerned, but in the event of any conflict in any respect between the practices falling with (i) above and those falling within (ii) above, only those falling within above are to regarded as proper practices
does not fall within the CERA lines, for example capital expenditure from revenue

Include any grant-supported capital expenditure and any devolved capital grant.

Question 24

Notes to Table A1: children and young people’s services

Accepted Answer

The split below is to show which services are being provided by the local authority and which are being provided by external organisations. Costs paid to external bodies (or individuals) as part of authority managed services count as ‘Own provision’. For example, agency staff or individual carers selected and paid directly by the local authority should always be classified under ‘Own provision’. If a third party employs or contracts with the individual service providers, then it is not ‘Own provision’.

Guidance to column headings (a), (b), (c) and (d):

column (a) ‘Own Provision’ - expenditure on services provided/managed by the local authority
column (b) ‘Private’ - expenditure on services provided/managed by private sector entities such as profit-making companies
column (c) ‘Other Public’ - expenditure on services provided/managed by public sector entities such as other local authorities and other public providers (such as services provided by other local authorities or health bodies)
Column (d) ‘Voluntary’ - expenditure on services provided/managed by third sector entities such as voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals

To note when completing the income column:

where relevant, complete the income column, including income derived from any charges to parents for services
charges to other centre users (for example rental of rooms)
any other grant income

Central government grants should not be recorded as income, instead they should be recorded as expenditure against the intended expenditure reporting line (if applicable, including the central government COVID-19 grant funding).

Question 25

Sure Start children’s centres and other spend on children under 5

Accepted Answer

This section of the return is designed to show total local authority spending on Sure Start children’s centres including how much of this is devolved to individual children’s centres, how much is used to pay for local authority provided or commissioned services and how much for local authority management costs related to children’s centres.

When completing this section for Sure Start children’s centres:

include salary costs of any staff with qualified teacher status or early years professional staff employed by children’s centres
do not include other early education funding (including funding through the free entitlement, as that is covered in Table A)
do not include the cost of services provided in-kind by other statutory providers (for example, health services or Jobcentre Plus)

3.0.1 Spend on individual Sure Start children’s centres

Include details of devolved revenue to children’s centres for the delivery and management of the children’s centre and its services. This includes both children’s centres managed directly by the local authority, where budgets are delegated internally, and those commissioned to another body under a contract or service level agreement, including school governing bodies.

Do not include funding on early education (including early years funding through the free entitlement).

3.0.2 Spend for local authority provided or commissioned area-wide services delivered through Sure Start children’s centres

Include any discrete services to be delivered across the local authority area that are centrally commissioned by the local authority and are part of the children’s centre programme, such as a centrally commissioned outreach service for children under 5 and their families.

Do not include the money/budget for individual children’s centres to deliver services or commission services at a centre level, this should be recorded in 3.0.1.

3.0.3 Spend on local authority management costs relating to Sure Start children’s centres

This refers to the total amount the local authority plans to use to meet the central costs of managing the children’s centre programme.

This includes the costs of local authority organisational management and support, data collection, commissioning, and improvement support.

3.0.4 Other spend on children under 5

This is intended to cover any other money (non DSG) spent to support and develop early years provision (for 0 to 5-year-olds). Activities likely to be included are improvement/sustainability support, implementing your sufficiency action plan and local workforce development.

3.0.5 Total Sure Start children’s centres and other spend on children under 5

This formula calculates the aggregate of the entries in lines 3.0.1 to 3.0.4.

Question 26

Children looked after

Accepted Answer

Include the costs of looking after children for continuous periods of more than 24 hours.

Include any central government grants as expenditure under the line in which they will be spent, e.g., the Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Home Office grant.

3.1.1 Residential care

Include expenditure on residential care in voluntary children’s and registered children’s homes as defined in the Children Act 1989. This includes:

associated independent visitor costs and relevant contact payments under sections 20 and 34 of the Children Act 1989
homes where education is provided, but does not attract education department funds
boarding schools—include the social care share of the costs of community homes with education provision and the social care element of accommodating children with special education needs in schools where the education element is met by the education department (the funding of the children’s education is recorded in the education lines of the table)

Exclude expenditure costs for:

short breaks for looked-after disabled children
mother and baby homes (include in line 3.1.5 ‘Other Children Looked After Services’)
youth detention accommodation (include in line 3.1.5 ‘Other Children Looked After Services’)
respite care for those children not meeting the definition of children looked after

3.1.2a Fostering services (excluding fees and allowances for local authority foster carers)

Include all in-house provision, fostering services purchased externally and the costs of social worker and other support staff who support foster carers.

Include:

Exclude fees and allowances paid to:

foster parents
remand fostering (Youth Justice)
foster care placements with a relative or friend (children placed with family and friends)
social work costs related directly to the fostered children (social work)
short breaks (respite) for looked-after disabled children

3.1.2b Fostering services (fees and allowances for local authority foster carers)

Include all the fees and allowances and financial payments made to the approved foster carers of the local authority.

Please note, the outturn collection now separately identifies fees and allowances for local authority foster carers. Previously, all fostering service expenditure was captured under 3.1.2 only.

3.1.3 Adoption services

Include staff and overhead costs associated with adoption including the costs of social workers recruiting and assessing new prospective adopters and supporting existing prospective adopters. Also include costs related to adoption support, such as the cost of therapeutic services.

Adoption services are defined as:

financial support
services to enable groups of adoptive children, adoptive and birth parents or former guardians of an adoptive child to discuss matters relating to adoption
assistance, including mediation services, in relation to contact between an agency adoptive child and birth parents, siblings, former guardian or a related person
therapeutic services for the agency adoptive child or inter-country adoptive child
assistance for the purpose of ensuring the continuance of the relationship between an adoptive child and his or her adoptive parents, (includes training for adoptive parents to meet any special needs of the child and respite care)
assistance where disruption of an adoptive placement, or of an adoption arrangement following the making of an adoption order, has occurred or is in danger of occurring, including:
- making arrangements for the provision of mediation services
- organising and running meetings to discuss disruptions in such placements or arrangements
counselling, advice and information

Refer to the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005 and the statutory adoption guidance for further information.

Provision of adoption support is based on assessed needs. Financial payments are made depending on the needs of the child and are means-tested.

Children are placed with approved prospective adopters under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005. This is the provision of care and accommodation of children placed for adoption under the Adoption Agencies Regulation 2005. It also covers payments made, in accordance with the Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005, to a family after an adoption order has been made.

Exclude the costs of children placed for adoption (see fostering services) and social work costs directly relating to the adopted children (see social work).

3.1.4 Special guardianship support

Include financial support paid to special guardianship families under the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 and other staff and overhead costs associated with special guardianship orders.

3.1.5 Other children looked after services

Include support to looked-after children and young people:

3.1.6 Short breaks (respite) for looked-after disabled children

Include all provision for short-breaks (respite) services for disabled children who are deemed looked after.

Include:

short breaks using a residential setting
family based overnight and day care short break services, including those provided through contract and family link carers
sitting or sessional short break services in the child’s home, or supporting the child to access activities in the community

Exclude any break exceeding 28 days continuous care and any costs associated with providing disabled children’s access to residential universal services.

Please note, by definition a child must be provided with accommodation for a continuous period of more than 24 hours before that child can be defined as being a looked-after child (LAC) under the Children Act 1989 Section 20 and 21. If the provision period is under 24 hours, then that child is not a LAC and the associated costs should be recorded in the ‘Family support services’ section.

3.1.7 Children placed with family and friends

Where looked-after children do not live with their birth parents it is not uncommon for them to be placed with family or friend foster carers. Include expenditure on the local authority’s functions in relation to looked-after children placed with family or friends foster carers under the Children Act 1989.

3.1.8 Education of looked-after children

Include expenditure on the services provided to promote the education of the children looked-after by your authority (for example, looked-after children education service teams and training for designated teachers). Exclude any funding delegated to schools for looked-after children.

3.1.9 Leaving care support services

Include the staff and overhead costs associated with the local authority’s leaving care support team and services. Including, for example:

functions carried out by personal advisors (PAs), including assessments of need, preparation of pathway plans, and participation in reviews of pathway plans
costs relating to the training and supervision of PAs
costs associated with providing and maintaining relevant children in suitable accommodation, including ‘staying put’ arrangements
costs of other forms of accommodation for relevant children which may be necessary in emergency situations
all forms of financial assistance paid by the local authority to care leavers, including financial support to participate in education, such as higher education (HE) bursaries
costs involved in developing and disseminating the local authority’s policies around support to care leavers
advising, befriending, and giving assistance to persons qualifying for advice and assistance

Exclude:

the social worker costs in preparing and reviewing pathway plans prior to young people ceasing to be looked after (such as when they are ‘eligible children’) or any other social worker costs in supporting ‘relevant’ or ‘former relevant’ children (see social work, including local authority functions in relation to child protection)

3.1.10 Asylum seeker services children

Include expenditure relating to asylum seeking children that are looked after that have not been recorded in other lines (for example, 3.1.1 Residential Care).

Exclude planned expenditure for children who are not looked after which is covered by the Home Office grant funding for refugees.

3.1.11 Total children looked after

This formula calculates the aggregate of entries in lines 3.1.1 to 3.1.10.

Question 27

Other children and family services

Accepted Answer

3.2.1 Other children and family services

Include other spend that cannot be placed under another specific heading but contributes to your overall spending on children’s and young people’s services.

Also include spend previously captured here:

grants to voluntary organisations that cannot be specifically placed under another children’s heading
counselling services
generic services in support of children that abuse substances not included in the division of service above

Please keep a record of the kind of spending that you have included in this category, as DfE may get in touch with some local authorities to request this information to aid their understanding and analysis of the data.

Question 28

Safeguarding children and young people’s services

Accepted Answer

A number of changes have been made to this section following a detailed consultation. Spending on child death review processes is now included in the line on multi-agency working. Spending on social work (including functions in relation to child protection) has been separated out from commissioning.

This line applies to social workers who are directly involved with the care of children and with the commissioning of services for children.

Include most of the direct social work costs, such as the processes for assessing need, determining and defining the service to be provided and reviewing the quality of and continued relevance of that care for children. Also include:

child protection costs
field social work costs (include hospital social workers)
occupational therapy services to children
relevant support staff costs

Also include spending on local authority functions in relation to child protection. This includes all planned expenditure on carrying out the local authority’s functions in relation to child protection under the Children Act 1989 and under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 and other functions relating to child protection.

Exclude social work costs in support of foster carers and adoptive families as these are captured elsewhere in the return.

3.3.2 Commissioning and children’s services strategy

Include spending on overall commissioning within children’s and young people’s services, such as the cost of a central commissioning function.

Include any additional expenditure on services that are bought in from outside the local authority to support the central commissioning function. Where joint commissioning units have been set up, such as between the local authority and the primary care trust, the overall costs of maintaining the joint unit should be given.

Exclude the costs of the actual services commissioned as well as any social worker costs related to commissioning as these are captured elsewhere in the return. Also exclude costs of commissioning services specifically for Sure Start children’s centres as these will be captured in line 3.0.3.

For the children’s services strategy element, include partnership costs for multi-agency working, such as contributions from the local authority to partnership manager and other costs. Do not include pooled budget contributions for specific front-line services. Also include spending on statutory and regulatory duties related to children’s services that are not included in the line on statutory and regulatory duties related to education above (line 2.0.5), or in the equivalent lines in section 1 when the expenditure is funded from DSG.

3.3.3 Local safeguarding children boards

Include spending on the local authority’s local safeguarding children board functions under the Children Act 2004 and the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006.

Include child death review processes. This will include expenditure on the local authority’s functions under the Children Act 2004 (as set out in chapter 5 of Working Together 2015). This includes any authority-funded activity in connection with the process of reviewing child deaths in the local authority area (usually under the management of a Child Death Overview Panel). It covers responding to, enquiring into and evaluating each unexpected death of a child, and reviewing all child deaths in the local authority area (and other areas, if relevant) to determine trends and patterns to avoid future deaths.

3.3.4 Total safeguarding children and young people’s services

This formula calculates the aggregate of entries in lines 3.3.1 to 3.3.3.

Question 29

Family support services

Accepted Answer

Some changes have been made to this section to help improve the quality of the data collected. Planned expenditure previously captured in this section should continue to be recorded here, split across services for disabled children (lines 3.4.1 to 3.4.3) and targeted/universal family support and targeted services (lines 3.4.4 and 3.4.5).

This section includes statutory services provided to children in need and their families and voluntary aid to other children.

3.4.1 Direct payments

Exclude expenditure on direct payments for SEN and disability as this is captured above in line 1.2.11.

Include here any other spending on direct payments.

3.4.2 Short breaks (respite) for disabled children

Include all provision for short breaks (respite) services for disabled children in need but not looked after. Include the costs of:

short breaks using a residential setting, including overnight stays, day care and sessional visits to the setting
family based overnight and day care short break services, including those provided through contract and family link carers
sitting or sessional short break services in the child’s home, or supporting the child to access activities in the community

Exclude:

short breaks for looked-after disabled children (see 3.1.6)
any break exceeding 28 days continuous care
costs associated with providing disabled children’s access to universal day services such as formal childcare, youth clubs, or extended school activities

3.4.3 Other support for disabled children

Include children’s services contribution to equipment and adaptations such as:

adaptations to homes to help children remain at home
disability equipment for children, including wheelchairs
special telephones for the use of children
other communications and community equipment
stores, delivery and other associated costs

Exclude contributions by the housing service, adult social care service and local NHS services.

3.4.4 Targeted family support

Targeted family support services are those focused on specific vulnerable families, including, but not limited to, families receiving support through the Supporting Families programme.

Do not record the Supporting Families grant as income but as budgeted expenditure here.

Include budgeted spending in the following areas that were previously captured under separate lines in this data collection:

Contribution to health care of individual children

This is expenditure where there is a need to support a child. This includes non-statutory innovative initiatives such as family nurse partnerships. These could be initiatives to be funded privately by the local authority or jointly by local authority or primary care trust.

Home care services

This is home care provided to help carers look after a child at home. For example, home helps, domiciliary care assistants, support or payments to voluntary workers/ organisations providing home care services. Also include the costs of administration of home care for children.

Intensive family interventions

Include the expenditure for providing intensive family interventions which underpin the programme led by the Supporting Families team to ensure vulnerable families get access to the early, coordinated whole family support they need to help them overcome their problems before they escalate. Common characteristics include each family having access to a dedicated practitioner who delivers support and co-ordinates the work of other agencies, ensuring that a support/ care plan is in place, which outlines actions and timescales. These interventions commonly include pre- and post-measurements of how circumstances for the family have changed. Other areas of spend that could be included in this line are:

payments or gifts in kind to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need
community support workers (peripatetic support staff who supervise children at risk, children in need, learning in the community and liaise with other agencies, community psychiatric nurses and so on) outreach workers, family support or aid workers
expenditure on support for carers rather than clients (including young carers) that is not included in any of the other divisions of service
family contact supervision
residence orders paid for

Exclude home care services provided for short breaks for disabled children (which should be included in line 3.4.2 above).

3.4.5 Universal family support

Universal family support is open to all regardless of their family circumstances or perceptions of vulnerability.

This includes support provided in the community for children who do not have a particular need that has been already identified (but who may be in a disadvantaged group), such as home-school liaison services funded by the local authority; peer to peer support services such as Home-start and relationship support.

3.4.6 Total family support services

This formula calculates the aggregate of the entries in lines 3.4.1 to 3.4.5.

Question 30

Services for young people

Accepted Answer

Services for young people (aged 13 to 19) encompasses all local authority expenditure on provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities, including youth work and delivery of their duties to support young people to participate in education or training.

The scope of the activities covered by this is defined in the statutory guidance for local authorities on services and activities to improve young people’s well-being and targeted support services for young people.

Lines 3.5.1 Universal services for young people and 3.5.2 Targeted services for young people cover the following main types of activity:

youth work
activities for young people
services to support young people’s participation in education or training
substance misuse services
teenage pregnancy services
discretionary awards
student support

They include expenditure on the following:

employees
staff training
premises-related expenditure
transport-related expenditure
supplies and services
third-party payments
support services
costs at residential and non-residential youth centres
costs at activity at outdoor and urban studies centres
grant funding to the voluntary sector for the activities listed above

Expenditure on youth work includes educational leisure-time activities that are for the improvement of young people’s personal and social development, which are delivered using youth work methods and approaches.

Examples of activities for young people include, but are not limited to:

special interest clubs
out of school hours coaching in arts and crafts, sporting or other physical activities
learning opportunities available through facilities offering residential, weekend or holiday-time services
volunteering activity where young people gain valuable non-formal educational benefits from the experience, for example National Citizen Service
democratic engagement, for example young mayors and youth councils
sporting activities and informal physical activities
cultural activities including music, performing and visual arts

These activities may be made available to young people through Myplace centres.

Expenditure on support to young people to participate in education or training as set out in the statutory guidance for local authorities should include:

working with schools to identify those at risk of not participating post-16
delivery of the September Guarantee
tracking young people’s participation in education and training and provision of information through the Client Caseload Information System (CCIS)
working with ESFA to secure sufficient, suitable education and training provision for young people
supporting all young people to participate in education and training for longer after compulsory schooling
targeted support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), working with youth contract providers where appropriate
local authority careers service functions for young people and activities for young people and activities related to provision of information for young people and their carers

Include expenditure on substance misuse services and teenage pregnancy services, including expenditure to implement and coordinate local strategies as well as targeted prevention and early intervention initiatives.

You should also include expenditure on discretionary awards and in respect of on-going responsibilities for students in receipt of discretionary awards. Also section 129 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (which substitutes a new section 518 of the Education Act 1996) conferred a revised power on local authorities, should they wish to use it, to make awards to FE (and HE) students (and to 16 to 19-year-olds who are still attending school).

Also include expenditure on student support arrangements, including administration by the local authority in pursuit of its functions under the Education (Student Support) Regulations. These refer to the total staffing and other administration costs for the delivery of student finance functions (student loans and grants) for HE students from 1998 to 1999 onwards. Do not include amounts paid by the Student Loans Company in the form of grants and loans.

Exclude activity funded through the public health grant. Specific funding data for substance misuse services and teenage pregnancy services should also be captured at the end of the data collection, in memorandum lines 8a.1 and 8a.2.

3.5.1 Universal services for young people

Universal and open access services are open to all young people, regardless of their circumstances or perception of vulnerability.

3.5.2 Targeted services for young people

Targeted services are those focused on supporting early intervention for vulnerable young people, including but not limited to those at risk of teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, youth crime and not being in education, employment or training.

Include those services that are targeted towards supporting:

individual young people on a one-to-one basis (such as counselling)
groups of young people (for example, young people at risk of gang involvement)
specific localities (for example, detached youth work in areas that have high instances of anti-social behaviour)

The information below gives an indication of the current split in young people’s services.

Young people’s services:

working with schools to identify those at risk of not participating post-16
delivery of the September Guarantee
tracking participation in education and training
post-16 education and training provision
raising the participation age
young people NEET
Youth Voice

Universal:

protocols with schools
tracking offers made to young people
maintenance of a CCIS database
uploading information on young people in education and training
provision of information to DfE
gap filling exercise
promoting effective participation
engaging young people in decision making
reviewing services in line with the statutory guidance issued in June 2012 by the Secretary of State for Education for local authorities on services and activities to improve young people’s well-being

Targeted:

targeted support for those identified as being at risk
targeted support for those who do not have an offer of a place when they complete compulsory pre-16 education
‘follow up’ of hard to reach young people
specialist provision for young people with SEN and disability
identifying young people who ‘drop out’ and providing support to re-engage
targeted support for young people NEET
referral of young people NEET to youth contract providers where appropriate
support for engaging groups of targeted young people in decision making, for example looked-after young people, teenage parents

3.5.3 Total Services for young people

This formula calculates the aggregate of the entries in lines 3.5.1 to 3.5.2.

Question 31

Youth justice

Accepted Answer

3.6.1 Youth justice

Include the costs of services related to young offenders including youth offending teams. This includes:

costs of providing or purchasing secure accommodation (except remand foster care in other youth justice services) for children who pose a risk to themselves, to others or have a security requirement placed on them for youth justice reasons under s53 of the Children & Young Persons Act 1933
all other remand facilities for a young offender, under section 97 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
costs of social services staff and support facilities for youth offending teams under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
community services costs
remand fostering costs, that is payments to carers and supervision costs where a court has made an order that an alleged young offender should be held securely in the community rather than being placed in an institution
bail support schemes
other youth justice costs

4.0.1 CERA (Children’s and young people’s services)

Include expenditure commonly known as CERA which is capital expenditure that an authority expects to charge to a revenue account of the local authority within the meaning of section 22 of the Local Government Act 2003.

5.0.1 Do not complete - not applicable

5.0.2 Total children and young people’s services expenditure (excluding CERA)

5.0.3. Total children and young people’s services expenditure (including CERA)

Question 32

Memorandum

Accepted Answer

A memo line is an extraction of figures which have been included as planned expenditure in the lines above.

Planned expenditure on substance misuse services and teenage pregnancy services is included in lines 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 above should also be included as separate categories in the following lines. These lines are not included in the total spending figures to avoid double counting.

8a.1 Substance misuse services (drugs, alcohol, and volatile substances) (included in 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 above)

These may include:

targeted drug and alcohol information
advice and education to support informed choices
motivational interviewing
substance misuse brief interventions
substance misuse specific family support
substance misuse screening and assessment as part of a wider assessment process

Include all expenditure on targeted services focused on supporting early interventions to manage substance misuse-related risk of harm and reduce the likelihood of young people becoming future drug or alcohol users.

Exclude spending on activities such as specialist substance misuse interventions funded by the public health grant and reported through the public health grant return.

8a.2 Teenage pregnancy services (included in 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 above)

Include all expenditure wholly focused on implementing and coordinating local teenage pregnancy strategies to reduce under 18 conceptions and to improve outcomes for teenage parents and their children reflecting the DfE planning guidance.

Exclude spending on activities funded by the public health grant and reported through the public health grant return.

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Main points

Purpose of financial statements

Publication and submission of outturn statements

Direct payments to academies

FRS17

Format, content of statements and data entry

Main changes for 2023 to 2024

1.2.1 Top-up funding – maintained schools

1.2.2 Top-up funding – academies, free schools and colleges

1.2.12 Carbon reduction commitment allowances (PRUs)

1.7.1 Other specific grants

2.4.1 Other specific grants

Notes to Table A: local authority level information

General principles for completion

High needs expenditure

Early years expenditure

Guidance to column headings

Early years column

Primary (reception +) column

Secondary column

All through schools

SEN/special schools column

AP/pupil referral unit (PRU) column

Post-school column

Gross total of all the columns

Income column

Net column

Net (budget totals) column

Defining what is chargeable to the schools expenditure

Schools budget

1.0.1 ISB (school budget shares, after academy recoupment), including sixth form grant for maintained schools, but excluding all high needs place funding

Free entitlements for 2-year-olds and 3 and 4-year-olds

High needs place funding within ISB (within school budget shares), including all pre and post-16 place funding for maintained schools

1.0.1 and 1.0.2

De-delegated items

1.1.1 Contingencies

1.1.2 Behaviour support services

1.1.3 Support to under-performing pupils from ethnic minority groups and bilingual learners

1.1.4 Free school meals - eligibility

1.1.5 Insurance

1.1.6 Museum and library services

1.1.7 Licences/subscriptions

1.1.8 Staff costs - supply cover (excluding cover for facility time)

1.1.9 Staff costs - supply cover for facility time

High needs expenditure

1.2.1 Top-up funding - maintained schools

1.2.2 Top up funding - academies, free schools and colleges

1.2.3 Top-up and other funding - non-maintained and independent providers

1.2.4 Additional high needs targeted funding for mainstream schools and academies

1.2.5 SEN support services

1.2.6 Hospital education services

1.2.7 Other AP services

1.2.8 Support for inclusion

1.2.9 Special schools and PRUs in financial difficulty

1.2.10 Private finance initiative (PFI)/Building schools for the future (BSF) costs at special schools, AP/PRUs and post-16 institutions only

1.2.11 Direct payments (SEN and disability)

1.2.12 Carbon reduction commitment (CRC) allowances (PRUs)

1.2.13 Therapies and other health related services

Early years budget

1.3.1 Central expenditure on early years entitlement

Central provision within schools budget

1.4.1 Contribution to combined budgets

1.4.2 School admissions

1.4.3 Servicing of schools forums

1.4.4 Termination of employment costs

1.4.5 Falling rolls fund

1.4.6 CERA

1.4.7 Prudential borrowing costs

1.4.8 Fees to independent schools without SEN

1.4.9 Equal pay - back pay

1.4.10 Pupil growth

1.4.11 SEN transport

1.4.12 Exceptions agreed by the Secretary of State

1.4.13 Infant class sizes

1.4.14 Other items