Key Stage 1 Class Size Funding
What is it meant to fund?
Class size funding is supposed to fund sufficient teachers to ensure that all pupils at key stage 1 (including reception) can be taught in classes of 30 or fewer pupils.
The mechanism of class size funding changed from April 2006 to make it more compatible with the single January count and the Minimum Funding Guarantee calculation. Instead of funding classes, with reduced Age Weighted Pupil Units (AWPUs) for pupils, funding is now calculated using vacant places and full AWPUs. The cost of a vacant place is 1/30 of the cost of an average teacher on M6 plus PPA allowance. The number of classes that a school requires at KS1 are based on the pupil numbers from September 2006 or January 2007 (whichever is higher) for the summer term 2007 and estimated numbers for September 2007 for the autumn 2007 and spring 2008 terms. A school may therefore may have two different numbers of classes between one academic year and the next.
The number of vacant places is equal to the number of classes times 30 less the number of fte pupils funded in January 2007, with a minimum of zero vacant places.
The number of classes calculated is based on the following rules:
The number of classes funded is calculated termly, using full time equivalent pupil numbers (but with part time pupils counted as 2/3). A pupil which the LEA expects to attend part time is treated as part time, irrespective of actual pattern of attendance. Spring and summer born four year olds are considered to be part time in the autumn term.
Vertical grouping will normally be assumed where this means that fewer classes are required, except where a school has a PAN of 30, or a multiple of 30, and is between one and two classes undersubscribed and has not been at least one class undersubscribed for the two previous years.
A school will not be treated as having a PAN of 30 (or multiple thereof) in academic year 2006/07 unless its PAN satisfied this condition in September 2004, September 2005 and September 2006
If a school exceeds PAN though its own choice or default, then the LEA will not fund any additional teachers required as a result (although it will provide key stage weighted funding for the additional pupils).
The LEA will normally fund additional teachers required as a result of statemented pupils being placed over and above PAN, or other additional pupils being placed by the LEA, where failure to fund additional teachers would otherwise require a change in class organisation except in the year of admission, where these pupils are eligible exceptions to the 30 per class requirement. However, these additional teachers will not normally be funded in advance.
The numbers of classes required will be recalculated termly in September , January and Summer term, although the number of classes will not be adjusted downwards unless there is a strong case that the school ought to have known that its estimates were clearly unreasonable.
Pupils in special units are assumed to be integrated with mainstream classes, irrespective of the arrangements actually adopted within the school except where the special unit pupils are over and above the PAN.
Key stage 2 pupils in first schools are included within the calculation.
Special transitional arrangements apply for the third year in 2007/08 whereby schools? key stage 1 funding was calculated on the basis of both original and new methods. Where schools? total key stage 1 funding (including key stage weighted funding, class size funding and small school subsidy) increased by more than 4% in real terms, the increase was restricted to 4%. Where they would have lost more than 1.8%, the loss was limited to 1.8%.
Source of data
For the summer term, classes are based on the higher of the estimated September 2006/ January 2007 pupil numbers, provided in September 2005 and the actual September 2006/ January 2007 pupil numbers.
For the autumn and spring terms, classes are based on the estimated September 2007 pupil numbers. Additional classes will be allocated if they are required based on actual September 2007/ January 2008 numbers.
How much money is allocated?
£1,281.80 per vacant place in 2007/08
Does it change during the year?
Yes, if additional classes are required in order to comply with legislation then these will be funded. This will normally apply only to undersubscribed schools as most of the circumstances in which additional pupils can be admitted to full schools are exceptions to the class size regulations in the year in which they occur.
The allocation will not be reduced in the year if fewer classes are required, unless the LEA has reason to believe later that the school?s original estimate was completely unreasonable.
Other common questions
Why do you make a reduction for part time pupils? I can?t employ teachers for part of the year only.
Surrey has always funded four year olds on a part time basis for the terms prior to their fifth birthday. The change in key stage 1 funding does not affect this situation. However, from 2005/06, summer born four year olds are funded full time in the spring term.
Why are some schools exempted from the requirement to vertically group?
From 2006/07, schools with PANs of multiples of 30 will not be exempt from vertically grouping if they have previously been under subscribed by more than 30 pupils for the last two years.
Why has the method changed again?
In order to make key stage one class funding compatible with the single January count and Minimum Funding Guarantee calculations.
Why are pupils in special units treated as integrated?
We are aware that the extent of integration varies between units but believe that most schools integrate their 'unit' pupils and the funding has to be consistent across schools.
Why are part time pupils weighted 2/3?
Historically part time pupils have been counted as 1/2 but the key stage weighting for such pupils has been 1.496 whereas for full time pupils it was 1.133. The overall result was that part time four year olds received 2/3 of the funding of full time four year olds