Selected Primary Schools - Funding Formulae and Budgets FY 2023-24

Summary

The requester sought detailed budget derivation, funding formulae, and income/expenditure data for seven specific Isle of Man primary schools for FY 2023-24. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture disclosed the general funding formula, staffing calculations, and context funding weightings but withheld specific school-level financial details, resulting in a partial exemption outcome.

Key Facts

• The primary school budget is derived using a 3-year average pupil roll (2020-2022) to determine per-pupil funding tiers.
• Teacher funding is calculated based on a ratio of 26 pupils per teacher, with additional FTE allowances for split sites and executive heads.
• Context funding is allocated based on weighted scores for factors like free school meals, looked-after children, and English as an additional language.
• A phasing mechanism was applied to the new funding formula to prevent unmanageable budget reductions for schools.
• Specific income and expenditure details for the seven named schools were not provided in the response.

Data Disclosed

• £500 per pupil for schools up to 120 students
• £375 per pupil for schools between 121 and 300 students
• £300 per pupil for schools over 300 students
• 25% uplift for employer's pay contributions
• 26 pupils per teacher ratio
• £2,000 multiplier for context score
• Weighting of 1.3 for FSM Ratio
• Weighting of 2.0 for Child Protection Plan (CPP)
• Top-up amounts of £19,500 (Band C), £22,500 (Band D), and £30,000 (Band E)
• Request date: 2024-12-12
• Outcome date: 2025-01-13

Original Request

For those selected primary schools listed below I seek financial information in relation to the budget derivation, allocation, income and expenditure for the 2023-24 financial year namely: Such information which shows how the 2023-24 budget was derived with reference to formulae used e.g. a basic IOM primary school national funding formula and bespoke additional funding dependent on circumstances and those factors contributing to such e.g. pupil numbers, additional needs funding, school led funding, any protection funding etc; and Funding Formula applied (and the excess amount allocated - increased funding factor) to allow for additional budgetary 'uplift' such as increased expenditure for pupils with given characterises e.g. EAL, AEN, maintenance of a AEN Higher Level Unit etc; and FY 2023-24 school income/expenditure details by area e.g. utilities, salaries, administration costs, specialist unit running costs etc. The primary schools for which I request this information are: Anagh Coar Primary School; Ballacottier Primary School; Henry Bloom Noble Primary School; Laxey Primary School; Manor Park Primary School; Scoill Vallajeelt and Willaston Primary School.

Data Tables (4)

Full Response Text

Primary Budget 2023-24 School Expenses - based upon pupil numbers (3 year average 2020-2022) School Roll per pupil funding Up to 120 £500 Between 121 and 300
£375 Over 300 £300

Infrastructure costs – based on estimated costs for the individual school (energy, rates etc.) Staffing –
Teachers Head and Deputy Head funding – All schools are assigned a head and deputy head teacher costed at the maximum point on the relevant Individual School pay Range (ISR). Where an Executive head teacher is in place the cost is split between the relevant schools. 25% added for Employer’s pay contributions. Teacher funding – determines teacher FTE based on pupil numbers, using 26 pupils per teacher. An additional 0.50 FTE is added where a school operates with a split site and 0.50 FTE added where the school operates with an Executive head. 10% is added to the FTE for planning and preparation time. The funding is calculated by multiplying the total FTE by the maximum point on the Teacher pay scale (U3) and 25% added to allow for Employer’s National Insurance and Superannuation. An allowance is added for Teaching and Learning Responsibilities based on the 3 year average school roll. School Size Total TLR Small School 10,800
Pupil Numbers 100 - 199 11,700
Pupil Numbers 200 - 249 14,900
Pupil Numbers 250 - 299 19,400
Pupil Numbers 300 - 399 22,500
Pupil Numbers 400 - 449 25,700
Pupil Numbers 450 - 499 28,800
Pupil Numbers 500 - 550 31,900
Again, this is uplifted for employer’s costs at 25%. Education Support Officers 1 x ESO per 100 pupils with a minimum of ½ an ESO. (1 ESO equates to 0.60 FTE as term time contracts). Costed at the maximum point of the pay scale and again, uplifted by 25% for employer’s contributions. Administrator Administrative staff budgets are calculated by hours worked. The number of hours available are calculated using a ‘multiplier’. The number of pupils within a school (3 year average) is Context Funding Context funding is allocated with reference to free school meals, looked after children, English as an additional language, pupils on a child protection plan and pupils with high level needs in mainstream classes. The pupil numbers used are from the 2022-23 academic year being the current academic year for the budget commencing April 2023. A context score is calculated by weighting the number of pupils in each category. The context score is multiplied by £2,000. The weightings are not reflective of the need for each grouping and are most heavily weighted to take account of social deprivation. The weightings are as follows:-

Weight FSM RATIO 1.3 LAC 1.0 EAL 0.2 CPP 2.0 HLN(M) 0.5 Context Score x £2,000 Fore each child categorised within each band, the following budget top-ups are applied:- Top up Amounts: Band C 19,500
Band D 22,500
Band E 30,000

Phasing in new budget As this was a new funding formula some of the most significant changes in budget both increases and decreases were adjusted to ensure that schools were not faced with an unmanageable reduction in budget. Contingency A primary contingency of £ was created to provide for unforeseen changes such as Special and Additional needs impacts and significant and unexpected increases in school roll.

Policy, Strategy and Governance Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Thie Slieau Whallian Foxdale Road St Johns IM4 3AS

Telephone: (01624) 685808 Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im

Our ref: 4316745 13th January 2025

Dear ###,

We write further to your request, received 12 December 2024, which states:

"For those selected primary schools listed below I seek financial information in relation to the budget derivation, allocation, income and expenditure for the 2023-24 financial year namely:

1. Such information which shows how the 2023-24 budget was derived with reference to formulae used e.g. a basic IOM primary school national funding formula and bespoke additional funding dependent on circumstances and those factors contributing to such e.g. pupil numbers, additional needs funding, school led funding, any protection funding etc; and

2. Funding Formula applied (and the excess amount allocated - increased funding factor) to allow for additional budgetary 'uplift' such as increased expenditure for pupils with given characterises e.g. EAL, AEN, maintenance of a AEN Higher Level Unit etc; and

3. FY 2023-24 school income/expenditure details by area e.g. utilities, salaries, administration costs, specialist unit running costs etc.

The primary schools for which I request this information are:

Anagh Coar Primary School; Ballacottier Primary School; Henry Bloom Noble Primary School; Laxey Primary School; Manor Park Primary School; Scoill Vallajeelt and Willaston Primary School."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have enclosed copies of the information that is being released to you, as detailed below:

Appendix one – Information relating to the calculation of the 2023-24 financial year budget & an extract of the formulaic budget allocation.

Appendix two – Context and Special Educational Needs Funding 2023-2024

Appendix three - Details of Year end expenditure (March 2024) for each of the requested schools & details of Year end expenditure (March 2024) for Special Provision Centres attached to the requested schools (where they have an SPC).

Redacted content

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt as it constitutes personal data of a person other than you and under section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002 the data subject would be entitled to prevent disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under that Act.

As section 39 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large. The matters which were considered in applying the public interest test are as follows:

Factors in favour of disclosure • To promote accountability.
• To promote transparency and openness on Government spending.

Factors in favour of withholding • That an individual has a general expectation that the level of their salary will remain private. Disclosure of this information would contravene that expectation and cause an intrusion into the privacy of the data subject which may lead to some distress. • In the instances where information relates to sensitive data regarding children and where data relates to five or less pupils as the Department determines that individual pupil’s may be identifiable.
• Whilst the Freedom of Information Act 2015 promotes transparency and accountability and therefore there may be some public interest in the information, it is not sufficient to outweigh an individual’s right for this information to remain private.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, the Department of Education, Sport and Culture has taken the following into consideration: • The severity of the impact of the prejudice • The age of the information • How far disclosure would further the public interests identified above • Whether there is any similar information in the public domain and whether this affects the public interest.

In taking the above factors into account the Department of Education, Sport and Culture determines that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

S35 (c) – Conduct of Public Business

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance some of the information included within appendix one is exempt under section 35 of the Act, as disclosure would be likely to otherwise prejudice the effective conduct of public business.

As section 35 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:
• Government transparency and accountability. • Promoting public understanding and providing a “full picture”.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include:
• Disclosure may impact core authority functions. Disclosure may therefore not be in the public interest. • The information relates to the academic year 2023-24.
• The information could be misinterpreted.

In taking these factors into account the Department of Education, Sport and Culture determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 4316745 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision.

More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.