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WQ.8/2024
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATION BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER NORTH
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2024 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2024
Question
“Will the Minister state the total overall budget allocated to post-16 education and provide, for each of the following, the total budget and a breakdown of that budget per student per academic year –
- A-level funding at Hautlieu School;
- A-level equivalent funding at Highlands College;
- apprenticeships at Highlands College; and
- apprenticeships through private providers in different sectors?
Answer
Up to 3 years ago, budgets were allocated to schools via a per pupil calculation called the Age Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU). An Independent School Funding Review was published in 2020 which confirmed that the AWPU was no longer fit for purpose.
Key concerns were that it did not properly recognise the fixed and semi-fixed nature of most costs or provide for individuals with special requirements and that AWPU built in incentives to increase numbers on the school roll and penalised efforts to improve quality for the same number of students. CYPES therefore stood up a project under the umbrella of Education Reform and changed school budgeting to reflect the best practice recommendations in the report.
The Schools Funding Formula is now in its third year and allocates budgets to schools in a way which reflect that the majority of costs in a school are fixed or semi-fixed with very little of the cost driven directly by pupil numbers, age or key stage. Schools are now funded for their planned activities and committed costs with additional funding for individuals with identified high needs. This gives each school what it needs to run its classes, recognising that this will be different from school to school.
For example, Hautlieu’s A level teachers will also teach other year groups so their costs apply across all their classes; the facilities, leadership and well-being costs will also apply to all year groups. The consumables that apply to a core academic subject are minimal with only the course materials and exam fees belonging solely for the A level students.
The average unit costs of each school can be calculated but further detailed work would need to be done to apportion the costs across each year group in order to calculate a meaningful cost for the A level cohorts.
Budgets are not calculated or managed by student or by year group. Institutions are funded using the Schools Funding Formula which is published on Gov.je. This method follows best practice to create a fair allocation to schools.
Highlands is budgeted for its whole service provision not by pupil for its full-time courses.
Apprenticeships are budgeted per course and the average direct costs per course are available from the college.
CYPES does not hold budgeting information for private providers.