Purpose

Proposed Decision:
 
The Cabinet Member for Education and
Skills:
 

APPROVE the distribution the Teacher’s Pension Employer
Contribution Grant in line with the terms and conditions of the
grant

 

 APPROVE the distribution the Core
Schools Budget Grant in line with the terms and conditions of the
grant.

 

APPROVE the distribution of the Early Years Budget Grant to Early
Years Providers in line with the terms and conditions of the
grant.

 

DELEGATE authority to the Director of Education and SEN, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to
take other necessary actions, including but not limited to making
any further necessary changes to funding rates in light of any
final affordability issues, and entering into contracts or other
legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.

 
 
Reason for the
decision:

The Government has
provided extra funding to schools and early years providers in
response to increases in the Employers Contribution towards
Teachers Pensions and Teachers Pay Awards (& other staff)
during 2024-25. This decision will confirm how this additional
funding will be distributed to schools and early years providers,
where there is a local decision, in line with Government
guidelines. 
The approach to be
taken will be confirmed at the point the decision is
taken.

 
Background:

The Department of
Education (DfE) has confirmed the Council will receive three
separate grants in 2024-25 (with final grant allocations confirmed
in March 2025), to support the increase in costs in schools and
early years providers resulting from:

1.   
Estimated increase in Teachers Pension Employer
Contribution (TPEC) by 5 percentage points, to 28.6% from
1st April 2024 to ensure that the scheme continues to
meet present and future obligations (estimated total £30.5m
for schools in Kent of which £17.1m will be paid directly by
DfE to academies)
2.   
Estimated increases in schools resulting from the
September 2024 teachers pay award announcements and support staff
pay increases from 1st April 2024 (the Core Schools
Budget Grant is estimated total £31.2m for schools in Kent of
which £17.5m will be paid directly by DfE to
academies).
3.   
Estimated increases for early years providers of the
free entitlement offer in resulting from teachers’ pay award
from September 2024 (the Early Years Budget Grant, estimated total
£0.3m for early years providers in Kent)
 
·    
The Local Authority is responsible for the
passporting of these grants to individual maintained primary and
secondary state-funded schools and this has been prescribed by the
Department of Education as part of the terms and condition of the
grant (and therefore is not part of this key decision). Mainstream
Academies and Free Schools will receive their grant allocations
directly from the DfE.
 
·    
The Council must decide how the funding for
Alternative Provision (AP) (including pupil referral units, AP
academies & free schools, and hospital school), and
state-funded special schools should be allocated (estimated total
TPEC £4m & CSBG £4.2m). Interim payments have been
made to schools, to support cash-flow, in lieu of this decision and
final grant allocations being confirmed).
 
·    
Additional funding received for independent schools
and centrally employed teachers will be used to support 24-25 price
uplift requests and pay increases (respectively) in accordance with
the grant conditions.
 
·    
The Council must decide how the funding for early
year providers should be allocated (estimated total EYBG
£0.3m).
 
Options (other options
considered but discarded):

The option to return
this grant to the DfE was disregarded at an earlier stage. The
grants have been allocated directly to the Local Authority by the
DfE for distribution to schools to support unavoidable increases in
spend relating to pay.

 
 
Framing Kent’s Future and
Securing Kent’s Future:
·    
The decision is linked to the key priority
“Levelling up Kent” within the ‘Framing
Kent’s Future (2022-26)’
 
·    
Whilst the decision relates to the distribution of
ring-fenced grant, this decision is linked to achieving the overall
objectives of ‘Securing Kent’s Future – Budget
Recovery Strategy’ whereby proposals are linked to ensuring
financial sustainability of special schools and alternative
provision (of which the majority are LA maintained schools, whereby
KCC retains responsibility), and additional funding to support
price uplift requests which will avoid further financial pressure
on the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant and support
the financial recovery. 
 
 

Decision

As Cabinet Member
for Education and Skills, I agree to:
 

APPROVE the
distribution the Teacher’s Pension Employer Contribution
Grant in line with the terms and conditions of the grant

 

 APPROVE the distribution
the Core Schools Budget Grant in line with the terms and conditions
of the grant.

 

APPROVE the distribution of the Early Years Budget
Grant to Early Years Providers in line with the terms and
conditions of the grant.

 

DELEGATE authority to the Director of Education and
SEN, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and
Skills to take other necessary actions, including but not limited
to making any further necessary changes to funding rates in light
of any final affordability issues, and entering into contracts or
other legal agreements, as required to implement the
decision.