"A local authority much have regard to the desirability of such a formula being simple, objective, measurable, predictable in effect and clearly expressed" (The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010, Section 10 paragraph 2)

Did the authority provide a written explanation of the Denbighshire funding formula? Denbighshire make their funding formula freely available to download from their website.

Is the formula measurable? Is it predictable? Yes. With the necessary specific information related to a school it is be possible to work out a school's funding. 


"The regulations require that 70 per cent of the funding must be distributed on the basis of pupil numbers. (School Funding in Wales Research Briefing August 2018)

Is 70% of school funding based on pupil numbers? We were sent a breakdown of the budgets for each school rather than the Section 52 statements. As such it is not possible to be definitive that 70% of the funding of a school is based on pupil numbers. However the structure of Denbighshire's formula suggests that it must be since the majority of factors are calculated on a per pupil basis. 

The formula also clearly shows that Denbighshire is ensuring "the same funding for pupils of the same age irrespective of the nature of the school which they attend" (The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010, Section 23 paragraph 1b).