School Funding Formula for Powys

"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 Powys funding formula? Yes. The new Powys funding formula (2019) has been widely available as a result of the consultation and related publicity. 

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

"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? Powys is using a very simple formula with no age-weighting and based on class size rather than number of pupils. We have carried out much more detailed research on this formula (as a result of the origins of our group in Powys), see below. 

We believe that Powys is not basing 70% of school funding on pupil numbers, but it is certainly difficult to determine if it is. There is also no evidence that Powys 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).

References: Data Sources for Powys