The School and Early Years Finance and Childcare (Provision of Information About Young Children) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024

Social deprivation - primary and secondary schools

15.—(1) In determining budget shares for schools maintained by it (other than special schools, pupil referral units and nursery schools), a local authority must take into account in its formula the incidence of social deprivation in pupils at the schools it maintains.

(2) The incidence of social deprivation in a school is to be determined by taking into account all of the following criteria—

(a) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals on 5th October 2023;

(b) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals recorded in any school census between and including Spring 2018 and Autumn 2023; and

(c) a pupil’s LSOA rank on 5th October 2023, and where it is based on an LSOA rank the authority must use factors which differentiate between different LSOA bands (that is, groupings of LSOA ranks set out in the document published by the Department for Education named “Schools Operational Guide 2024 to 2025”(1).

(3) In determining budget shares under paragraph (1), the authority must determine and take into account in its formula the following factors—

(a) in Reception and at key stages 1 and 2, a single per pupil amount for each pupil in respect of—

(i) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals on 5th October 2023;

(ii) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals recorded in any school census between and including Spring 2018 and Autumn 2023; and

(iii) a pupil’s LSOA rank on 5th October 2023; and

(b) at key stages 3 and 4, a single per pupil amount for each pupil in respect of—

(i) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals on 5th October 2023;

(ii) a pupil’s eligibility for free school meals recorded in any school census between and including Spring 2018 and Autumn 2023; and

(iii) a pupil’s LSOA rank on 5th October 2023.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “IDACI” means the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index referred to in the document entitled “The English Indices of Deprivation 2019” published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government(2); and

(b) “LSOA rank” means the rank allocated to a pupil under IDACI in respect of the Lower-layer Super Output Area in which the pupil lives.

(1)

This document was published on 19^th December 2023 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-16-schools-funding-local-authority-guidance-for-2024-to-2025/schools-operational-guide-2024-to-2025. The relevant section is 7.6. A printed copy may also be inspected at the Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT, on request.

(2)

The functions of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government were transferred to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by the Transfer of Functions (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1265). The document entitled “The English Indices of Deprivation” is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d8e26f6ed915d5570c6cc55/IoD2019_Statistical_Release.pdf. See also File 3 (income deprivation affecting children index), available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019. A printed copy may also be inspected at the Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT, on request.