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SECTION 6
Funding Arrangements
6.1 Given that partnership will be
developed with a view to the long term, clear and stable
funding arrangements are necessary. Funding must also be
sustainable.
6.2 We considered whether there is any
scope for releasing funds dedicated to school pupils'
school education when those pupils undertake college
courses. We are not persuaded that there are reciprocal
savings. Given that education authorities and schools
remain responsible for the whole package of pupils'
learning and welfare, irrespective of where that pupil is
learning at any given time, savings that may notionally
exist on paper are unlikely to be realised. We recognise
that school/college activity is
supplemental activity to education
delivered by schools. It will therefore be financed in
addition to funding for schools.
6.3 We are in the business of removing
unnecessary barriers, not creating them. It would be
perverse for us to prevent local authorities from having
the option to fund colleges directly for additional college
activities for pupils in their area if that is their local
priority (and the college concerned is able and willing to
meet this demand). The level of funding could be calculated
using the
SFEFC funding formula.
Fee-Waiver
6.4 It was never a matter of policy that
fee income should be denied to colleges. The current
funding situation, which generally denies this income, is
anomalous. The rules governing fee-waiver will therefore be
revised in August 2005 to ensure that college activities
for state school pupils that form part of their
school-based curriculum are eligible for automatic
fee-waiver. Automatic fee-waiver will similarly be
available for other pupils whose education is funded by the
state. Normal rules for fee-waiver entitlement, which are
based on household income, will continue to apply to pupils
receiving private education or being educated at home. The
funding available to colleges for fee-waiver will be
increased accordingly.
6.5 There is no evidence at this stage to
justify further specific increases in college funding for
pupils learning in college or in school.
SFEFC will keep this matter under
review.
Funding Mechanism
6.6SFEFC will ensure through strategic
oversight that colleges aim towards equitable access of
provision for pupils across Scotland and that colleges'
distinctive ethos and autonomy are maintained. Decisions on
the type and scale of provision will be taken locally on
the basis of agreements between colleges and schools/local
authorities. The activity of pupils undertaking college
activity will be funded by
SFEFC in the same way as other activity
including fee-waiver and usual funding supplements for
pupils in rural or deprived areas. The funding methodology
will also take account of those pupils requiring extended
learning support.
6.7SFEFC will monitor the level of all
school/college activity (irrespective of the source of
funding) at a national, local authority, and college
level.
Local Authority/School Funding
Responsibilities
6.8 Local authorities/schools are
responsible for arranging and funding the transport for
pupils arising from school/college partnership.
6.9 Local authorities/schools are
responsible for paying colleges the costs of lunch for
school pupils eligible for free school meals who eat lunch
in the college. They are responsible for funding the costs
of the materials associated with particular courses,
including overalls and course books, etc. They are also
responsible for reimbursing colleges for the cost of any
additional pastoral support for pupils exceptionally
attending college full-time.
Transport
6.10 Transport arrangements can be
challenging, especially for pupils in geographically
inaccessible areas and for pupils who cannot access public
transport because of physical or mobility impairments. The
innovation and pragmatism of existing local arrangements
will be developed further by local authorities and schools.
Even with this, transport arrangements have the potential
to frustrate partnership. We will grasp the opportunity
which the two years of piloting the skills for work courses
presents to establish clearly the evidence of the pattern
and resource implications of transport arrangements (and
other direct costs borne by the local authority and school)
to support the growth in the full range of school/college
partnership activities, including growth as a result of the
delivery of skills for work courses. This will help inform
consideration for future Spending Reviews. Funding
currently available to local authorities and schools
through
Determined to Succeed can be used to
support vocational partnerships, including associated
transport arrangements.
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