Funding for Out of County School Places

[BogginsDad]

Just out of interest, would the home LEA of a child securing a place at a Kent grammar school end up funding the place via a transfer or is there a quid pro quo that they fund the schools in their patch regardless. Am sure many kids in Kent CC area attend St Olaves and Bexley grammar schools just as kids in Bromley might attend schools in Bexley or Kent!

Thanks in advance.

[Tinkers]

Schools are essentially centrally finder I believe. It doesn’t matter to the School where the pupils come from, just how many there are. The LA get money from central government to cover the number of pupils in its school regardless of where from. (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong)

This is a big issue local to me as we are on the Reading/Wokingham border and there are many children on both sides going to a school (primary and secondary) on the other side. Many think their council tax is paying for children on the ‘wrong’ side of the border to go to schools on their side. It doesn’t work like that, but there’s no telling some people.

[mystery]

That's a pretty good explanation of it Tinkers. It's a bit more complicated than that because academies and non-academies are done differently but the end result is pretty much as you describe it.

I don't know why people get hung up on this idea that it's wicked to go to a school over a local authority border. Really annoying.

When I was applying for primary school, I had to physically visit a church school over the border to get the supplementary application form because they would not post me one. I walked in to ask the secretary for one and she asked me my address. She said it was illegal to apply from my address.

She did give a form but she didn't offer to visit me in prison.

[hermanmunster]

School funding is mainly out of central taxation and not out of council tax.

Have the same problem with people not wanting to go to GP surgeries over the county border as they "pay there taxes to another county" - the finding for that is central too.

[BogginsDad]

Thanks, all. Much appreciated.

[Juneboy]

Interesting question which leads to a related question. I wonder why the transport costs for children going to another area have to be paid for by the parent? The local authority of the school will only support transport if you are from the area the school is in. And likewise my understanding is the child’s local authority will only look after their own children’s transport costs if the children stay within their area / county. Why?

[kenyancowgirl]

Interesting question which leads to a related question. I wonder why the transport costs for children going to another area have to be paid for by the parent? The local authority of the school will only support transport if you are from the area the school is in. And likewise my understanding is the child’s local authority will only look after their own children’s transport costs if the children stay within their area / county. Why?

This is not universal. In Warwickshire, transport will only be paid to your nearest state comprehensive school....not Grammar School...even if that is the one you are deemed to be most suitable. School Transport is expensive, so County Councils (rightly) are looking for ways to make cuts. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be consistent with their application of their own rules, but that is another story. I suspect the answer to your question is that where education and healt are centrally funded, transport is funded at a county council level, so why on earth should they pay for your child to leave the county? In many (not all, I know) cases it is your choice to send them out of county...

[mystery]

Free school transport policies - that's complicated too and not always logical.

Ours used to be for the closest "suitable" Kent secondary school - a nd suitable could mean grammar if you'd passed or a church school.

Then it moved to closest Kent secondary school - to save money.

Then it changed to closest seconeary school - again to save money. But it does not necessarily save money. From where we live, the closest school is in a different county. But it doesn't mean the journey is cheaper than to the closest Kent school. It's a different mode of transport to get to the closest school - by train rather than bus - and this will cost the authority more than the the bus ride to the closest Kent school. But, presumably, over the whole of Kent this is the cheapest policy to have.

Local authorities have to provide free transport for children of compulsory school age if the closest school is mroe than a certain distance away - but some councils still ahve policies which are more generous than they strictly have to be.