Explanatory note

A local education authority’s individual schools budget is to be divided between the schools which they maintain in the form of budget shares for each school. These Regulations provide the basis on which, for the financial year beginning on 1st April 2004, a local education authority may determine the amount from their individual schools budget to be allocated to each school as its budget share for that financial year.

These Regulations require a local education authority in a scheme prepared by them to set out specified matters connected with the financing of schools which they maintain.

The most significant changes from the Financing of Maintained Schools (England) Regulations 2003 are as follows:

Maintained schools to which the regulations apply are now defined to include maintained nursery schools following the amendment of section 45 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 by the Education Act 2002, so that maintained nursery schools will in the financial year 2004/05 have budget shares and delegated budgets.

Regulation 15 and Schedule 2 which set out the minimum funding guarantee for every school are new.

Because of the introduction of the minimum funding guarantee, transitional funding for former grant maintained schools will no longer continue as a separate protection mechanism.

Schedule 1 has two extra items: advanced skills teachers and permanent pupil exclusions.