Pound Plus statement
Pound Plus is used by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to describe the added value required to supplement the existing community learning income streams to widen the offer to people who are disadvantaged and can not afford to pay fees. The Community Learning Service is free to determine local definitions and supporting evidence trails.
Aims
The aim of the Community Learning Service is to maximise the value of public funding and secure increasing levels of Pound Plus to enable it to deliver a quality community learning programme that meets the needs of Staffordshire's individuals, families and communities.
The community learning grant is only considered as a contribution to the overall costs of delivering the programmes and there is an expectation that the council as the grant recipient and its partners will add value to this funding pot by attracting extra income, cutting costs and reinvesting to widen the offer to people who are disadvantaged and can not afford to pay fees.
The Community Learning Service promotes the Locality Working Groups as the district forums for local providers to investigate ways of securing added value and investment.
The role of our providers
- The Community Learning Service encourages its providers to engae in the locality working groups to work collaboratively to determine local priorities and to investigate ways of securing added value and investment to supplement existing income streams.
- Providers are requested to collate data and submit returns to the council each year and where applicable provide details of how it has utilised fee income to widen participation.
Pound Plus definitions
Pound Plus is considered within three categories: Direct Income, Cost Savings and Value for Money.
Direct Income
- Fee income from learners
- Sponsorship
- Grants and tenders
- Sales from products or services
Cost Savings
- Savings in accommodation
- Use of volunteers to support learning
- Savings in staffing through partnerships
- Shared services - back office functions
Value for Money
- Efficiency of curriculum - avoiding duplicated provision
- Effectiveness of curriculum - new subjects, better progression opportunities leading to increased learner participation
- Setting up self-organised groups