Item 6 Whatever it Takes
Possible options for the continuation of Whatever it Takes should changes in financial conditions lead to
funding changes
Schools Forum colleagues will be aware that Whatever it Takes receives funding from two different
sources:
• As part DSG de-delegated schools budget as approved by School's Forum following annual
consultation with maintained schools
• From LCC General Fund at the discretion of the City Council
This paper looks at these two funding situations separately.
DSG funded work with schools
For a number of years funds initially gathered as DSG under-spend and more recently allocated through dedelegated funds have been used to support targeted reading work with schools. Around £1.2m is used each
year for this, supporting reading work in both primary and secondary phases.
Every maintained school has access to the range of central activities provided and explained below, with
around 80% of the funds being distributed out to schools for reading projects targeted at their priority
reading needs.
The remaining 20% funds pay for a core programme of high profile events projects and CPD training that
benefit from the collective efficiencies and economies of scale. These projects have been routinely
evaluated for cost effectiveness and impact and each year adjustments are made to the programme in light
of the changing scene.
The central core program
A major city-wide programme of projects has developed over 7 years, including:
Author Week a highly inspirational event that sees 5,000 pupils and students from almost every school
attending an author session and receiving a signed book.
Targeted city-wide reading projects e.g.Supported Summer Read and Ready and Reading aimed at
vulnerable children at the point of transition to second school
A suite of resources including film products for families, reading bookmarks for children, pupil Reading
Champion schemes to promote children's leadership of reading in schools. All of these have been
developed through WiT. These projects in particular offer some commercial potential as they are highly
rated by Leicester schools and might be of interest to a wider market if income generation becomes
necessary.
A bespoke reading CPD training programme that all schools can engage with plus an adult Reading
Champions programme to develop subject leadership and share practice.
WiT has developed an internationally significant reading survey data collecting over 10,000 pupils’ views
every year in every school. This provides an indication of how pupils feel about reading, their habits in
reading at home, libraries habits and some of their personal self evaluations of their capabilities and
awareness of how to improve. Now seven years in, this survey yields some fascinating and internationally
significant lessons as the impact of WiT. This survey bucks the national trends and almost all other surveys
that consistently show that pupils’ attitudes and habits are in decline, yet in Leicester these have
consistently improved or remain steady.
If schools chose to stop the de-delegation of funding for WiT then these projects would all be immediately
at risk. However positive feedback over several years tells us that some/many schools might be interested
to buy-back into a well focused program of centrally based reading activities of this type.
Some of Leicester’s academy schools already buy into the scheme and enquiries are on the increase from
County schools, especially those in the Leicester conurbation as to whether they could buy into such a
scheme.
Whether such buy-back could retain this full portfolio of projects to the same scale and extent is highly
questionable. The SDSA is confident however that a programme of some type could be maintained and
developed to reach a high number of children across the city and potentially beyond.
If Schools Forum, following a steer from Schools through Consultation, was minded to reduce the £1.2
million expenditure, then one possibility could be to retain the core projects and discharge or change the
school-based projects describe below.
School-based projects
About 80% of DSG funding for Whatever it Takes has been distributed to schools to enable them to
undertake targeted reading projects. Each school submits an annual rationale or proposal for the work they
seek to undertake and the WiT board allocate resources, to a degree against articulated needs but also
bearing in mind the quality of the ideas and the ability of the school to deliver. The board’s funding
judgment is made based upon the schools reading data over time, the results of the pupils’ attitudes to
reading, plus an evaluation of the impact of their previous work.
Schools therefore receive around 80% of WiT funds into their budgets. They appear to value the rigour of
the process by which this is allocated as this funding device operated through WiT ensures that quality
work is planned and delivered right across the city to contribute to children's reading. These projects have
developed considerable expertise in city schools that have benefited all children and most especially
supporting those who are vulnerable and struggling to make the reading progress they need.
For the last three years secondary schools have also joined in with this approach and this, like almost every
primary school, demonstrates the amazing motivation, focus and impact that school-based projects can
deliver.
If schools chose to stop the de-delegation of WiT then the money would simply go into schools budgets.
While this may be pragmatic and expedient given the increasing financial challenge that schools are facing,
this would deny a major opportunity for schools and for students to benefit from reading projects. It would
also jeopardise the associated expertise capacity that WiT is developing within Leicester schools.
The other dimension to consider in this is that if we see increasing academisation across the city then these
schools will be putting themselves outside the Schools Forum DSG de-delegated scheme. It would seem
quite unlikely to assume that the leadership of the emerging multi-academy trusts would want to submit
part of their MAT top-slice to this process .
Increasing budget reductions to this fund would eventually put sufficient pressure upon the scheme that a
tipping point would be reached and the ability to distribute to all schools would go. In this case we would
recommend that a series of targeted improvement programmes for remaining maintained schools be
developed, commissioned and delivered. These should bring priority schools together in a supported
reading improvement approach, as is customary in many local authorities and school clusters.
LCC General Fund
For several years the City Council has made £200,000 available to Whatever it Takes to complement the
DSG school-based programme with community-facing reading activities.
Over the years a small set of activities has developed and, based on positive evaluation had been retained
as part of Whatever it Takes. These include:
The Everybody's Reading festival
This is now in its seventh year and provides almost 150 community-based reading activities reaching over
5,300 Leicester citizens. The focus of these activities has been to reach into Leicester communities that are
not well placed in terms of an adult literacy levels.
Work with parents and carers of young pre-school children, especially through Children's Centres
This programme includes storytelling activities and skills training for parents plus the development and
distribution of resources that help families to develop their children's reading in the early years.
Library activities
LCC General Funds have been used to support work commissioned through Leicester libraries including
summer reading schemes, library-based storytelling activities and a number of other high profile reading
activities organised through libraries
Targeted support for social workers, health visitors and foster carers
This has included resources and information to help those working with some of our very young and very
vulnerable children, so that those working with them are well placed and resourced to support their
children's reading. This has included direct work with foster carers plus indirect support for social workers
and health visitors providing family support.
Were LCC General Funds totally withdrawn then a new strategy would be needed to fund this type of
activity. Some of the above might the eligible for grant funds from a number of sources as all of these
projects are well matched to community needs in Leicester. However, experience of grant applications can
be hit or miss and to rely on grant application support could place almost all of this work at risk.
Our recommendation to the City Council would be that if cost savings are necessary, then a prioritisation
and refocusing exercise could retain the most significant and best value for money projects within this
community portfolio.
The project management of Whatever it Takes has been commissioned through the SDSA. Significant
budget reductions would have an impact on the staffing levels but as an arm’s length organisation this
responsibility rests with the SDSA.
Summary Conclusion
Scenarios
If de-delegation stopped altogether
If reductions were made
If LCC GF stopped altogether
If reductions were made
Options
Traded Core Programme – estimated cost per
school to participate £3,000 - £4,000.
a) Core Programme cost
b) Core and reduced grant
c) Core and targeted reading projects
Seek Grant Funding
Prioritise and rationalise