I write to request information regarding the Authority’s staff absence scheme for schools.
We should clarify that we have interpreted the questions below to refer to the council’s sickness absence insurance scheme for schools and that the responses provided are in that respect. This information and more can be found at this website, which is available to the public:
https://www.devon.gov.uk/support-schools-settings/administration-and-finance/finance/mutual-fund/
Please kindly provide the following:
* Does the Authority provide a staff absence scheme for schools?
Yes – the local authority scheme is called ‘the mutual fund’
* If yes, is the scheme outsourced to another provider or delivered by the Authority?
Delivered by the authority
* If the scheme is provided by the authority, can you please provide details of the scheme including:
o Daily benefit amount reimbursed for each category of staff –
£136.68 daily rate for Teaching Staff – £56.10 per day for Support Staff
o Waiting period applied to each claim –
For Primary Schools – 5 days Option B/10 days Option A/ 15 Option C
For Secondary Schools – 15 days Option B/ 20 days Option A/ 25 days Option C
Pro-rated claims calculations can be viewed on the website at the bottom of the page: Mutual Fund – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk)
o Are there any exclusions to the scheme? If so, please provide details of this
Please see below:
• Pre existing conditions *
• Trade union activities
• Jury Service
• Reserve Forces activities
• Maternity leave
• Compassionate leave
* Applies only to schools joining the scheme for the first time or re-joining the scheme after a break of a year or more
Further information is available on the link above
o Is the scheme open to Academies?
Yes
o How is the price of the scheme determined for each school?
Pricing is determined by FTE count of teachers, support staff at 0.4 full time members of staff (FTE) and above and then for support staff extra coverage, support staff FTE combined total for those with FTEs below 0.4.
o Who is responsible for the management of the scheme within the Authority?
The Education Finance Team
o Number of schools participating in the scheme
137 maintained and academy schools
o 2021 total contributions made to the scheme and 2021 total claims payments made from the scheme
Approximately £685,000 collected as membership premiums for 2021-22 Financial Year and total absence claims amounted to approximately £1.001m.