Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Wioletta Burra, Jennifer Cooper, Jayne Jardine and Ilana Myers.

None.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 27 January 2025 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 27 January 2025 as a correct record.

To consider any actions arising from previous meetings.

None.

To update the Schools Forum on the DSG High Needs Block Budget for 2025 - 26.

Folake Olufeko (Head of Finance, Brent Council) introduced a report, which set out the proposed DSG Schools Budget for 2025/26 for consultation and agreement by Schools Forum.  The Forum noted the following key points as part of the update provided:

·            The DfE’s HNB funding had been confirmed at £90.3m for 2025/26.  This was £5.3m more than that received in 2024/25 and represented an increase of 6%.

·            In addition, the Schools Forum had approved a Schools Block transfer of 0.5% totalling £1.5m.  This bought the total funding for the HNB in 2025/26 to £91.8m.

·            £9.5m of the total HNB funding would be recouped by the Department for Education (DfE) to be paid directly to academies for their base funding, leaving a balance of £82.3m.

·            The budget assumed that the top up banding rates would remain the same for the Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Special Schools.  Following agreement at the November Schools Forum, the banding rates for mainstream schools had been adjusted for rounding.  Three bands had been rounded down and two had been rounded up with a negligible financial impact on the overall funding allocated to schools and colleges.  These rates were detailed in Appendix 3 of the report.

·            The rates for Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs) had remained the same for the purpose of setting a balanced HNB budget for 2025/26.  However, the local authority planned to consult on the use of a Resource Allocation System for the funding of ARPs and non-statutory early years funding from the HNB.  The consultation, which was initially planned for January 2025 had been delayed and was anticipated to commence later in Spring 2025.  This would be informed by modelling of the impact of proposed rates and benchmarking information and a report provided to Schools Forum after the proposed consultation had been completed.

·            The DfE had announced that three separate grants received in 2024/25, TPAG (The Teachers’ Pay Additional Grant), TPECG (Teachers’ Pension Employer Contribution Grant) and CSBG (Core Schools Budget Grant) would be paid as a separate CSBG in 2025/26.

·            Further information about the distribution of additional funding to compensate employers for the planned increase in their National Insurance Contributions from April 2025 would be published by the government in spring 2025.

·            A £0.683m budget allocation had been set aside to continue to pass the historic Teachers’ Pay and Pensions Grant at the same rate provided by the DfE of £660 per place.

·            Additional cost pressures seen in 2023/24, for which a 3.4% funding increase was made available, equivalent to the Mainstream Schools’ Additional Grant (MSAG) continued to be allocated to special schools and PRUs.  £1.2m had been set aside to account for this cost.

·            There were increases in the overall top-up funding allocations for Special Schools and mainstream pupils both in and out of the borough.  These budget increases reflected the rise in demand through increased commissioned places and the spending patterns of previous years.  In total £3.6m of the increased HNB funding had been allocated in response to the demand  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Chair advised that he would be reviewing the required frequency of Forum meetings during 2025-26 with Shirley Parks, Director of Education, Partnerships and Strategy & Folake Olufeko in an attempt to ensure they were arranged at sufficient intervals.

Members are asked to note that a provisional schedule of dates for meetings of the Forum during the 2025-26 Municipal Year will be circulated once the Council’s draft calendar of meetings has been finalised.

To note that a provisional schedule of dates for meetings of the Schools Forum during the 2025-26 Municipal Year along with invites would be circulated once the Council’s draft calendar of meetings has been finalised.