Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Martin Beard.

The Chair sought nominations for a Vice Chair of the Forum following the vacancy created as a result of Geraldine Chadwick term as a Governor and member of the Forum coming to an end.  In seeking nomination, Andy Prindiville (Secondary Head) advised that he would be willing to put himself forward to take on the role.  Following his nomination being confirmed, the Forum RESOLVED that Andy Prindiville be appointed as Vice Chair.

In terms of other existing vacancies, it was noted that no further nominations had been received with a further recruitment process to be undertaken during the summer term which would include those members whose term of office were shortly due to expire also being contacted to ascertain if they still wish to continue in their role.  It was NOTED that further updates would continue to be provided for future meetings of the Forum.

None.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 25 January 2024 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 25 January 2024 as a correct record.

The Forum was advised that –

·             Action Point 90 (Update on delivery of DVB Programme) – was due to be covered under Agenda Item 7.

·             Action Point 94 (High Needs Block Deficit Management Plan) – was due to be covered under Agenda Item 8.

To update the Schools Forum on the DSG management plan and DVB Programme.

Olufunke Adediran (Head of Finance, Brent Council) introduced the report providing an update on progress to date against the DSG Management Plan and an update on Brent’s participation in the Department for Education's (DfE) Delivering Better Value (DBV) in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme, aimed at supporting a reduction in expenditure against the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools’ Grant (DSG).  The Forum noted the following key points as part of the update provided:

·             In Brent, the DSG had carried a deficit balance since 2019-20 with the cumulative balance caried forward from 2022/23 being £13.8m.  With the current in year forecast deficit of £0.8m, it was estimated that this would increase the overall deficit to £14.6m.  It was anticipated that the in-year position was likely to worsen and the deficit against the High Needs Block could be in the region of £1.5m.

·             This pressure had arisen within the High Needs Block (HNB) and the main cost driver of this deficit was the rising number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) with a 5% increase noted in December 2023.  Assessments were ongoing and it was likely that there would be a further increase by the end of the financial year.

·             The main pressures in the forecast related to a £1m pressure against in-borough special schools’ (including Academies) top up funding due to an increased number of pupils with special educational needs being placed within the borough.  The forecast reflected the cost of 30 additional children.

·             The existing DSG Deficit Management Plan, which included longer-term actions to mitigate the deficit, had been divided into 3 parts: managing demand, improving sufficiency of local places and financial management adjustments, which as of Q3 equated to a cost avoidance of around £2m.  In addition, to mitigating the pressures against the HNB, a 0.5% transfer from the Schools Block of £1.3m had been agreed by Schools Forum and transferred to the HNB.  An update on the three themes was as follows:

Ø   In regards to managing demand, a cost was avoided of £0.56m.  This involved ceasing EHC Plans following appropriate assessment, with 33 plans ceased this far.  Separately, cost avoidance had been realised as a result of the introduction of the Graduated Approach to SEND across schools and settings, aimed at the early identification of children’s needs and delivery of appropriate support with training provided to improve the capacity of schools to meet pupils needs at an earlier stage.

Ø   In regards to improving sufficiency of local places, this theme was focused on cost avoidance by reducing the number of children and young people who were placed out of borough or in independent special schools at a higher cost than local provision.  This year 34 in-borough places had been created that would otherwise have resulted in an out of borough placement, enabling the avoidance of c£1m.

Ø   The final theme of financial management workstream involved addressing staffing efficiencies, including administrative charges to other local authorities for out of borough pupils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To update the Schools Forum on the DSG High Needs Block Budget for 2024/25.

Folake Olufeko, Senior Finance Analyst introduced the report, which informed the Schools Forum of the detailed High Needs Block (HNB) budget for adoption in 2024/25.  The Forum noted the following key points as part of the update provided:

·             The DfE’s HNB funding had been confirmed at £85.0m for 2024/25.  This was £2.7m more than received in 2023/24 and represented a 3% increase.

·             In addition, Schools Forum had approved a Schools Block transfer of 0.5% totalling £1.4m.  This meant that the total funding for the HNB in 2024/25 was £86.4m.

·             The DfE would be recouping £9.0m of the total HNB funding to be paid directly to Academies for their base funding.

·             The budget assumed that the top up banding rates would remain the same for the mainstream schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs) and special schools.  These rates had been detailed in Appendix 2 of the report.

·             A review of Brent’s banding matrix, focussed on top-up costs for pupils with an EHCP in both mainstream and ARP placements was underway and this would be presented at a later Schools Forum, with proposals to move from the current hours led system to a more needs-led provision-based approach in funding.

·             The budget included a £0.659m allocation for the teachers’ pay and pensions grant for special schools and PRUs.

·             In line with the DfE’s requirement to pass on 3.4% of the additional High Needs Block funding to special schools and PRUs, £1.2m had been set aside to account for this cost.

·             Although rates remained the same as in 2023/24, there were increases in overall top-up funding for special schools and mainstream schools both in and out of the borough and this was in line with the rise in demand and the spending patterns of previous years.  A total £2.1m of the increased HNB funding had been allocated in response to the demand against these lines.

·             The council was investing in new ARP provisions i.e., Preston Park which would commence in September and Elsley Primary due to commence in April, however the start date may be delayed subject to completion of the building.

·             The recoupment budget was an income budget which offset expenditure on pupils from other boroughs.  This budget line had been increased by £1.1m to a total of £3.5m, in line with the expected increase in demand.

·             Due to the nature of the charging process for post-16 provisions, there was a challenge to provide accurate forecasts for this service.  The budget had been set in line with the best estimate of the current financial year’s forecast at £5m.

·             A zero-based budget setting approach had been applied to the budgets for SEN services.  This area had seen a budget reduction mainly due to aligning staffing costs to current agreed establishments, removing vacant posts as well as accounting for recharges to other areas of the DSG as well as the council’s general fund account.  The surpluses arising from that had been used to off-set the expected increased cost against the top up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To update the Schools Forum on the scheme for financing schools and financial regulations for 2024/25.

Olufunke Adediran (Head of Finance, Brent Council) introduced the report providing details of the changes to be implemented to the Scheme for Financing Schools and the Schools Financial Regulations for the financial year 2024/25.  The Forum noted the following key points as part of the update provided:

·             The Scheme for Financing Schools for 2024-25 attached in Appendix A had been updated, with the summary of changes itemised in Appendix B.

·             On the Scheme for Financing schools, minor updates had been proposed to the financial control section of the document where the procurement requirement was to increase the threshold value for low value contracts.  Another change was regarding the sale of land assets, where the retention of funds would now be subject to consent of the Secretary of State with additional changes to the pension section.

·             The Schools Financial Regulations for 2024-25, attached as Appendix C, had been updated, with the summary of changes itemised in Appendix D. This supplemented the scheme and provided school governors and head teachers a framework to ensure public accountability and ensure that financial integrity was exercised.

The Chair thanked Olufunke Adediran for her report and asked the Forum if they had any questions in relation to the information provided.  As no further questions or comments were raised the Forum RESOLVED:

(1)        To approve the amendments to the Scheme for Financing Schools 2024/25.

(2)    To note the Schools Financial Regulations 2024/25.

No items of urgent business were raised at the meeting.

To note the provisional schedule of dates for future meetings during 2024/25 as follows:

·       Wednesday 19 June 2024

·       Thursday 10 October 2024

·       Monday 2 December 2024 (additional date if needed)

·       Monday 27 January 2025

·       Thursday 13 February 2025

To note the change in the schedule of dates for 2024 - 25 as follows:

·             Wednesday 19 June 2024 at 6pm – to be offered as a hybrid meeting

·             Thursday 14 November 2024 at 6pm via Zoom (previously October)

·             Tuesday 10 December 2024 at 6pm via Zoom - Additional meeting if required

·             Monday 27 January 2025 at 6pm via Zoom

·             Thursday 13 February 2025 at 6pm via Zoom