Agenda item

At this stage in proceedings the Forum agreed to receive an update from Gail Tolley (Strategic Director, Children & Young People) under Any Other Urgent Business on the outcome of a recent consultation undertaken by the Department for Education (DfE) regarding the future School Monitoring and Brokering grant.

The Forum noted the following key points as part of the update provided:

·                The use of the grant by the local authority to contribute towards the management and functions provided by the School Effectiveness Team to support collaborative working with all Brent schools regardless of maintained or academy status, which had been especially valued as part of the response provided on the pandemic.

·                In 2020 the DfE had started discussions with regard to eventually removing the grant, based on the view that it should only be available to support maintained schools.  This was not a view supported by Brent with the Strategic School Effectiveness Partnership Board supporting the case made to retain the grant, however the DfE had chosen to proceed with their consultation on removal of the grant and despite significant challenge and clear opposition (including from Brent) they had decided to push ahead with their proposals involving a 50% reduction in the grant for 2022/23 and its complete removal by 2023/24 with the DfE supportive of the growth in school led approaches towards school improvement focussed around the approach involving Multi Academy Trusts and funding arrangements becoming more like Academy Trust top slicing with de-delegation as the method to provide improvement funding for maintained schools.

·                Given the limited notice and time provided to plan for this grant reduction, work had been ongoing with the Council’s Finance Team to assess the impact and as a result it had been agreed to offset the reduction for 2022/23 funded from within the Council’s General Fund, which totalled £109k.  As a result there would be no requirement to seek any de-delegation from the Dedicated Schools Grant for this purpose in 2022/23.

·                The approach had also been designed to enable a more detailed review to be undertaken in relation to the future delivery and provision of school improvement work linked to the proposals to be outlined within the expected Education White Paper and SEND Review Green Paper.  It was felt this reflected the need to develop a more joined up and collective approach in terms of the configuration and future arrangements for funding and delivering school improvement, involving both the Forum and Strategic School Effectiveness Partnership Board.

Having thanked Gail Tolley for her update and the efforts made to secure funding for 2022/23 the Forum were keen to explore details on the possible funding arrangements beyond 2023/24.  In response Gail Tolley advised that detailed guidance was still awaited on how the funding arrangements would be expected to operate although it was felt the DfE had now established a clear direction of travel.  Given the need to await further guidance the position would, however, need to be kept under review in order to develop (following publication of the White Paper) a more joined up and comprehensive understanding of the changing education landscape and collective response with a view to sustaining the collaborative working valued in Brent for all young people.

As a result of the update it was AGREED that the Schools Forum would continue to be kept updated with a further paper to be provided following publication of the more detailed DfE guidance and Government’s Education White Paper