Agenda and minutes

Apologies provided for Alison Ruff, Dan Cleary, Felicity Clark, Phil Lewin, Samantha Cooke, and Val Moore.

Jason Brooks, Jo Beaumont, Kelly Dryden, Lisa Craddock, and Simon Grindrod did not attend.

Martin Towers discussed the minutes of the last Leicestershire Schools’ Forum with forum members, presenting the opportunity to raise any issues or request amendments to the record. There were no amendments to previous minutes.

Peter Leatherland noted that he and Rosalind Hopkins were nominated to represent the forum at the SEND Schools Group but had not received any communication regarding meetings. Alison Bradley confirmed that a meeting for the SEND Schools Group occurred on 1^st July; both were invited but no other meetings have been held.  Alison and Jenny Lawrence will ensure that Peter and Rosalind are invited to any further meetings on the SEN Investment Fund and Schools Block Transfer meetings if they are necessary.

Alison Bradley recommended that the election of Chair and Vice Chair be aligned to the Local Authority (LA) financial year to align with financial settlements rather than the school academic year. There were no objections to the recommendation. Martin Towers and Suzanne Uprichard will continue as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.

The Early Years (EY) Funding report provides information on the progress towards recovering the overspend from the Early Years Dedicated School’s Grant (DSG). Paragraph 4 details the LA’s 2023-24 overspend, in which £0.13 was withheld from the 3- and 4-year-old FEEE, resulting in a reduction of the shortfall. In 2024-25, the LA will withhold a further £0.02 to continue to recoup the deficit, as previously reported to Schools’ Forum.

Recommendation: The Schools’ Forum note the contents of the report.

Beverley Coltman raised a concern regarding the expansion of 2-Year-Old-Funding (2YOF) to 9-month-old children. This resulted in an enormous administrative cost to providers and additional employments, but EY settings haven’t received additional funding to cover the cost. Jenny Lawrence noted that the LA’s administrative costs are met within the 30% pass through rate and costs for providers are met from the hourly rate.  

Beverley Coltman raised concerns on behalf of the National Day Nursery Association regarding the burden on EY providers to manage the costs of new systems and processes, such as transferring 2YOF and 3YOF, which requires manual transitioning. This is time and labour consuming, which costs EYs settings.

The School Financial Standing report sets out the 2023-24 financial position for Leicestershire schools as published by the Department for Education (DfE). The report also details how the LA will use this information to inform discussions on school performance and the expansion of the Notional SEN Budget, as per the recent publication of 2023-24 guidance. The report indicates that individual school budgets have increased higher than the Notional SEN Budget.

Recommendation: The Schools’ Forum notes the content of the report and:

a)    The intention of the LA to expand the Notional SEN Budget calculation for 2025-26 to include FSM and Ever 6 Free Schools Meals.

b)    To consider the financial data presented in this report within assessments of school performance and in assessing requests for Exceptional SEN funding.

The school balance information presented within the report is taken from previous years. The DfE has used balances submitted from Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) portioned out for their academies, which means that reports on school balances for academies is not accurate to individual schools. Jenny Lawrence agreed to share a link with Schools’ Forum to illustrate how the DfE publishes data regarding school balances.

          NB. DfE Publication: Data Sources & Interpretation

Kelly Dryden noted that the information presented in the report will be used to support LA funding decisions on supporting children with SEN, informing LA discussions with schools and requiring schools to evidence their spends. Kelly questioned whether this has been communicated with schools and, if not, how it would be. Jenny Lawrence confirmed that no communication with schools has been made yet regarding the school balance information obtained from the DfE. In addition, Jenny noted that this supports LA discussions on broader issues faced by schools beyond SEN, such as struggling small primary schools. The LA will be transparent that they have this data and how the data will be used.

Robert Martin questioned whether the available information would change how the LA interpreted the school’s obligation of the first £6k of the Notional SEN. Jenny Lawrence confirmed that the school’s obligation of the first £6k is enshrined in legislation and cannot be changed by the LA.

Kath Kelly noted that 47% of schools in MATs have in-house deficits which are expected to get worse this academic year. However, this is not reflected in the data set provided for 2022-23. Jenny Lawrence reminded the forum that information presented is taken from the DfE’s publication. The data shows that school balances increased during Covid-19 and, whilst decreasing, remain higher than pre-Covid-19.

The DfE data attributes MAT balances across MAT schools. However, MATs may have schools across different councils and do not fund their schools evenly; schools as part of the same MAT may be funded better or worse in Leicester than in Leicestershire, which is not reflected in the report. Jenny Lawrence acknowledged that the data presented has limitations, but balance information is taken from a publicly available DfE data source.

Suzanne Uprichard observed that the Notional £6k and 10k placements was set before rises in inflation. Suzanne questioned whether this will be updated to reflect increased costs. Jenny Lawrence informed the forum that the LA will not know about any changes until new budgets are set by the new government. However, Jenny noted that with the £6k and 10k placements being set, the burden of inflation is carried by the LA.

The School Block Transfer Final report was released on the morning of 17^th September. Jane Moore addressed concerns regarding the lateness of papers being circulated to forum members; the document was released for the Forum’s review and consultation and will be voted on during the next Schools’ Forum in November 2024. The report was released to Schools Forum to align with the commencement of the consultation and to ensure it was sighted before the meeting.

The LA has proposed the establishment of a SEN investment fund where funding is ratcheted to reduce the growing prevalence of pupils presenting with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (SEMH). The LA has previously detailed and reported the position of the High Needs Block, the work done to reduce spending and to move to a position of not overspending, as well as setting out the national position of High Needs funding. The report sets out the LA’s proposal to establish a ringfenced SEN Investment Fund through a transfer of funding from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).

The funds from the Schools Block transfer would be ringfenced and used exclusively within schools as a redistribution of funding within the system. The LA’s data analysis showed that SEMH was the pressing and growing driver of EHCP’s in the SEND system. The School Block Transfer report sets out more detail on how practitioners would be funded to support young people and help young people to manage and recognise triggers. The LA seeks consultation on whether SEMH would be the best use of funding and whether this is the right approach. Jane Moore noted that this would be an annual process, but the impact of this funding would not be seen until 2026-27.

The LA proposed a 0.5% Schools Block to High Needs Block transfer modelled on the current schools funding system by capping annual funding gains at individual school level. This proposal has challenges, such as some schools having protected levels of funding which cannot be removed. There is a £1.5m cash yield from primary schools, 60% of which would see a reduction. There is less cash yield from secondary schools but 80% would see a reduction. The report models the proposal on 2024-25-year data.

The consultation on the 0.5% Schools Block to High Needs Block transfer will close on 20^th October 2024. The consultation feedback will be analysed and presented to Schools’ Forum on 4^th November. If the LA cannot obtain approval from the Schools’ forum, the LA will determine whether approval will be sought from the Secretary of State.

Recommendation: The Schools’ Forum note the proposed actions.

Recommendation: The Schools’ Forum consider submitting a formal response to the consultation.

Mark Mitchley claimed that the LA has failed in every attempt to reduce the High Needs deficit. Mark questioned why schools would have confidence in the LA. Jane Moore reminded the forum that the transfer would fund the needs of children within mainstream provision; the money would not fund SENA or the Education Psychology services but would fund pupils with SEMH needs. The transfer would not fund capacity issues but would redistribute funding within the overall SEND system. Jane also reminded the forum that the LA is not solely responsible for meeting high needs.

Peter Leatherland questioned the impact of a Safety Valve agreement being triggered. The LA’s proposal takes money from schools to fund interventions schools are already providing without addressing the deficit. Jane Moore explained that a Safety Valve takes all responsibility on how money is spent away from LAs and schools;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

There was no other business to be raised.

The date for the next Leicestershire Schools’ Forum is Monday 4^th November 2024 from 2pm – 4pm.

1.    Alison Bradley and Jenny Lawrence will ensure that Peter Leatherland and Rosalind Hopkins are invited to any further headteacher meetings to consider the Establishment of a SEN Investment Fund and Schools Block Transfer should it be necessary to hold future meetings.

2.    Jenny Lawrence to confirm with Administrations whether the 30% pass through rate covers administrative costs. Provided in minutes.

3.    Jenny Lawrence to share a link with Schools’ Forum to illustrate how the DfE publishes data regarding school balances. Provided in minutes.

4.    Jane Moore to circulate the ISOS Publications report with the 17^th September minutes. Provided in minutes.

5.    Martin Towers will gather input from Schools’ Forum members to draft a collective response to the Schools Block transfer consultation.