Agenda and minutes

To agree to apply the Council’s procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED

THAT the guidance be noted.

To note the Schools Forum membership and any updates.

In response to the Chair’s questions about longstanding membership vacancies, it was noted that, nominations were being sought for the vacant positions and lapsed appointments would be updated.

To Note: All

Action By:  Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Angela Mason, Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

No declarations were made.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on DVD upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast.”

Any other announcements

The Chair announced.

 “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on DVD upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast.”

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 8^th December 2020.   

RESOLVED

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 2 February 2021 be approved as a correct record.

To Note: All

There was no urgent business.

Report of the Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation  

(a)   This report updates the schools forum on the estimated funding available for 2021/22 following the recent ESFA DSG finance settlement notification on 17^th December 2020, (section 2.1) and details the anticipated use of this money to fund schools (section 3.1), early years (section 3.6) and high needs (section 3.12)  

(b)   Total government funding is estimated at £205.42m (up by £9.25m from last year due to increases in High Needs block DSG (£4.3m) and the transfer of the former  Teachers Pay and Pensions grants (£4.9m) into the Schools block funding). A breakdown of this figure is provided in the report. The largest single item of funding is the schools DSG block which has been confirmed at £109.39m (plus an additional £9.31m for Academies and £4.9m for teachers pension and pay grants). Other elements of funding remain provisional although any change to the estimates is likely to be minor.

(c)    There have been no significant change to the Camden schools funding formula for 2021/22 which will be used to distribute the total of aggregated individual schools budgets generated by the National Funding Formula (NFF) in 2021/22. The government update of the October 2020 census and the 2019 IDACI deprivation data is fully incorporated into next year’s 2021/22 budget.

(d)   Overall Council funding is set at £205.97m across all three blocks of DSG in order to fund the total proposed spending plans requiring nil funding to be used from reserves.

(e)   As indicated this funding now includes the former ESFA grant top up to schools for the September 2018 and 2019, teachers pay awards and the teachers pension and supplementary pension grants. In the past these were determined by the ESFA based on roll data and paid to individual schools by LB Camden during the financial year. In July 2020 the ESFA announced that from 2021/22 additional sums of £180 per primary and £265 per secondary pupil will be added to the Schools block DSG budget for each school to cover the additional teachers pay and pension costs previously funded through separate grants.

Consideration was given to a report of the Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation. The report provided updates on the estimated funding available for 2021/22 following the recent Education and Skills Funding Agency( ESFA) Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG)  finance settlement notification on 17^th December 2020, (section 2.1) and detailed the anticipated use of this money to fund schools (section 3.1), early years (section 3.6) and high needs (section 3.12).  

The following was discussed during consideration of the report:  

·         With the change in definition of deprivation Camden was defined as  less deprived and this would impact on future funding rounds. Onoing funding pressures were likely to increase over the next three years

·         What analysis was there of school reserves being eroded because of funding  pressures?

·         Pupil Premium funding is based on the October census figure and the   potential for there to be a gap in funding because eligible pupils will not have been identified because of the Covid-19 lockdown. This would have implications nationally for all schools

·         The  increase in the number of schools operating under a licensed deficit and the potential for other schools to be at risk   

·         The impressive collaboration between primary head teachers during this health crisis on the budget issues affecting funding. Learning from each other and sharing expertise  

In response the Forum was provided with the following information:

·         There was detailed work taking place to look at the issues affecting funding. There would be a report back, on a school by school basis, on the implications of the October census and other factors impacting schools financially 

·         Concerns about the increase in schools operating under a licensed deficit were noted and further information would be provided to the Forum on the licensed deficit process, coming out of deficit and the plans  that have been agreed with schools.  

RESOLVED

THAT -

(a)   The latest estimates of individual schools and growth budgets (section 3.5) and Appendix 1 and 2 be noted and agreed.

(b)   The provisional Early Years funding rates (section 3.9 ) be noted

(c)    The comments of the Schools Forum be noted

To Note: All

Action By:  Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation

Schools Forum will receive an update from the Head of the Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Intervention Service   

The Head of Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Intervention Services provided a brief update on the progress of the High Needs Block review and funding transformation. This included:

·         Invitations to discuss the mainstream funding option paper at a meeting on 24th February would be sent out this week

·         A meeting with Early Years providers would be taking place next week   

·         Joint working on key priorities was taking place with Camden Learning  

In response to questions, the Forum was told that:

·         A High Needs Block paper with further information on the development of the options would be circulated to schools

·         Work was still on track to be implemented by the previously stated timescales. Pilots were in place and additional resources for data analysis were being recruited to

·         Perina Holness should have been included in the Early Years meeting scheduled for next week and would be contacted to confirm the invitation after this meeting

·         Providing general feedback to all schools on actions and  progress was being planned

If the Forum wanted to consider a written report on progress, before their next meeting in June, an additional meeting date would need to be scheduled.   

To Note: All

Action By: Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation

To note that the next meeting of the Schools Forum will take place on 8^th June 2021.  

It was noted that the next meeting was currently scheduled for Tuesday 8^th June 2021. 

To Note: All

There was no such business.