Agenda item

Report of the Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation.

At the recent November meeting, forum was presented with the results of the consultation document sent to schools relating to the funding arrangements for 2024/25. There were no major objections raised from the consultation and forum confirmed its agreement of the funding formula to be used for the distribution of funds to schools for 2024/25.This report indicates the latest estimate of funding for the schools Designated Schools Grant (DSG) block by school – (as updated on 6^th October by Education Schools Funding Agency (ESFA) from their  earlier figures indicated in the September Forum report) and seeks schools forum’s agreement on the amount of DSG de-delegation for next year.

The individual schools figures are at this stage only indicative of the notional National Funding Formula (NFF) figures to be allocated to the overall schools budget for distribution by the Council via Camden’s local formula. Final individual school budgets will be released to schools pending update of ESFA data (with the recent October 2023 census data) and its application to the local Camden schools’ formula using the Authority Planning Tool (APT). This is expected in late December 2023.

The report also gives initial forecasts of the 2023/24 Early Years and High Needs DSG outturn, future budgets requirements planned DSG spending.

The report also outlines current and future cost pressures on schools and high needs budgets.

This report was completed prior to any further announcements by the ESFA regarding schools national funding formula proposals. Officers will provide an oral update to the forum on any intervening development in schools’ funding at the meeting.

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Education Commissioning and School Organisation.

Victor Saunders, Team Leader Schools and Designated Schools Grant (DSG), introduced the report which updated the Forum in the following areas: primary and secondary schools formula funding available for distribution to schools 2024/25; central school services block (CSSB); Camden local formula and the historic and planned use of school block DSG reserve; the effects of the Education Schools Funding Agency (ESFA) miscalculation and republication of 2024/25 national funding formular (NFF);  notional NFF funding allocations to schools for 2024/25; de-delegation of funding; academies and free schools; high needs DSG block and the 2023-2024 provisional forecast of high needs spending and future HNB for 2024/25; Early Years DSG block funding for 2023/24 and 2024/25; Pupil Premium and Pupil Premium Plus; and recent funding announcements.

The Chair thanked officers for their report and invited questions and comments from the Forum. The following was discussed:

·       In relation to section 8.5, Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG) 2023/24, a member asked if there was an additional mechanism which special schools could apply for to access the pay award, due to the differing funding formula. It was confirmed there was not currently a route the Council was aware of, but one might be introduced. Officers would provide a fuller update on the query outside of the meeting.

Action By - Team Leader Schools and DSG

·       In relation to section 2(d), it was confirmed that if the contingency of £0.240m to cover extra costs of bulge classes and changes in pupil numbers (where funding regulations allow extra funding to be given) were not spent, the money would go into the DGS reserves.

·       In relation to section 7.13 to 7.22, Homes for Ukraine Education and Childcare Grant 2022/2023 final payment and the Afghanistan Resettlement (Education) Grant 2022 to 2023, it was confirmed that the funding was both back and forward looking, including schools who set up service delivery but were no longer involved in provision.  The grants were related to how many children were on roll. It was noted that the Afghanistan Settlement Grant scheme was less flexible to allocate to schools than the Ukrainian Grants.

RESOLVED -

THAT Schools Forum

a)    note the level of reserves to be used to support the funding allocations to schools as set out in paragraphs 1.10;

b)    note the provisional National Funding Formula allocations to individual schools discussed in the report in section 1.1 and set out in Appendix 1. Also, that these are only indicative National Funding Formula allocations and are not yet the final school budgets;

c)    note the current forecast spending plans and funding for the high needs and early years blocks as set out in sections 4 and 5 respectively;

d)    note the continued use of the CSSB replacement of the former top sliced amounts detailed in section 1.5;

e)    approve the de-delegated budgets as set out in section 2.1; and

f)      note the potential effects of the future funding and cost pressures outlined in sections 8 and 9 on schools budgets.