Agenda Item 4(I)
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Agenda Item: 4(i) THE CUMBRIAN SCHOOLS’ FORUM Draft MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 21 June 2013 Committee Room 2, The Courts, Carlisle PRESENT Louise Anderton (Small Schools) Helen Brew (Copeland Secondary, representing Lynette Norris) Chris Brooksbank (South Lakeland Primary) Anne Burns (Lead Member for Children’s Services) Linda Dean (Barrow Primary) Nick Fish (Copeland Primary) Jackie Franklin (Non-teaching Associations) Bernard Gummett (Special Schools) Vivienne Halliday (PVI) Steven Holmes (Secondary Academy) John McAuley (RC Diocese) Michael Mill (CE Diocese) Alan Mottershead (Secondary Academy) David Nattrass (Eden Primary) Nigel Pattinson (Eden Secondary) Ty Power (Secondary Academy) Vanessa Ray (Secondary Academy) Alan Rutter (Teachers’ Professional Associations) Joan Stocker (Community Secondary) Geoff Walker (Allerdale Secondary) Officers in Attendance: Caroline Sutton (Assistant Director Schools and Learning – Children’s Services) Helen Hamilton (Children’s Services Finance Manager) Nicola Shiels (Children’s Services) Apologies for Absence Anne Attwood Lisa Balderstone David Batten Bev Forster Jo laker Jonathan Johnson Lynette Norris – represented by Helen Brew Joan Stocker – represented by David Selby C:\Documents and Settings\blenkinsoppd\My Documents\Schools Forum pages\new pages\9 october updates\sf 101013 item 4(i)1 draft minutes 210613.doc 1. Appointment of Chair Alan Rutter was appointed as chair of the Schools Forum. 2. Appointment of Vice-Chair David Nattrass was appointed as vice-chair of the Schools Forum. 3. Membership The Forum noted that Geoff Walker, headteacher of Cockermouth School and representing Allerdale secondary schools had resigned from the Forum. Jonathan Johnson, headteacher of Netherhall School would join the Forum as the representative of Allerdale secondary schools. 4. Declarations of Interest David Selby – Item 14, Adoption Leave 5. Working Group Minutes i) School Budgets Working Group The School Budgets Working Group had met on 17 May 2013. The Chair gave a verbal update from the meeting. A number of items that had been discussed would be considered further at this meeting. ii) SEN, Social Deprivation, Access and Inclusions Working Group The SEN, Social Deprivation, Access and Inclusion Working Group had net on 27 May 2013. The Chair gave a verbal update from the meeting. The Chair reported that there had been a significant improvement in the information that was now provided to the group and he wanted to record his thanks to officers. In terms of expenditure, a small underspend had been reported and the group had expressed some concern that this had occurred. Work was ongoing around resourced provision and there had been some discussions regarding updating of the SEN handbook and whether it would actually be needed in the future. 6. Inspection of Local Authority Arrangements for Supporting School Improvement From May 2013, Ofsted inspectors would conduct inspections of local authority functions in relation to supporting school improvement. Following the inspection, a local authority would either be deemed ‘effective’ or ‘ineffective’. A report was presented that informed the Schools Forum of the inspection process. The handbook that detailed the inspection arrangements stated that the inspectors were likely to conduct meetings with the chair/vice chair of the Schools Forum as part of the inspection process. A copy of the handbook had been circulated with the agenda and the key points relating to Schools Forum had been highlighted. It was reported that a risk assessment of each of the key triggers for inspection had been undertaken and it was hoped that when the inspection had taken place the overall judgement would be effective. C:\Documents and Settings\blenkinsoppd\My Documents\Schools Forum pages\new pages\9 october updates\sf 101013 item 4(i)2 draft minutes 210613.doc There was some discussion about how Schools Forum members were able to communicate with their constituents and it was also suggested that new Forum members should have some form of induction – a pack/programme and outline of responsibilities. The Schools Forum noted the paper and the arrangements for Ofsted inspection of local authority arrangements for supporting school improvement. 7. Pupil Premium – Analysis of Impact A report setting out a [proposal for a project to look at the impact of the Pupil Premium grant on schools in Cumbria was considered. The Chair of the Forum sought agreement from Forum members to commission the project and to encourage co- operation from the constituencies that they represented. In 2012/13, schools were free to decide how to spend their Pupil Premium grant allocation but they had to publish details of the allocation and how they planned to spend it. Schools also had to provide a statement confirming the previous year’s allocation, how the funding had been used and the impact this had on the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The proposed project would: • Identify how each maintained school in Cumbria had used the Pupil Premium grant and provide an overall analysis of this • Triangulate the above information with a sample of visits/ phone calls by Local Authority General Advisers to analyse the impact of the Pupil Premium funding on individual school standards • Provide a report to the Local Authority and Schools Forum summarising the findings and identifying any action points for the future. There followed a lengthy discussion during which a number of Forum members expressed an interest in the outcome of this work felt that it would be good to identify areas of good practice and disseminate that information. However there were a number of members who felt that this information was already provided by schools, in various ways and as such that this was not the business of the Schools Forum. As a result, the decision as to whether or not to commission the project was put to the vote: For – 8 Against – 9 The Schools Forum would, therefore, to commission a project to look at the impact of the Pupil Premium Grant in Cumbria. 8. Pupil Premium for Children Looked After – Arrangements for 2013-14 A report setting the proposed arrangements for the allocation of the Pupil Premium for Children Looked after in 2013-14 was presented. Each year, the LA received an allocation of Pupil Premium Grant, which must be passported to schools and providers. In accordance with DfE guidance, for 2013-14, the Pupil Premium would be allocated at a rate of £900 per Free School Meal Ever 6 pupil and per Child Looked After, and £300 per Service Child. For the Free School Meal Ever 6 pupils and Service Children, the DfE stipulated the amount of funding to C:\Documents and Settings\blenkinsoppd\My Documents\Schools Forum pages\new pages\9 october updates\sf 101013 item 4(i)3 draft minutes 210613.doc be allocated for each school. For the Children Looked After element, the Local Authority had a degree of discretion over how this funding is allocated. The children eligible for Pupil Premium Children Looked After grant are those who on 1 April 2012, had been looked after continuously for at least 6 months and who are in Year Groups reception to Yr11 during the 2013-14 financial year. The Pupil Premium Guidance stated that ‘it is for local authorities to determine how to distribute the Pupil Premium for each of their eligible looked after children so they can reflect the particular circumstances of a looked after child’. It was proposed that a total payment of £900 would be made to a mainstream school or Academy for each of their eligible children who are on the roll of that setting. Cumbria Local Authority would make allocations to schools and Academies on a termly basis, £300 per term. If the child was educated in England but attended a school or Academy located in a local authority other than Cumbria, the funding would pass directly to the school to spend for 2013-2014. The allocation would be made on a termly basis to allow for pupil mobility. The Schools Forum noted the proposed arrangements for the allocation of the Pupil Premium for Children Looked After in 2013-14. 9. Use of the Dedicated Schools Grant De-Delegated Contingencies Budget 2013- 14 At the meeting of the Schools Forum on 6 March 2013 a report that set out possible options for the use of the de-delegated contingencies budget for 2013-14 was requested. The total de-delegated contingencies budget for 2013-14 was £1,583,544. This was made up of the original contingences budget of £775,544 plus the £808,000 which was reclassified from schools in financial difficulty funding to contingencies by the Schools Forum at its meeting on 16 January 2013. On 17 May 2013, the School Budgets Working Group had considered a report that set out various options for the use of the de-delegated contingencies budget in 2013-14 was considered. The paper was intended to inform discussions that would contribute to options to be presented to the full Forum. Two of the budgets that the Schools Forum could de-delegate back to the Local Authority were the contingencies budget and the schools in financial difficulties budget. At the meeting of the Schools Forum held on 24 October 2012 maintained school representatives voted for these budgets to be de-delegated back to the Local Authority for both primary and secondary schools. The total budgets for 2013-14 were £775,544 in respect of contingencies and £808,000 in respect of schools in financial difficulty funding. At the meeting of the Schools Forum held 16 January 2013, the Schools Forum requested that the £808,000 schools in financial difficulty budget be moved into the contingencies budget. On 6 March 2013, the Schools Forum asked that a paper be brought firstly to the Schools Forum Budget Working Group and then to the full Schools Forum to present the options as to how this budget should be used in 2013- 14.