People and Communities Strategic Schools Forum
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People and Communities Strategic Schools Forum 25 November 2020 9:30am via MSTeams Agenda Action Lead Apologies and Declarations of Interest - SSF 1. 9:30 members are reminded that they need to declare an John Simpson interest in any item that is on the agenda 2. 9:35 Minutes of the previous meeting John Simpson Matters arising – not on the agenda 3. 9:40 John Simpson Notification of AOB - Chair’s Business 4. 9:40 John Simpson • None -expected Governance: 5. 9:45 Information Emma Whitehead • None - expected Finance Report, incorporating: 6. 9:45 • Monitoring Report for 2020-21 Decision Emma Whitehead • 2021/22 DSG and Schools Budget 7. 10:30 Education Inclusion Service – Information Wendy Packer 8. 10:45 Evaluation of meeting – Date of next meeting- 20 January 2021 – MSTeams Papers will be issued on Wednesday 13 January 2021 where possible. People and Communities Strategic Schools Forum Wednesday 7th October 2020 09:30am, Microsoft Teams Member Title P – Present S – Substitute A - Apologies ACADEMY REPRESENTATIVES - vote LOUISE MALIK Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Lighthouse P Schools Partnership CHRIS HILDREW Academy Headteacher, Churchill Academy & Sixth P Form WILLIAM HARDING Academy Governor/Trustee of North Somerset P School in Bristol-based Cathedral School Trust TONY SEARLE Academy Headteacher, Hans Price Academy P MARK ANTOINE Academy representative – Secondary Business P Manager/Chief Operations Officer ADAM MATTHEWS Academy CEO, Extended Learning Academies P Network JACQUI SCOTT Academy Head Teacher, Worle Community School A - Kaleidoscope STEPHEN WEBBER Academy Headteacher, Clevedon Learning Trust P STEVE DAVIS Academy Governor, Head of Parklands Educate A Together and Chair of PHANS MAINTAINED SCHOOLS HEADTEACHERS - vote SARAH HARDING Primary Headteacher Kewstoke P TRACEY TOWLER Special School Headteacher Westhaven School P EMMA GUNDRY PRU Principal, Voyage Learning Campus A MAINTAINED SCHOOLS GOVERNORS (PRIMARY) - vote WENDY FARRIER Maintained School Representative – Primary A Governor (Churchill Primary) NON-SCHOOLS MEMBERS – no vote JOHN SIMPSON Independent Community Representative, Chair P CLLR CATHERINE Executive Member for Children and Young Peoples P GIBBONS Services CLLR WENDY GRIGGS Chair of CYP Policy and Scrutiny Panel A CLAIRE HUDSON Diocese of Bath and Wells A PAUL TRAUBERMAN Early Years – Rainbow Smiles Nursery P 1 KAREN WORTHINGTON 14 – 19 – Weston College P JON REDDIFORD RTPA A OBSERVERS – no vote MIKE EVANS Special School Governor (Ravenswood School P (CoG)) SALLY VARLEY Service Leader – Strategic Planning & A Governance, North Somerset Council PRESENTING OFFICER PRESENT – no vote WENDY PACKER Education Inclusion Service Lead and Virtual School P Headteacher NORTH SOMERSET COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES (FOR INFORMATION) – no vote SHEILA SMITH Director of People and Communities A KATHERINE SOKOL Finance Business Partner A CAROLANN JAMES Interim Assistant Director Children’s Support & A Safeguarding Education Funding Manager with responsibility for SSF – no vote EMMA WHITEHEAD Education Funding Manager P CLERK – no vote HANNAH CUSHEN Business Support P 2 Item Issue Action 1. Apologies and Declarations of interest (JS) JS welcomed everyone to the meeting and apologies were noted. He explained that if a vote was required, he would go down the list of members individually, so each vote is noted. There were no declarations of interest reported. 2. Minutes of the previous meeting (JS) Approved for accuracy. 3. Matters arising that are not on the agenda and notification of AOB (JS) There were no matters arising that were not on the agenda. Notifications of AOB: • Letter from professional associations – tend to receive these requests annually from teaching unions r requesting that to union facilities time be considered as a de-delegation or a pooled scheme. The unions suggest this is what many Local Authorities have in place. However, this is something that schools and SSF in North Somerset have moved away from. Therefore, EW asked for approval from the SSF to respond as in previous years, ’North Somerset will not be putting this as a proposal to make as a de- delegation due to the low number of maintained schools and there is no interest in establishing a pooled scheme’. It was established that there were 17 maintained schools currently, with 3 further Approved schools likely to become academies by the end of 2021. The SSF by the SSF approved this response. • Early Years Funding – EW wanted to confirm how EY funding was being allocated in North Somerset for Autumn 2020. North Somerset is funding as per the Government’s guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-free- early-education-entitlements-funding-during-the- coronavirus-outbreak]. • NS are continuing to pay monthly in 4 equal payments relating to the Autumn Term based on the claim submitted – we will then have the adjustment period at the end of term with payments adjusted in January as usual. • We will fund settings that have to close due to public health reasons • We will fund settings for children that are absent as they need to self-isolate We are therefore funding as if autumn term 2020 were happening normally which is the intention of the DfE and its guidance. 3 There is press coverage of the Early Year Alliance views who propose that autumn 2019 rates are applied to Early Years providers to offer them some stability during the pandemic. This has been offered as guidance to local authorities, but EW explained that An understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on numbers needs to be ascertained and any additional monies over and above the financial assistance that has been available already to ensure that providers are sustainable need to be allocated fairly. Until the adjustments are submitted by providers and a comparison can be made with 2019 it is not possible to determine what the levels, using 2019 child levels would have been. The SSF were asked for their views. SH advised that 5 out of 6 local authorities nationally, are funding at last year’s rates and block buying, could NSC consider this? EW advised that NSC are funding at a higher hourly rate than Autumn 2019. That NSC had answered the Freedom of Information Request and that sometimes it is the interpretation of these requests and spin that the media and others add that confuses. There are a number of financial schemes to help providers, some are funded on the number of students, discretionary grants, and loans. No more money for Early Years will be coming in to our knowledge, and NSC do not want to impact on future funding rates as they need to ensure sustainability short term and long term. SH felt it was presented to the media wrongly. EW explained that a Government snapshot census was hoped for but had not been forthcoming so NSC can only take data at the end of term once all providers have had an opportunity to submit adjustments for the Autumn term. SH was concerned for the providers who could not sustain the next few months. EW invited the providers in this situation to contact NSC directly, but in her experience, at recent providers meetings, she had not come across this in fact we have seen growth in some areas with new provision or providers returning to offering funded places PT agreed with EW and confirmed that he had not been contacted by many struggling providers. He had found that the providers finding it hardest were those working with purely funded children. Some had dropped their hours. In his experience, clients were moving to settings that opened from 8.00am to 6.00pm. 4. Chair’s Business (JS) • North Somerset Parent Carers Working Together – Annual Report JS explained that the report, commissioned by the DfE had been sent to him by the Chairman of the group, Kenton Mee. 4 He urged the SSF to read it, especially the Executive Summary which gave an interesting parents perspective. This was the first time the report had been sent to the SSF and JS suggested that it is received annually. 5. Governance (EW) None – expected. 6. Finance Report (EW) ` The Finance Report was distributed prior to the meeting. • Monitoring report for 2020-21 EW advised that the report covered period 1st April 2020 to 31st August 2020 and was showing an overspend of £500,000 in Top-up Funding. A overspend of £309,000 for children missing education was predicted, mainly due to the pandemic forcing students to be educated at home. Out of Authority Placements forecast a figure of £6,250,000, which would be an overspend of £1,770,000. Longer term this figure would be expected to decrease with the new SEMH school, the expansion of Baytree School, and the hubs but this would not be quick. With regard to Special Out of County Placements, JS noted that the figures had not increased much but the percentages had. EW explained that the price variance had been impacted by the overall budget and the way it was previously reported. It was a statistical matter rather than inflation. Providers had also increased their costs. EW explained that the council budget was predicting a £10,000,000 overspend in Children’s Services. There was a large amount of work being undertaken to look at how Covid-19 had impacted NSC and supporting LS’s. The NSC revenue budget was not yet in place. • Deficit Management Plan feedback st EW advised that the DfE had postponed their visit due on 31 March 2020 due to the pandemic. It was rearranged virtually in July. There was a feeling that the DfE wanted to help and understand, but they did not provide any inspirational ideas as to how to resolve the deficit. They approved the mitigation plans and were in support of the SEND Summit. EW and WP had responded in July 2019 to a DfE call for evidence.