Central Bedfordshire This meeting may Council Priory House be filmed.* Monks Walk Chicksands, Shefford SG17 5TQ
please ask for Martha Clampitt direct line 0300 300 4032 date 16 January 2015
NOTICE OF MEETING
SCHOOLS FORUM
Date & Time Monday, 26 January 2015 at 9.00 a.m.
Venue at Committee Room 2, Watling House, High Street North, Dunstable
Richard Carr Chief Executive
To: The Chairman and Members of the SCHOOLS FORUM:
David Brandon-Bravo, Headteacher, Parkfields Middle School Paul Burrett, Headteacher, Studham CofE Lower School and Pre-School Shirley-Anne Crosbie OBE, Headteacher, The Chiltern School James Davis, Governor, Leighton Middle School Angie Hardy, Headteacher, Clipstone Brook Lower School School Richard Holland, Governor, Harlington Upper School Members: Sue Howley MBE, Governor, Greenleas Lower School Sharon Ingham, Headteacher, Hadrian Academy Jim Parker, Headteacher, Manshead Upper School John Street, Academy Middle School Representative Stephen Tiktin, Governor, Beaudesert Lower School Rob Watson, Headteacher Stratton Upper School
Mr M Foster, Trade Union representative Non School Mrs M Morris, Catholic Diocese Representative Members Mrs S Mortimer, Post-16 Education Representative Sarah Stevens, Church of England Diocese Representative
Observer: Cllr MAG Versallion, Executive Member for Children’s Services Please note that there will be a pre-meeting starting half an hour before the Forum meeting to enable technical aspects of the reports to be discussed with officers before the Forum meeting begins.
*Please note that phones and other equipment may be used to film, audio record, tweet or blog from this meeting. No part of the meeting room is exempt from public filming.
The use of arising images or recordings is not under the Council’s control.
AGENDA
1. Apologies for absence
To receive apologies for absence and notification of substitute members.
2. Chairman's Announcements and Communications
To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.
3. Minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising
To approve the minutes of the previous meeting 15 September 2014 and to receive an update on any matters arising from these.
4. Members' Interests
To receive from Members any declarations of interest.
Proposals
Item Subject Page Nos. 5 Two Year Old Funding 11 - 14
The report proposes the transfer of the DSG funds allocated by Government for the extension of Two Year Olds to be allocated and managed by the Early Years Childcare Panel and a proportion to be allocated as capital to support the required extension.
6 Report on Activity during 2014 of Early Years Reference 15 - 18 Group and proposal to increase funding rates
To note the update on the activity of the Early Years Reference Group and to agree the proposed funding changes.
7 Trade Union and Professional Associations 19 - 28
To seek approval for the continuation of funding for facilities release time for Trade Unions and Professional Association. This would be through de-delegation (where appropriate) for Primary and Secondary Schools, Nursery and maintained Special Schools would be invoiced directly, subject to their agreement to release funds for this purpose.
8 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Update and 2015/16 29 - 38 Funding Allocations
To note the update on the DSG and Growth Fund allocations for 2014/15. To approve the 2015/16 DSG allocations for De- delegation, Growth Fund, Admissions and School Forum. To note the 2015/16 funding announcements.
Updates
Item Subject Page Nos. 9 The Academy of Central Bedfordshire (ACB) 39 - 48
To secure the future viability of The Academy of Central Bedfordshire in terms of revenue funding.
10 Use of centrally retained Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in 49 - 58 2014/2015
The report outlines how the centrally retained DSG has been used in 2014/15 and identifies required use of centrally retained High Needs Block for 2015/2016.
11 Dedicated School Grant Contingency Budgets 59 - 62
To provide an update on the use of the School Contingency Budgets for 2014/15.
12 Schools Forum Budget 63 - 64
To provide an update on the use of the School Forum Budget for 2014/15.
13 Revised Schools Forum Constitution and Terms of 65 - 72 Reference
This report advises of the changes to membership of Schools Forums as identified in the Schools Revenue Funding 2015 to 2016.
14 Work Programme 73 - 74
To consider the work programme for the Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum
15 Future Meeting Dates
The proposed dates are as follows: 15 June 2015 at Priory House 07 September 2015 at Priory House 19 October 2015 at Priory House 18 January 2015 at Watling House
Agenda Item 3 Page 5 CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL
At a meeting of the SCHOOLS FORUM held at Room 15, Priory House, Monks Walk, Shefford on Monday, 15 September 2014
PRESENT
Jim Parker (Chairman) (Vice-Chairman)
School Members: David Brandon-Bravo Headteacher, Parkfields Middle School Paul Burrett Headteacher, Studham CofE Lower School and Pre-School Shirley-Anne Crosbie OBE Headteacher, The Chiltern School James Davis Governor, Leighton Middle School Angie Hardy Headteacher, Clipstone Brook Lower School Sue Howley MBE Governor, Greenleas Lower School John Street Academy Middle School Representative Stephen Tiktin Governor, Beaudesert Lower School
Non-School Members: Mr M Foster Trade Union representative
Observer: Cllr M AG Versallion Executive Member for Children’s Services
Apologies for Absence: Richard Holland Sharon Ingham Mrs M Morris Mrs S Mortimer Sarah Stevens Rob Watson
Officers in Attendance: Mrs M Clampitt Committee Services Officer Ms D Hill Senior Finance Manager - Children's Services Mr G Leka Finance Manager - Schools Miss H Redding Assistant Director School Improvement
CBSF/14/13.Chairman's Announcements and Communications
The Chairman welcomed the Forum members to the first meeting of the new academic year.
Agenda Item 3 CBSF 15.09.14Page 6 - Page 2
CBSF/14/14.Members' Interests
(a) Personal Interests: -
None.
(b) Personal and Prejudicial Interests: -
None.
CBSF/14/15.Minutes of the previous meeting and matters arising
RESOLVED
That the minutes of the meeting of the Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum held on 23 June 2014 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
1. The Forum agreed that a breakdown of attendance will be provided to the next meeting on 24 November 2014.
2. Minute reference CBSF/14/5 – it should be noted that areas of deprivation can exist within new housing developments but these can be missed as postal codes are not recognised by some indices. It has been recommended that this information be forwarded to the Early Years Reference Group.
CBSF/14/16.Ded icated Schools Grant
The Forum considered a report which provided an update on the 2014/15 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation and Growth Fund for 2014/15. In addition, the funding arrangements for 2015/16 were provided for noting.
From 2013/14, the DSG was split into three notional blocks: Early Year, High Needs and Schools.
The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations defines the Local Authority education budgets for the 2013/14 financial year only. The Regulators provided simplified local formulae, greater delegation to schools and new arrangements for funding pupils with high needs.
The Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) was set at negative 1.5% per pupil for 2014/15.
Agenda Item 3 CBSF 15.09.14Page 7 - Page 3
It was noted that the Chief Finance Officer (CFO), is required to only submit an annual outturn statement confirming the full deployment of the DSG. However there are two additional documents now required:
Non Maintained Special School (NMSS) statement – requires confirmation by the authority that all students identified as high needs students were not incorrectly identified.
Fraud cases statement – requires confirmation of the number and value of fraud cases in schools, the number investigated and the action taken where appropriate.
The Forum noted that a question has been raised with the DfE regarding the Council paying the deduction for CRC. It was felt that ,as CBC had not joined the scheme at the point Schools were withdrawn from CRC, there was a query as to the validity of the deduction from DSG.
2014/15 DSG Budget Allocation
The Schools Block is based on a per pupil unit of funding of £4,144.47 multiplied by 35,148 pupils as reported on the October 2013 census.
The Early Years Block is based on a unit of funding of £3,979.80 multiplied by 2,587 full time equivalent number of pupils as reported on the January 2014 census. In April 2015, the block will be updated for 7/12ths of the January 2015 pupil numbers to cover the period September 2014 to March 2015.
The High Needs Block is a single block for high needs pupils / student age 0- 24. For 2014/15 the block is split into two parts, pre-16 and post-16 (ages 16-24). The Forum noted that since August 2013, the post-16 funding has combined three previous budgets: SEN block grant, specialist placements funding and the cost of high needs student in Further Education (FE).
The 2014/15 funding for early education places for 2 year olds from lower income households is to fund Statutory Places (£2,218k) and ‘trajectory building’ (262k) to create non-statutory places in preparation for the increased entitlement.
The distribution of the 2014/15 DSG based on the 48 Academy conversions at August 2014 was £183.049 (of which £83,790 went to Academies). Direct payments to Academies included in Central Spend = £4,308k. Paragraph 14 provided a breakdown of the centrally retained DSG of £18.824m.
Growth Fund 2014/15
The Growth Fund is for significant pre-16 growth in schools. Funds are available to both maintained schools and academies. Where a school has elected to expand they are not eligible for the Growth Fund.
Agenda Item 3 CBSF 15.09.14Page 8 - Page 4
The amount for 2014/15 was set at £1m. It was noted that this amount has already been exceeded as detailed in paragraph 20 of the report. It was confirmed that none of the funding was provided for Infant Class Size growth.
Fair Schools Funding in 2015/16
The Fair Schools Funding in 2015/16 consultation began in March 2014 by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE had allocated an additional £350m to increase the per pupil budgets for the least funded local authorities. On 17 th July the DfE announced the final methodology to be used to distribute funding to LA’s in 2015/16. The Senior Finance Officer informed the Forum that the allocation for CBC had been increased to £5.3m.
The Technical Sub Group met on 9 September to consider the outcome of the consultation document and possible models for distribution of fundinf for 2015/16. The group requested that the Forum as a whole consider some of the points prior to the consultation document being issued to schools for their views.
RESOLVED
1. That the update on the 2014/15 DSG allocations be noted.
2. That the update on the 2014/15 Growth Fund be noted.
3. That the 2015/16 funding arrangements be noted.
CBSF/14/17.Schools Finance Update Sept 14
The Forum considered a report which provided an update on the 2013/14 Schools out-turn position and 2014/15 Risk Register.
Central Bedfordshire had 89 maintained schools and 47 Academies as at 31 March 2014. Paragraph 10 provided a breakdown per phase of the out-turn position for 2013/14 for both Revenue and Capital. An appendix was provided detailing balances for each school.
The criteria used to allocate schools into a rating of risk for 2014/15 was provided in paragraph 12. There was 1 lower school with an agreed license deficit with a total value of £54k for 2014/15 and 1 middle school closed 2013/14 with an unlicensed deficit of £49k. The School has been sent a letter outlining the Local Authority’s concerns regarding the school’s financial management.
The categorisation of schools in the risk register was carried out in July 2014 and determined the following:-
No Rating – 61 schools Green – 17 schools
Agenda Item 3 CBSF 15.09.14Page 9 - Page 5
Amber – 6 schools Red – 4 schools**
The Forum noted that red and amber schools will receive a visit from the School Finance Adviser during the Autumn Term. All schools will be sent a letter advising of their RAG category and the use of criteria following the School Forum update.
**Related to 3 middle schools under statutory notice for closure due to reducing numbers and financial viability. In addition, there is 1 Upper school, which could not set a balanced budget within the 3 year agreed recovery period..
RESOLVED
That the Finance Update for Schools be noted.
CBSF/14/18.Dedicated School G rant Contingency budgets
The Forum considered a report which provided an update on the use of the School Contingency Budgets, as at 31 August 2014, which had been split into three notional blocks: Schools, High Needs and Early Years with each block holding its own contingency budget.
Schools Contingency
It was agreed at the School Forum meeting on the 14 October 2013 that the de-delegated contingency budget for 2014/15 would remain at the 2013/14 per pupil level of £5.63.
The balance as at 31 August 2014 for the Schools Contingency is £176,050.
High Needs Contingency
It was agreed at the Schools Forum meeting of the 20 January 2014 that unallocated 2014/15 High Needs Block funding would be held in contingencies until funding issues resolved, unspent funding will be redistributed to schools in 2015/16.
The balance as at 31 August 2014 for the High Needs Contingency is £1,284,495.
Early Years Contingency
The balance of unspent funds of £117,746 from 2013/14 had been carried forward to 2014/15. The balance, as at 31 August 2014, for the Early Years Contingency is £343,653.
Agenda Item 3 CBSF 15.09.14Page 10 - Page 6
RESOLVED
That the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Contingency spend as at 31 August 2014 be noted.
CBSF/14/19.School Forum Budget
The Forum received and considered a report which provided the spend, as at 31 August 2014, from the Schools Forum Budget for 2014/15.
The Senior Finance Officer confirmed that as at 31 August 2014, the remaining balance for the year was £3,433. The subscription to the F40 group had been renewed. It was suggested that possible training be arranged for new members and existing members. The new members would be in line with the proposed changes to the School and Early Years Finance Regulations, amendments to the Schools Forum (England) Regulations 2012. The purpose of these changes is to strengthen the representation on the forum of special provision and AP. The proposed changes will come into force in January 2015 and shall be applied to the financial year 2015/16.
Members of the Forum were reminded that they could submit travel claims for attending the Forum meetings.
RESOLVED
That the Schools Forum spend as at 31 August 2014 be noted.
(Note: The meeting commenced at 6.00 p.m. and concluded at 8.05 p.m.)
Chairman …………….……………….
Dated …… …………………………….
Agenda Item 5 Page 11
Meeting: School Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Two Year Old funding Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children ’s Services Summary: The report proposes the transfer of the DSG funds allocated by Government for the extension of Two Year Olds to be allocated and managed by the Early Years Childcare Panel and a proportion to be allocated as capital to support the required extension
Advising Officer: Sue Harrison, Director of Children Services Contact Officer: Sue Tyler, Head of Child Poverty and Early Intervention Services Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATION:
The School Forum is asked to approve the transfer of authority of £261,651 identified in the DSG notification as Trajectory Funding for the extension of Two Year old places to the Early Years Childcare Panel.
Background and recommendation
1. Funding for free provision for 2 year olds was introduced in Central Bedfordshire in September 2009 with a very limited offer.
2. In November 2011 the Government announced their intention to extend the funding to support 20% of disadvantaged 2 year olds from September 2013 increasing this figure to 40% from September 2014.
3. The criteria for receipt of these places are:
Parents in receipt of:
• Income Support • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act Agenda Item 5 Page 12
• the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income not over £16,190
• the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
• Working Tax Credits and earn £16,190 a year or less Children are also entitled to a place if:
• they’re looked after by a local council
• they have a current statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education health and care plan
• they get Disability Living Allowance
• they’ve left care under a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or adoption order 4. This provision is to be for 15 hours a week, term-time only.
5. The Department subsequently gave Local Authorities numbers of two year olds which are anticipated to fit within the government criteria. From September 2014 the Central Bedfordshire figure has ranged from 880 to 1000.
6. To support the delivery of these additional places the Government has allocated additional funding to Local Authorities. Central Bedfordshire has been allocated £348,738 capital funding for the two years ending September 2015 and £261,651 trajectory funding in 2014/15 within the DSG, although this has been with a greater reduction in the equivalent funding for the Early Intervention Grant which had previously funded these places.
7. The trajectory funding will be used in conjunction with the capital funding to achieve the capacity (places), quality and parental demand for two year olds’ early education.
8. Some potential uses of this funding have been identified as:
• Creating additional places with capital works • Grant for refurbishments and resources • Developing infrastructure • Marketing
9. In order to create additional places in the areas of highest need i.e. where there will be a majority of two year olds fitting the criteria, some capital investment will be needed and an element of this has been and will continue to be in the areas of most deprivation. This is likely to be in a higher sum that the dedicated capital funding (£348,738). There is also likely to be a need to increase places at existing provision for example by bringing additional rooms into use, and increasing the number of WCs.
10. The schools forum is requested to allow the £261,651 trajectory funding to be allocated on capital projects as needed to enable the provision of extra places. Agenda Item 5 Page 13
11. As in 2013/14 the LA will apply to the EFA to request a disapplication of “The School and Early Years Finance Regulation” to use centrally retained early years DSG funding to support capital expenditure from revenue (CERA) in order to create/extend new early years provision.
12. Allocation of funding of this nature has historically been in the remit of the Childcare Funding Panel, which is a sub-group of the schools forum, and the request is made that this should continue.
Appendices : None
Page 14
This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 6 Page 15
Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Report on Activity during 2014 of Early Years Reference Group and proposal to increase funding rates
Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children ’s Services Summary: To note the update on the activity of the Early Years Reference Group and to agree the proposed funding changes
Contact Officer: Sue Tyler Head of Child Poverty and Early Intervention Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. The forum note the report on the activity of the Early Years Reference Group .
2. To agree the increase in base funding rates.
1. The Early Years reference Group met on three occasions during 2014.
Two Year Olds
2. The Two Year Old Initiative was a main agenda item at each meeting. Central Bedfordshire had been notified of a target of between 850-1000 two year olds who would be eligible for funding from September 2014. This figure relates to the 40% most deprived children, who should be accessing places by the end of the summer term in 2015.
Work had continued throughout the year on both ensuring sufficient places and increasing the take-up. Regular lists are sent through from the Department for Education which have come from the Department for Work and pensions which give full details of parents meeting the criteria. These lists are able to be used for just a three week time window in which parents can be contacted, and details can be passed to Children’s Centres who assist in contacting hard to reach parents in this period.
The numbers sent on the list vary each time and the most recent list contained approx. 913 names.
During the Autumn Term of 2014 the numbers of two year olds taking up the offer was 647 which is a higher pro rata proportion than many of our neighbours.
Agenda Item 6 Page 16 3. During 2014 the government confirmed the criteria for the 40% places which were for parents claiming • income Support • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) • support through part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act • the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income not over £16,190 • the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit) • Working Tax Credits and earn £16,190 a year or less Children are also entitled to a place if: • they’re looked after by a local council • they have a current statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education health and care plan • they get Disability Living Allowance 4. Reports were given to the group of the considerable publicity which has been undertaken including leaflet drops in appropriate areas, posters everywhere, side of bus advertising and radio advertising. Adverts have also been placed on the backs of bus tickets and nationally there has been advertising on the back of Argos receipts. A Twitter and Facebook presence has also been launched with the help of the Communications Team at Central Bedfordshire Council.
Groups and Childminders are now being incentivised to refer children.
Early Years Funding
5. During 2013 there had been a one off payment of an additional 10p per child/hour in the base rate paid, due to a carried forward sum available. Prior to this rates had been static since the introduction of the formula. The Schools Forum and Early Years reference group approved an increase of 5p per hour on all base rates at their meetings in march 2014, along with a change in emphasis in the Social Deprivation payment, which doubled the rate of payment for Social Deprivation for children in the highest areas of need.
At the October meeting an adjustment to the funding levels, within the same formula, were discussed.
During the previous year some pre-schools had been taken over and run by a lower school. This had brought to the surface the fact that schools receive a lower hourly rate for children attending than the Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) groups. Schools do receive an amount to fund a senior management, and payments for rates, utilities and administration as part of a school formula. An amount for these costs had been paid as a lump sum to PVI’s, but were deemed as inappropriate and the base rate therefore increased. However this differential was now seen as too large.
Agenda Item 6 Page 17
6. It was therefore proposed to increase the hourly base rate for PVIs by 5p per child/hour and for schools by 15p per child/hour. This would maintain a differential in the hourly rate in favour of the PVI’s to cover the items which were previously paid for by the lump sum, but reduce the differential so that taking over a pre-school was not seen as unattractive by schools.
This would bring the rates to:
Base Rate per Hour Type Flexible Non-Flexible Nursery School £3.55 £3.50. Primary School £3.55 £3.50 PVI £3.90 £3.75
It was not proposed to change the rates for Social deprivation or quality.
Recommendation
The Schools Forum is requested to approve the increase in the base rates as outlined
Ofsted and DfE
7. The group was appraised of Ofsted and government consultations which took place through the year and the Group approved the local agreement which was updated in line with the new national framework to cover two, three and four year olds which took effect in September 2014. This included Settings which require improvement only being able to take two year olds if there are no places in good or outstanding settings in the local area. A revision of the EYFS is anticipated for September 2015 which may include changes in relation to Out of School Clubs, and ratio and qualification requirements. It may also include increasing requirement for registration to 3 hours. Changes to the current schools requirement to go on the Early Years Register to take 2 year olds will not happen until at least September 2015.
Setting Support
8. The Group received reports about the success of the Support Strategy which provides for intensive support for settings who Require Improvement or are Inadequate, and the outcomes for settings and Childminders following inspection, where good and outstanding outcomes are higher than our neighbours, statistical neighbours and the national average.
Two Year Old Conference
9. The Group actively discussed the plans to run two half day provider conferences which took place in November 2014 on the extension of the Two Year Old offer. One of these was specifically aimed at schools who are taking two year olds in increasing numbers, and at Childminders.
Agenda Item 6 Page 18 Network Meetings
10. Two network meetings on the same topic are held each term in different parts of the Council area. In the spring term the topic was Literacy and Communication, in the summer term Fun on a shoestring and in the autumn term the topic was Ofsted and Partnerships. Attendance is improving each time and the feedback is that the meetings are always very well received.
Childcare Funding Panel
11. The Childcare Funding Panel met on two occasions since March 2014. Over the year it approved funding in the following categories:
The Childcare Funding Panel met on two occasions since March 2014. Over the year it approved funding in the following categories:
• Inclusion: £48,296 • New Childcare Places: £46,200 (including places for 2 year olds) • Quality Improvements: £24,657 • Sustainability: £38,500 • Capital for Two year old Expansion: £447,330
Appendices: None
Agenda Item 7 Page 19
Meeting: Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum Date: January 2015 Subject: Trade Union and Professional Associations Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children’s Services Summary: To seek approval for the continuation of funding for facilities release time for Trade Unions and Professional Association. This would be through de-delegation (where appropriate) for Primary and Secondary Schools, Nursery and maintained Special Schools would be invoiced directly, subject to their agreement to release funds for this purpose.
Contact Officer: David Waller, Policy & Implementation Manager, Priory House Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The members of the School’s Forum who are entitled to vote are asked:
1. To agree to de -delegate funding from the Lower/Primary School Phase for the use of Trade Union facilities time.
2. To agree to de -delegate funding from the Secondary School Phase (Middle & Upper) for the use of Trade Union facilities time.
3. To continue to allocate the per pupil funding cost of Trade Union facilities time equally across all phases.
Background
1. Union representatives have a statutory right to reasonable paid time off from employment to carry out trade union duties and to undertake trade union training. (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992). There is also a need for schools to consult with the trade unions in accordance with School Teachers Pay and Conditions.
2. It is recognised that trade unions and professional associations make a significant contribution to the smooth running of schools, both locally and nationally. The funding system for schools should include full recognition of school workforce trade unions, and should enable the effective engagement of school workforce trade unions in local consultation and collective bargaining.
Agenda Item 7 Page 20
3. During the current period of facilities funding the Trade Unions have entered into collective consultation in relation to school policies and processes with officers of the Council, the representation of staff in the consultation for the closure of three middle schools and subsequent consultations during the on-going structural reviews of the schools that are to close, the TUPE transfer of schools to Academy status and service provision TUPE transfers both into schools and out of schools , in addition to ongoing support and representation of members relating to school based matters.
Facilities Funding 2015/16
4. From 2013/14 the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was split into three notional funding blocks:
• Schools Block • Early Years Block • High Needs Block
5. The Schools Block includes the delegated budgets of Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. Funding within the Schools Block that is currently retained by the Authority must be delegated to schools. However the following exceptions, applicable to Central Bedfordshire, are area’s where decisions regarding the de- delegation of funding may be made.
a) Contingencies (including previous amounts for schools in financial difficulties) b) Staff costs – supply cover (Facilities Time for Union Duties)
6. Consultation has recently been undertaken with Schools with regard to proposed school funding for 2015/16 including the de-delegation of facilities funding for the Lower/Primary and Secondary phases. The decision relating to de-delegation within each phase is to be determined by those members of Schools Forum who represent maintained schools.
7. It is not possible to de-delegate funding from Nursery and Special Schools. As this is the case, if agreed, these schools will be invoiced for the associated costs on a cost per pupil basis.
8. In 2014/15 it was agreed by the members of Schools Forum that the costs would be divided equally across all phases. It is recommended that this arrangement continues for 2015/16 so that the costs are proportioned across the phases.
Update
2014/15 Facilities Time Budget
9. The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014.
Agenda Item 7 Page 21
BUDGET SPEND BALANCE £ £ £ Budget Allocation 2014/15 51,568 VOICE 0 ASCL 0 NUT 6,861 NASWUT (incl NEC Duties) 7,885 ATL 6,225 NAHT 3,982 Unison 5,059 GMB 7,997 Total 51,568 (30,809) 20,759
The expected spend to the end of the year is £46,920. Any balance remaining may be carried forward to the following funding period as with any other centrally retained budget, and can be used specifically for this service.
Cost of Facilities Funding 2015/16
10. The estimated total cost for facilities funding for 2015/2016 for Maintained Primary and Secondary phases is £53,694 and the estimated cost per pupil is £3.31. The estimated total cost for Nursery and Maintained Special Schools is £2,386 and the estimated cost per pupil is £3.31. The estimated total cost has been calculated by the Finance Department using the actual cost per pupil rate from 2015/16 (£3.31) multiplied by the October 2014 pupil numbers census .
11. The number of pupils in schools maintained by Central Bedfordshire Council has been based on the October 2014 census.
12. It is important to note that the overall cost and cost per pupil is also affected by Trade union membership numbers. These are currently based on the 2014/15 figures.
13. The costs for representation of employees for the central establishment of the Council is funded through the Council’s Central Facilities Agreement.
14. Appendix A provides a frequently asked questions document for all schools regarding the statutory responsibilities that they need to comply with should the school elect not to de delegate funding for Facilities time. These statutory responsibilities are contained within employment legislation and also the Teachers Conditions of Service (Burgundy book) and NJC Conditions of Service (Green book).
Trade Union Facilities Agreement – Schools
15. The facilities agreement provides detail on the membership numbers and eligibility of trade unions and professional associations to claim payment in order that schools be able to adequately cover staff time lost. Eight Trade Unions and Professional Associations are formally recognised as part of this agreement.
Agenda Item 7 Page 22
16. Members of the Schools Forum are requested to continue to support the work with the Trade Unions and Professional Associations by continuing to agree funding for 2015/16 as recommended in this report.
Appendices:
A Retained Facilities Funding Frequently Asked Questions Document
Background Papers: (open to public inspection) None
Agenda Item 7 Page 23
Appendix A
Statutory responsibilities for all schools which are to retain facilities funding (non de-delegation of funding)
Frequently Asked Questions
Author: David Waller, Employee Relations & Policy Manager
Date: 26 January 2015
1. Introduction
In light of the changes to the schools’ funding formula, with effect from 1 st April 2013 those schools that have voted to retain the allocation of monies for facilities time for Trade Union Representatives (not to de-delegate), or due to the schools block their phase is in is unable to vote to de-delegate the monies, must consider how each school will comply with its statutory obligations for the provision of facilities time for trade union representatives within school.
The following questions and answers document sets out the current legal position and highlights areas for Headteachers and Governing Bodies to consider to ensure that each school within the phase meets its legal obligations.
The content of the report is based on both national legislation in respect of trade union duties and the statutory provisions contained in the School Teachers Conditions of Service (Burgundy Book) and NJC Conditions of Service (Green Book) and the regulations with respect to the school’s formula funding.
Q1. What is the legal position in relation to trade union facilities time and representation?
Union representatives have had statutory rights to reasonable paid time off from employment in order to carry out trade union duties and to undertake trade union training since the Employment Protection Act was issued in 1975. Union duties must relate to matters covered by collective bargaining agreements between employers and trade unions and relate to the union representative’s own employer.
In general terms this means that properly appointed trade union representatives are entitled to paid time off to undertake the following activities:
Type of union representative Rights
Union representatives appointed to • Paid time off to carry out their duties engage in collective bargaining on behalf • Paid time off for training of their members. TULR(C)A, 1992 • Protection against dismissal or detriment
Union learning representatives appointed • Paid time off to carry out their duties to promote learning. TULR(C)A 1992 • Paid time off for training • Protection against dismissal or detriment
Health and safety representatives • Paid time off to carry out their duties appointed by trade unions in workplaces • Paid time off for training where unions are recognised. • Facilities to help them perform their duties • Protection against dismissal or detriment Safety Representatives and Safety
dw -150102 Agenda Item 7 Page 24
Type of union representative Rights
Committees Regulations 1977
Information and consultation • Paid time off to carry out their duties representatives. • Protection against dismissal or detriment
Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations, 2004 Pension representatives elected for the • Paid time off to carry out their duties purpose of consultation over changes to • Protection against dismissal or detriment pension arrangements.
Occupational and Pensions Pension Scheme Regulations, 2006 TUPE representatives, where a trade • Paid time off to carry out their duties union is recognised for collective • Paid time off for training bargaining purposes. • Facilities to help them perform their duties • Protection against dismissal or detriment TUPE, 2006 as amended. Collective redundancy representatives • Paid time off to carry out their duties where a trade union is recognised for • Paid time off for training collective bargaining purposes. • Facilities to help them perform their duties TULR(C)A, 2006. • Protection against dismissal or detriment
Q2. What Other documents should I refer to?
A In addition to the statutory position on paid time for trade union representatives and the ACAS Code of Practice, the Conditions of Service for School Teachers (Burgundy Book) and NJC Conditions of Service (Green Book) also provide regulations on this issue.
Appendix III – Agreement on Facilities for Representatives of Recognised Teachers’ Organisations of the Conditions of Service for Teachers (Burgundy book) sets out the collective agreement on facilities for representatives of recognised teachers’ organisations.
Part 2, Section 18 of the NJC Green Book (Non Teachers) outlines the requirement to provide paid time off for trade union representatives to carry out their functions. These documents provide the framework on which all local authorities are required to base local arrangements for facilities time. Both the Burgundy and Green Book conditions are set out in Annex 1 of this document.
Copies of the relevant sections can be requested from human resources whose contact details are provided at the end of this document.
Q3. Which Trade Unions and Professional Associations are recognised by Central Bedfordshire Council?
A. The following are recognised by CBC for trade union activities and collective bargaining purposes (but not all receive an allocation):-
NUT, ATL, VOICE, NAHT, NASUWT, ASCL, GMB, UNISON, UNITE
dw -150102 Agenda Item 7 Page 25
Q4. What paid time off is a union representative entitled to?
A. The ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities, 2010, which is relied upon in Employment Tribunal hearings, state a reasonable employer will provide paid time off for union representatives for the following activities:
• Collective bargaining • Working with the management side • Communicating with union members • Liaising with the trade union • Handling individual disciplinary and grievance matters on behalf of employees.
Q5. What is ‘collective bargaining’?
A. ACAS advises that the term ‘collective bargaining’ includes the following activities:
• Negotiating terms and conditions of employment, including hours of work, pay, holidays, sick pay, pensions, learning, equality and diversity, notice and the working environment
• Matters relating to recruitment, HR planning and redundancy or dismissals for whatever reason, including redundancy
• Allocation of work or the duties of employment including job grading, job evaluation, job descriptions, flexible working practices and work/life balance
• Matters relating to discipline
• Representation of members at hearings
• Participation in the negotiation or consultation for an employer and/or multiple employers.
Q6. What are the current arrangements within the Central Bedfordshire Council?
A CBC has a Facilities Agreement (Schools) with the recognised Trade Unions which sets out the agreements reached in order for them to discharge their roles. A copy of the current Facilities Agreement (Schools) can be found on the CBC Schools Portal.
Q7. Do the trade union representatives in CBC come from the workforce?
A. Yes, a paid official may be based in any school within the county and can be called on to represent union members across the sector, for example a union representative working in a secondary school could represent a teacher in a maintained primary school and vice versa.
Q8. Does the employing school of a representative receive re-imbursement?
A. Yes, the school where the trade union representative is based receives reimbursement from the de-delegated facilities time budget to cover his/her time spent on trade union duties.
dw -150102 Agenda Item 7 Page 26
Q9. What duties are undertaken and funded in Central Bedfordshire?
A. • regular attendance at formal consultation and negotiating meetings with officers and/or elected members e.g. Education Employee Relations (EER)Working Party etc;
• attendance at policy development meetings with officers e.g. to develop the model HR policies used in schools (recent examples include the sickness absence policy; the paternity, maternity and shared parental leave policy etc);
• Attendance at case work meetings with head teachers, governors and others in schools e.g. disciplinary hearings, redundancy consultations, TUPE meetings, etc.
Q10. What are the options in relation to the de-delegation of facilities funding?
A. Under the latest reforms to the school funding formula, from April 2013 onwards schools have the following options in relation to trade union facilities budgets: a) retain facilities funding in individual school budgets; b) de-delegate the funding and assign it to the local authority to hold on behalf of schools.
Q11. If my school wishes to request de-delegation will we retain the current facilities arrangements with access to county representatives and collective bargaining?
A Yes, representatives would continue to work with schools and support their members in schools with employee relation case work e.g. disciplinary hearings, redundancy consultations, TUPE meetings, etc. For all maintained schools consultation on HR policy and practice is undertaken at county level which avoids the need for each school to consult on every issue. Under this approach, model policies and working practices are discussed and agreed with the recognised trade unions, which are then notified to schools and their personnel providers.
Governing Bodies are advised to adopt the collectively negotiated policies and procedures to ensure consistent practice in schools across the council.
Q12. What if my school chooses not to de-delegate?
A Experienced local representatives/ branch secretaries would not attend case work Meetings.
Each recognised trade union of CBC represented in a school could decide to appoint a local ‘steward’, who would be entitled to paid time off to carry out trade union duties. In practice, this could result in an overall increase in the monies paid to the trade unions due to the loss of economies of scale through the work of the county representatives and may lead to inconsistencies emerging in practice between schools.
It is likely that regional officers of the trade unions may wish to attend to particular casework, particularly where locally appointed officers are inexperienced. Therefore, Headteachers and Governors will need to be aware that this may lead to delays in
dw -150102 Agenda Item 7 Page 27 managing the timing of disciplinary, grievance and capability hearings, as regional officers from the trade unions will have limited availability to attend school hearings.
This is also likely to affect discussions over TUPE transfers, school restructures and reductions in staffing, which often require an early response in order to meet teacher notice dates.
It is advised therefore that the setting of meetings or planning of consultation processes in relation to the above will need to be arranged in advance of current timescales in order to ensure appropriate representation in accordance with the law is afforded to all employees and trade unions.
You are strongly advised to speak to your HR provider before deciding not to de-delegate.
Q13. Will each school which chooses not to de-delegate be required to enter into a facilities agreement with the recognised trade unions?
A. The current funding for facilities time and therefore the facilities agreement that is currently in place will remain until 31st March 2014. Schools whose funding is not dedelegated back to the Council should consider how they plan to manage the facilities time for trade union representatives within their school.
It is also advised that schools consider a facilities agreement with the recognised trade unions ahead of the 1st April 2015 when the current arrangements in place with county representatives would come to an end.
Q14. Where can my school receive further advice on this matter?
A It is advised you contact your HR provider to obtain further advice and guidance in relation to consulting with the recognised trade unions on a bespoke facilities agreement for your school. Should you wish to discuss the information contained within the questions and answers document please e-mail David Waller, Policy & Implementation Manager at [email protected] or telephone 0300 300 6053.
dw -150102 Page 28
This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 8 Page 29
Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 201 5 Subject: Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Update and 2015/16 Funding Allocations
Report of: Director of Children ’s Services Summary: To note the update on the DSG and Growth Fund allocations for 2014/15. To approve the 2015/16 DSG allocations for De-delegation, Growth Fund, Admissions and School Forum. To note the 2015/16 funding announcements.
Contact Officer: Dawn Hill, Priory House, Shefford Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council Reason for urgency (if appropriate)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. To note and comment on the update to the 2014/15 DSG allocation . 2. To note and comment on the update to the 2014/15 Growth Fund. 3. To approve the De-delegation of £30.82 for Schools Contingency (i) Primary (ii) Secondary phases. 4. To approve the 2015/16 DSG allocation for Growth Fund to be set at £2M. 5. To approve the 2015/16 DSG allocation for Admissions to be set at £260k. 6. To approve the 2015/16 DSG allocation for School Forum to be set at £3k. 7. To note the Department for Education funding announcement for 2015/16.
Background
1. Since the beginning of the financial year 2006/07 local authorities have received allocations of DSG to finance the Schools Budget in each authority. The full DSG received must be applied to the Schools Budget in each authority; although authorities may provide additional resources in support of the Schools Budget should they decide to do so. From 2013/14 the Dedicated School Grant is split into three notional blocks; Early Years, High Needs and Schools.
2. The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013 define the local authority education budgets (the non-schools education budget, the schools budget, the central expenditure and the individual schools budget) and set out how local authorities are to allocate funding from the individual schools budget (ISB) to maintained schools and private, voluntary and independent providers of free early years provision (relevant early years providers) through a locally determined formula.
Agenda Item 8 Page 30 3. The Regulations give effect to the decisions made to reform the school funding system through simplified local formulae, greater delegation to schools and new arrangements for funding pupils with high needs. 4. The Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) for schools has been set at negative1.5% per pupil for 2014/15. The calculation has been simplified compared with previous years and the Regulations set out the factors which are excluded from the calculation. DSG Budget Allocation 201 4/15
5. The distribution of the DSG for 2014/15 is based on the ‘spend plus’ methodology and is shown in three blocks (Early Years, Schools and High Needs).
6. The following table illustrates the updated DSG allocation for each block and additions. The Schools block is based on October 2013 School census and the Early Years block has been updated for the January 2014 census.
Block Revised Allocation July 2014 (£M) Schools 145.670 Early 3&4 year old funding 10.296 Years 2013/14 Adjustment (Jan 14 Census) 0.386 Pre 16 21.530 Post 16 non Schools 1.717 High Post 16 in Schools 1.139 Needs Growth & Place review 0.415 Non Maintained Special Schools (NMSS) 0.011 2 Year Olds 2.480 NQT (transferred from RSG) 0.053 Deduction for Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) (0.263) Total Allocation DSG 183.43 4
7. The Schools Block is based on a per pupil unit of funding of £4,144.47 multiplied by 35,148 pupils as reported on the October 2013 census.
8. The Early Years Block is based on a unit of funding of £3,979.80 multiplied by 2,587 full time equivalent number of pupil as reported on the January 2014 census. The Early Years block has been updated to take into account 2013/14 adjustment based on January 14 census to cover the period September 2013 to March 2014.
9. The High Needs Block is a single block for high needs pupils/students age 0- 24.
10. The 2014/15 funding for early education places for 2 year olds from lower income Households is to fund Statutory Places (£2,218k) and ‘trajectory building’ (£262k) to create non-statutory places in preparation for the increased entitlement. Allocations have been calculated based on the estimated number of eligible 2 year olds likely to receive provision in the area, using Free School Meals data for 4 to 6 year olds as a proxy.
Agenda Item 8 Page 31 11. Funding for the cost of monitoring and quality assuring NQT induction is also included in the DSG.
12. As a result of state funded schools in England being withdrawn from participating in the CRC Energy Efficient Scheme a deduction is made to the DSG to compensate the Exchequer for the loss of revenue resulting from this change.
13. The following table represents the distribution of the 2014/15 DSG based on the Academy conversions as at December 2014 (48).
ISB Revised ISB Central Spend DSG Academies DSG Schools LA Academies £’ 000 £’ 000 £’ 000 £’ 000 £’ 000 £’ 000 Schools 145,513 80,949 64,564 63,000 1,564 0 EY 13,144 0 13,144 9,044 3,384 716 High Needs 24,777 2,841 21,936 8,340 10,115 3,481 Total 183,434 83,790 99,644 80,384 15,063 4,197
14. The centrally retained DSG of £19.3M is further analysed in the table below.
DSG Services £’000 Special Education Needs (Inc Post 16) 9,396 Academies Statements/Early Years 4,197 Two Year old Funding 2,480 Growth Fund 1,000 DSG Contribution to Central Overheads 719 School Admissions 260 School Contingency 105 Copyright Licences 142 Teachers Unions & Professional Associations 54 Early Years Contingency 904 School Forum 3 Total CE 19,260
Local Authority Assurance Statement 15. The Department has decided that it is no longer necessary to collect two assurance statements for the DSG. LAs will now only be required to submit an annual outturn statement, confirming that the DSG received by the authority was fully deployed in support of the schools budgets in accordance with the conditions of the grant and The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013. However, the statement has now been expanded to include a Non Maintained Special School (NMSS) statement and Fraud cases reported in schools statement.
16. The NMSS statement requires confirmation that based on the LAs work in reviewing Individual Placement Agreements for high needs pupils/students within NMSS, nothing has come to their attention that causes them to believe that the learners reviewed were not correctly defined as high needs students.
Agenda Item 8 Page 32 17. The Fraud cases statement requires the confirmation of the number and value of fraud cases reported in schools and the number of those that have been investigated and where appropriate action taken.
Growth Fund 2014/15 18. The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations, Schedule 2, prescribes expenditure that may be deducted from the Schools budget before determining the Individual Schools Budget and held centrally. Growth Funding falls into this category and is for the purpose of expenditure due to significant growth in pupil numbers as a result of the LA’s duty under section 13(1) of the 1996 Act to secure that efficient primary and secondary education are available to meet the needs of the population and in order to make provision for extra classes in order to comply with the School Admissions (Infant Class Sizes) Regulations 2012.
19. Local Authorities are required to produce criteria on which any growth funding is to be allocated, and set out the circumstances in which a payment could be made and a basis for calculating the sum. The School Forum regulations requires the agreement of the School Forum for both the central spend on and the criteria for allocating funds.
20. The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014.
Budget Spend Balance £ £ £ 2014/15 Allocation 1,000,000 2013/14 B/F balance (217,831) Growth Fund: Fairfield Park Lower (68,990) Greenleas Lower (131,029) Church End Lower (129,456) Alameda Middle (65,768) Etonbury Middle (286,843) Redborne Upper (164,600) Shefford Lower (61,903) Russell Lower (34,002) St Andrews Lower (42,225) Roecroft Lower (75,942) Stratton Upper (56,612) Holywell School (24,165) Robert Bloomfield (63,404) Cranfield Academy (5,700) Infant Class Size: Total Growth Fund 1,0 00,000 (1,428,470 ) (428,470 )
21. The revised School and Early Years Finance Regulations 2013 allows LAs to carry over any unspent money from the 2014/15 growth and infant class size funds to be used for the same purpose in 2015/16. The overspend for 2014/15 will be the first call on the 2015/16 allocation for Growth Fund.
Agenda Item 8 Page 33 22. Where an LA makes a growth fund payment to an academy for the period April to August, the DfE will make an appropriate recoupment adjustment. Growth fund adjustments will not be made for “diseconomies of scale” or “start-up” funding. The final pro-forma to be submitted to the EFA will include a request to adjust the recoupment by £248k. Any adjustment approved by the EFA will be added back to the Growth fund for 2015/16.
201 5/16 Centrally Retained Budgets De -delegated services
23. Funding for de-delegated services must be allocated through the formula but can be de-delegated for maintained mainstream primary and secondary schools with Schools Forum approval. De-delegation is not an option for academies, special schools, nurseries or PRUs. In the case of special schools and PRUs, the funding to buy services will be included in any top up payments. Any decisions made to de-delegate in 2014/15 relate to that year only, new decisions are required for any service to be de- delegated in 2015/16. Schools forum members for primary maintained and secondary maintained schools must decide separately for each phase. Funding for these services will then be removed from the formula before budgets are issued. The services which may be de-delegated include:
• Contingencies (including schools in financial difficulties and deficits of closing schools) • Staff costs supply cover (e.g. trade union and public duties)
Where de-delegation is agreed, middle schools will be treated according to their deemed phase (Secondary). Any unspent de-delegated funding remaining at the year- end should be reported to Schools Forum. Funding may be carried forward to the following funding period as with any other centrally retained budget, and can be used specifically for de-delegated services if the authority wishes.
Centrally retained services
24. Funding for some services can be centrally retained before allocating the formula, with the agreement of the schools forum. A number of these services are subject to a limitation of no new commitments or increases in expenditure from 2014/15 and school forum approval is required each year to confirm the amounts on each line. The services which can be retained centrally include:
• Funding for significant pre-16 pupil growth, including new schools set up to meet basic need, whether maintained or academy • Funding to enable all schools to meet the infant class size requirement • Admissions (limitation of no new commitment) • Servicing of schools forum (limitation of no new commitment)
When using funding held centrally within DSG, other than funding that has been de- delegated by maintained schools, the authority must treat maintained schools and academies on an equivalent basis. Any unspent growth funding remaining at the year- end should be reported to Schools Forum. Funding may be carried forward to the following funding period as with any other centrally retained budget, and can be used specifically for growth if the authority wishes.
Agenda Item 8 Page 34 Contingencies
25. The LA has estimated that the closing schools deficits for 2015/16 will exceed £1M and is proposing that £30.82 per pupil is de-delegated for both Primary and Secondary phases. This will give an estimated total de-delegated contingency budget for 2015/16 of £500k. This will ensure continued effective delivery of the full curriculum for those children in the schools until the point of closure. A project group has been set up for each of the schools to provide support and challenge until the date of closure.
26. The consultation held with schools in the Autumn term asked for consideration for funds to be held for this purpose. 37 responses were received, of which 22 (59%) agreed to a de-delegated amount of £31.23, higher than the amount currently proposed. 5 responses disagreed.
Growth Fund
27. Central Bedfordshire is an area that will see significant growth in school aged children over the coming years, triggered by the increase in birth rate (which is impacting now and for at least the next five years), and by the rate of local housing development that is forecast over the next 25 years. The Council's School Organisation Plan outlines the pattern of this growth across phases and its New School Places Programme establishes an investment strategy for major projects to ensure that the council continues to meet its statutory obligations to provide sufficient high quality school places.
28. LAs are required to produce criteria on which any growth fund is to be allocated and to consult with schools forum on the total sum to be top-sliced. The ‘School Funding Reform : Arrangements for 2015/16’ Forum paper circulated to School Forum members at end of October 2014 proposed both the criteria and total sum to be held for 2015/16 (£2M). This was agreed in principle to enable the proforma APT return, required at the end of October, to be submitted to the EFA. The EFA has subsequently checked and agreed the criteria as compliant with the regulations.
29. The LA formally proposes the centrally retained budget for Growth and Infant Class Size requirements for 2015/16 as £2M.
Admissions
30. The LA proposes that the 2015/16 budget for Admissions remains at the 2014/15 level of £260k. The budget funds the 6 officer team to work on behalf of the Council as the admissions authority for community and voluntary controlled schools and also to coordinate the admission arrangements of all schools and Academies in Central Bedfordshire. A further officer has been recruited to the Team in 14/15 to provide additional support with the increasing complexity of admission arrangements in Central Bedfordshire as a result of schools changing age ranges and an increased number of own admission authorities. Despite this, and with additional income from own admission authority schools and Academies who buy back services for which they are statutorily responsible, the LA is able to sustain the service at the historical budget level.
Agenda Item 8 Page 35 School Forum
31. The LA proposes that the 2015/16 budget for servicing the school forum remains at the 2014/15 level of £3k. The budget funds the subscription to the F40 group, currently £1k (reduced from £2k in previous years), meeting expenses and training/ travel costs for members.
School Funding Settlement 201 5/16 32. On 17 December 2014, the Department for Education (DfE) announced details of the .1 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2015 to 2016. The DSG remains split into three notional blocks; School, High Needs and Early Years.
School Block
33. The Schools Block is calculated based on school block unit of funding (SBUF) announced in July 2014 plus a cash transfer to bring non-recoupment academies into LAs overall budget calculation. For CBC the SBUF is £4,289.09 (this after the CRC deduction of £7.51) an increase of £144.62 from 2014/15. Central Bedfordshire’s pupil numbers based on October 2014 census data has increased by 718 pupils to 35,866.
34. The DfE announcement in July 2014 that it will calculate an addition to authorities’ 2015/16 DSG to maintain a principle of cash neutrality when non-recoupment academies transfer into the DSG, subject to there being no major change in the local formula. The DfE has made a cash transfer (£341k) for Central Bedfordshire’s University Technical College (UTC) and this is based on what the UTC would have received in the 2014/15 formula based on the pupil numbers in the October 2014 census, uplifted by the Minimum Funding Level (MFL) increase for relevant authorities.
35. To protect schools from significant budget reductions, the Minimum Funding Guarantee is continuing to ensure that no school sees more than a 1.5% per pupil reduction in 2015/16 (excluding sixth form funding) compared with 2014/15.
High Needs Block
36. The High Needs Block for 2014/15 has been carried forward plus:
• Increase in places for academic year 2015 to 2016 • Additional top-up of £47m distributed based on the 2-19 aged population in each LA.
Early Years Block
37. The Early Years Block will include:
• The three and four year old entitlement – set at the same per pupil rate as in 2014/15 (for CBC £2,587). Initially, this has been multiplied by pupil numbers from the January 2014 early years census and school census to produce a provisional allocation. This will be updated in July 2015 based on January 2015 pupil numbers; and in July 2016 based on 5/12ths of the January 2015 pupil numbers (to cover the April 2015 to August 2015 period) and 7/12ths of the January 2016 pupil numbers (to cover the September 2015 to March 2016 period).
Agenda Item 8 Page 36 • The early years pupil premium (EYPP) – a provisional allocation as announced in October 2014. It will pay early years providers an additional £300 per year for each eligible child that takes up the full 570 hours with them. This equates to an hourly rate of 53p per child per hour. The indicative allocation for Central Bedfordshire Council is estimated at £171k. The Department will conduct a survey in the autumn 2015 to check take-up of the EYPP. Any adjustments required to allocations following the survey will be made in January 2016. • Funding for disadvantaged two year olds for which the hourly rate was announced in October 2014 (for CBC at £5.03). The initial allocation for 2015/16 will be made in June 2015. The allocations will be based on number of eligible children participating (instead of demographic information) in early education as recorded in the January 2015 early years census and school census. This may cause a pressure for CBC for which an Early Years contingency will be held.
38. The table below illustrates the indicative DSG revenue allocation for 2015/16.
Block 2014/15 201 5/16 Allocation Allocation (M) (M) Schools Block 145.670 *153.830 Schools Cash Transfer (Non-recoupment 0.000 0.341 Academies) 3&4 year olds funding 10.296 10.296 Early 3&4 year olds adjustment (Jan Census) 0.385 Tba (Jul 15) Years Indicative EYPP 0.000 0.171 Pre 16 21.530 21.530 High Post 16 non Schools 1.717 1.717 Needs Post 16 in Schools 1.139 1.139 Growth & Place Review 0.415 0.765 Additional top-up 0.000 0.233 Non Maintained Special Schools 0.011 0.011 2 Year Olds funding 2.480 Tba (Jul 15) NQT 0.053 0.054 Deduction for CRC (0.263) See note * Total Indicative Allocation DSG 183.434 190.087
39. As in 2014/15 the DSG will include funding for the cost of monitoring and quality assuring of NQT induction. The CBC’s allocation for 2015/16 is £54k.
40. *Following the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s consultation in 2012, schools were removed from the main scheme in 2014/15. LAs are no longer required to administer the CRC on behalf of Schools. For 2015/16, a simple deduction of £7.51 per pupil will be made to DSG allocations. In 2014/15 the CRC deduction was £263k, for 2015/16 this is estimated to be £269k.
41. As in previous years, to protect LAs with falling pupil numbers, a cash floor of minus 2% has been applied to the DSG allocations. This will ensure that no authority will lose more that 2% of its budget in cash terms.
Agenda Item 8 Page 37 42. The Department has agreed with the following agencies to purchase a single national licence managed by the Department for all state-funded schools in England:
• Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) (new for 2015/16); • Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA); • Education Recording Agency (ERA); • Filmbank Distributors Ltd. (for the PVSL); • Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) (new for 2015/16); • Motion Picture Licensing Company (MPLC); • Newspaper Licensing Authority (NLA); • Performing Rights Society (PRS) (new for 2015/16) ; • Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) (new for 2015/16) ; and • Schools Printed Music Licenses (SPML)
43. The DfE will send local authorities details of the charge separately in early January 2015. The amount to be charged will be around two thirds higher than in 2014/15. This takes into account the four additional national licences, the rise in the number of pupils; the fact that local authority maintained nursery schools will now be covered for their relevant licences, and the inclusion of non-recoupment academies. In 2014/15 CBC paid £142k, it is estimated that for 2015/16 this will be approximately £237k.
Pupil Premium Grant 44. On 11 November 2014, the DfE announced an extra £22.5m funding for the pupil premium in primary school in 2015/16. 45. Schools will continue to receive £1,900 for pupils who are looked after or who have left care through adoption or other circumstances. Secondary schools will also continue to receive £935 for every pupil who has been registered for schools meal in the past six years. Primary schools will now receive £1,320, an increase of £20. Service children will continue to attract £300 per pupil. The actual allocation will be announced in June 2015.
Education Service Grant (ESG) 46. As in 2014/15 the grant will be allocated to local authorities on a per-pupil basis. The ESG General Funding Rate for local authorities in 2015/16 is £87 per pupil in mainstreamed schools, £326.25 per pupil in PRUS and £369.75 per place in Special Schools.
47. October 2014 census data will be used to calculate the General Funding pot for 2015/16. For CBC the initial allocation for 2015/16 will be £1.7m and this will be adjusted on a quarterly basis during 2015/16 financial year to take into account academies opening since 30th November 2014.
48. There will be a flat rate of £15 per pupil allocated to local authorities for the statutory duties that do not transfer to academies, known as retained duties. The total ESG retained duties funding pot is £15 multiplied by the number of pupils aged 3 to 19 in maintained schools and academies. For CBC the indicative Retained Duties funding pot for 2015/16 will be £608k.
Agenda Item 8 Page 38 49. There will be no top-up for academies in academic year 2015 to 2016. The General Funding Rate for 2015/16 is £87 per pupil in mainstreamed academies, £326.25 and £369.75 per place for alternative provision (AP) academies and special schools academies respectively. The ESG Statement of final arrangements for 2015/16 provides details of protection arrangements which will be applied in order to prevent large reductions in academies budgets.
Universal Infant Free School Meal Grant (UIFSM) 50. This funding is available from September 2014 to provide all infant –age pupils with a free school meal. For 2014/15 revenue funding was based on a rate of £2.30 for each meal taken by pupils who will become newly eligible for a FSM as a result of the UIFSM policy. Rates for 2015/16 will be confirmed by DfE in due course.
F40 update: 2016/17 and beyond schools funding
51. At the f40 Executive Committee meeting on 6 December 2014 proposals were discussed regarding the national funding formula for schools. Briefings will be held for MPs in February 2015. However, the final position for 2016/17 onwards will depend on: • The total budget that DfE will have to spend, which will be agreed in the next spending review • Any funding policy changes that the new government decides to make before allocation of the 2016/17 funding.
These decisions will be made by the new Government after the general election.
Appendices:
None
Agenda Item 9 Page 39
Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: The Academy of Central Bedfordshire (ACB) Report of: The Governing Body of the Academy of Central Bedfordshire Summary: To secure the future viability of The Academy of Central Bedfordshire in terms of revenue funding.
Contact Officer: Helen Redding Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council Reason for urgency N/A (if appropriate)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Schools Forum
1. Give a view on a proposed recalculated rate of top up funding for Group 1 and Group 2 students at the Academy of Central Bedfordshire that reflect the need to offer the full broad, balanced and relevant curriculum to both groups of students .
2. Support the request for additional allocation from the High Needs Block as proposed of £384,539 in order to ensure transparency and certainty of the revenue funding for The Academy of Central Bedfordshire.
3. Support a review of the provision of transport to ensure cost effective, efficient transport arrangements for both Group 1 and 2 students and meets the Council’s legal obligations.
Background
1. The vision for The ACB was developed 3 years ago to set up an Alternative Provision Free School for up to 140 students that will include the existing PRU provision. It is a locally based provision dedicated to positive experience with clearly defined success pathways for its students. The curriculum is personalised and appropriate to the needs of the students.
2. The vision reflects the absolute commitment to ensuring the very best educational opportunities and outcomes for all students in Central Bedfordshire and recognition that there needed to be a more ambitious approach for the most vulnerable. It is clear that young people who are disaffected with, and disengaged from, education are more likely to experience significant limitations to their life chances and opportunities.
Agenda Item 9 Page 40 3. The central aims are to:
• eliminate permanent exclusion in Central Bedfordshire and reduce fixed term exclusions; • re-engage disaffected and disengaged students; • ensure all pupils achieve tangible accredited outcomes; • improve the education offer for disaffected and disengaged students; • improve student learning, achievement and progression rates; • develop expertise in effective behaviour management across all schools; • commission a range of quality assured offsite AP providers; • create a value for money alternative to existing Pupil Referral Units; • improve educational attainment in Upper and Middle schools; • ensure good levels of attendance.
4. In recognition that some students will not return to mainstream school, full-time provision is necessary avoiding the disrupted education that previously affected some students through repeated moves using the Fair Access Protocol. This supports the priority of reducing the number of young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) as well as improving the life chances of some of our most vulnerable students.
5. The ACB is governed by the Upper/Secondary School heads with representation from Middle Schools and The Local Authority. The ACB is led by an executive Headteacher with a Principal, Head of School and two assistant headteachers across its two sites.
6. The Local Authority‘s commitment to the vision was supported by the granting of two sites, both on 125 year leases. The success of the bid secured £3 m of capital funding for refurbishment / new build to create state of the art vocational provision on both sites. 7. The partnership working of the Local Authority and schools to establish The ACB was recognised as a noteworthy proposal by the DfE with Charlie Taylor (the former Government Advisor on Behaviour) stating ‘It was an exceptional bid with a real focus on the needs of the students within the partnerships of the schools.’ 8. Since opening The ACB has had two successful HMI monitoring visits and a commissioned mock Ofsted. Visiting HMI Andrew Weymouth noted, ‘The Academy of Central Bedfordshire has made significant strides to address the challenges of opening of an effective AP Free School….. Robust systems have been put in place to track pupil progress and identify individuals for further support….Students have positive and constructive relationships with staff and each other… There is a culture of self- improvement supported by clear systems for reviewing performance in all aspects’. 9. The initial funding model which was scrutinised and approved by the DfE was that the school would accommodate 95 students in year 1, 120 in year 2 rising to 140 in year 3. This model generated a predicted budget of £1,965,564 which included start-up funding. It was based on the following assumptions:
• The EfA would top slice from the Local Authority £8000 per agreed place. • The number of group 1 students would be consistent with the number of students previously attending CBPRU (50). • The budget that had been available to the PRU would be paid to the ACB via a contract (£556,000)
Agenda Item 9 Page 41 • That middle schools would collectively buy back 15 group 2 places in year 1, moving to 20 places in year 2 (based on consultation) rising again in year 3. ((£5,070 x 15 = £76,050 (AWPU + Pupil Premium) with an additional £1,000 per place for transport)). • The upper schools would buy 3 group 2 places in year one (30 places) rising to 5 places each in year 2 rising again in year 3. ((£5,700 x 30 = £171,000 (AWPU + Pupil Premium) with an additional £1,000 per place for transport)). Five additional places were available if required for either school group.
10. The ACB opened in September 2013 on the Houghton Regis site, however due to planning delays the Stotfold site was not available until late Spring 2014 (at this point in the term it was not feasible to use the site until September 2014).
11. The initial contribution from the Local Authority over and above the £8000 per place was initially agreed at £556,760 for September 2013 to March 2014 and £581,461 from April 2014 to March 2015, subject to further clarification from the EfA with regard to future funding for Alternative Provision Free Schools. This was highlighted in the January 2014 High Needs Block Paper to the Schools Forum. The Top up paid by the Local Authority for 50 places equated to £11,629/place.
12. Demand in year 1 demonstrated the need for places from the LA and commissioning schools. In recognition that some students should not return to mainstream school (as set out in the original vision) the number of group 1 students rose to 79 as the Fair Access Protocol was not applied where this was not in the best interests of the students involved. Some students did proceed to have a Statutory Assessment of SEN and be placed at Oak Bank School. It was not possible to meet the full demand for group 2 places as the limitations of opening on one site, coupled with the increased numbers of group 1 students, resulted in limited capacity in the key vocational teaching areas.
13. Unlike with the former Central Bedfodshire PRU, the AWPU for group 1 students did not transfer with them. It is proposed that this is rectified in 2015/2016.
14. Feedback from commissioning schools is that there is a demand for full time group 2 students which wasn’t costed within the originally bid in terms of staffing, particularly in core subjects. The review of budget will enable this to be delivered.
15. From September 2014, predicted demand has increased to 120 full time places which has been approved by the EFA, and has increased the specialist place numbers reported by the Local Authority, and therefore High Needs Block allocation. However upper/secondary schools have not all commissioned the projected 50 places for group 2 students and middle schools have not been in a position to guarantee the purchase of the 20 places allocated to them.
16. This has resulted in uncertainty of future revenue funding and The ACB’s ability to appoint appropriate staff across two sites
Agenda Item 9 Page 42 Transport (not currently funded by High Needs Block) 17. Under the current transport arrangements, all group 1 students who are entitled to transport are transported by the LA and all group 2 students are transported by The ACB. This arrangement is financially ineffective as there are instances where two different vehicles pick students up from geographically very close addresses, in one instance from the same house. 18. The desired position is that all transport is run by one provider and that this provision is appropriately funded. Currently The ACB is providing transport at a net loss of £110,000 per annum which is not sustainable.
19. The ACB is currently working with the LA undertaking detailed modelling on the provision of transport to the Academy to inform the procurement of a suitable service that is cost effective, efficient for both Group 1 and 2 students and meets the Council’s legal obligations.
Way forward
20. From discussions at both upper and middle school heads meetings and with the Local Authority there has been unanimous support to seek assured revenue funding to reflect true demand for full-time places (group 1 and group 2) in the future. This paper is therefore requesting:
• The LA increases their commissioned places to 80 to reflect the demand for Group 1 places experienced in 2013/2014. • The AWPU transfers with group 1 students to The ACB from the date when the student access a place. • Middle School places are available but are commissioned as required to reflect the uncertainty of numbers and need and funded by the individual school on the same basis as other commissioned places (AWPU plus Pupil Premium) • Any agreed funding mechanism must take into account the real cost of each place which we calculate at approximately £18,005. • All group 2 places are commissioned with guaranteed funding from all upper and secondary schools and a subsidy from the Local Authority to bring the value up to the cost of a place.
21. There needs to be a more transparent and sustainable model of funding that is based on the actual cost of a place. In order to achieve this calculations have been based on a staffing model that meets the increased demand and need for delivery of a full curriculum for both group 1 and group 2 students. The budget required to deliver this with a 3.6% surplus is £2,445,154.
22. The EFA has increased the place element of an Alternative Provision place from £8,000 to £10,000. This provides an EFA income of £1,200,000 which is top-sliced from the High Needs Block. The school also receives £64,510 Education Services Grant plus £50,560 start up grant (2015/2016 is last year of this).
23. This has taken £240,000 out of the £581,461 previously allocated by the Local Authority to the ACB contract (leaving £341,461).
Agenda Item 9 Page 43 24. Increasing the number of Group 1 Local Authority commissioned places by 30 to 80 to reflect the increase in numbers experienced in 2013/2014 equates to £240,150 top up funding (30 x £8,005).
25. While mainstream schools can have a split site element in their budget, special schools and Alternative Provisions have to have costs such as these built into the top-up element of their funding. This requires an additional £120,000 to be included in the top up element, in line with that received by Ivel Valley and Chiltern Area Special Schools.
26. Due to the responsibilities of the former PRU being undertaken by The ACB, the admissions, attendance and monitoring costs of £23,000 are charged to The ACB. It is proposed that this is built into the top up element.
27. The additional elements identified in paragrapghs 24 – 26 equate to £383,150.
28 If these elements are added to the budget of £341,461 currently held by the Local Authority for the ACB contract, this comes to £724,611, and the figures attached propose a Local Authority contribution of £726,000 (£1,389 difference). Overall, this would require the Local Authority contribution for the top up to increase by £384,539 from 2014/2015. This would be adjusted once the AWPU value is known for 2015/2016. As the AWPU will rise in 2015/2016 due to the one year increase in allocation of DSG, the schools’ contribution will rise as their contribution relates to AWPU plus Pupil Premium.
29 Further review is required in 2015:
• To take into account the changing age ranges of schools (as the original vision was based on the three tier system). • To ensure the model is sustainable and will meet EFA requirements (EFA are currently reviewing funding arrangements for Alternative Provisions) regardless of changes in leadership within schools and the LA. • To ensure cost effective appropriate transport arrangements are in place. (Not currently funded through High Needs Block)
Appendices: • Appendix 1 illustrates the present funding for 2014 /15 and includes all revenue and expenditure related to transport, which shows an in-year deficit
• Appendix 2 has factored in 30 additional LA funded places to reflect actual numbers, as well as a review of the calculation of the Top Up element.
Page 44
This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 9 Page 45 Appendix 1
Funding for 2014/15
GAG Income
EFA 120 x £8,000 £960,000
Education Services Grant Allocation £64,510
Start Up Grant £73,340
£1,097,850
Non GAG Income
50 LA Commissioned Places £556,000
37 i Upper School Commissioned places £254,005 AWPU (£4,930) + PP (£935) + Transport (£1,000)
10 ii Middle School Commissioned Places £61,560 AWPU (£4,221) + PP (£935) + Transport (£1,000)
Other £17,625
£889,189
Total Income £1,987,040 iii
Expenditure
Staff costs £1,630,301 82% of budget Premises £90,624
Insurance £20,028
Supplies and Services £292,884
Legal / Professional fees £36,839
Total Expenditure £2,070,677
Deficit -£83,637
i Only 37 of the projected 50 places have been commissioned for 2014/15 ii A projected 10 of 20 places within the original bid have been calculated for 2014/15
Agenda Item 9 Page 46 iii This figure would be £2,137,845 if all projected 70 upper and middle school places had been commissioned These figures include the revenue and expenditure related to transport
Agenda Item 9 Page 47
Proposed Budget for 2015/16 Based on 120 places
GAG Income
EFA (120 x £10,000) Top Sliced from LA High Needs Block i £1,200,000
Education Services Grant Allocation £64,510
Start Up Grant £50,560
£1,315,070
Non GAG Income
80 LA Commissioned Places Top Up (£8005) £640,400 ii
40 Upper School Commissioned places £234,600 AWPU (£4,930) + PP (£935) iii
LA subsidy to school commissioned places (£2,140/place) £85,600 (subsidy reduced if AWPU increases)
AWPU following group 1 students iv (estimated on actual numbers in 2013/2014 based on one third attending for 1 term, one third for 2 terms and one third for 3 terms) £124,859
Other £17,625
£1,103,084
Total Income £2,418,154
Expenditure
Staff costs v £1,934,858 79% of budget
Premises £90,624
Insurance £20,028
Supplies and Services vi £247,983
Other £36,839
Total Expenditure £2,330,332
Surplus £87,822 (3.6% of budget)
Agenda Item 9 Page 48
i Each place in The ACB will receive £10,000 base funding from the EFA from September 2015. The LA will fund the additional £2k (currently £8k per place April – August)) ii Calculated at 80 places receiving the full allocation of top up of £8,005 iii Based on 2014 /15 figures iv Calculated at 35 students assumed to receive value of upper school AWPU v Including additional staff required to provide full-time group 2 places and excluding staffing costs associated with transport vi Excluding costs associated with transport Agenda Item 10 Page 49 Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Use of centrally retained Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in 2014/2015
Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children’s Services Summary: The report outlines how the centrally retained DSG has been used in 2014/15 and identifies required use of centrally retained High Needs Block for 2015/2016.
Advising Officer: Helen Redding, Assistant Director, School Improvement Contact Officer: Helen Redding, Assistant Director School Improvement Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Schools Forum is asked to:
1. Note how the centrally retained High Needs Block has been used in 2014/2015 to support high needs provision
2. Give a view on the a llocation of High Needs Block for 2015/2016
3. Give a view on the distribution of unspent DSG in 2014/2015
4. Approve the transfer of the balance of unspent High Needs Block DSG to support capital development in specialist provisions in 2015/16.
Introduction
The Council is required by the School Forum Regulations to report on the use of centrally retained DSG to the Schools Forum. The content of this report provides the detail of this in relation to the High Needs Block. High Needs Block is not ring-fenced.
Agenda Item 10 Budget agreed in 2014/2015 and adjustments made in year following final allocations Page 50
Apr -14 Dec -14 Early Years children with SEN and disability allocation support function 26,011 26,010 Area SENCos 121,211 121,210 Early Years SEN Funding 190,000 190,000 Therapies 70,000 70,000 Statements 449,900 157,505 Academy statements 2,967,238 3,480,745 High Cost Pupils 199,900 199,900 Out of County Placements 1,689,330 1,689,330 SEN and Additional Pupil Support 198,850 198,850 High needs Post 16 1,761,601 1,761,600 Access and Inclusion 76,705 76,710 Virtual School 200,000 200,000 Commissioned Services 2,255,601 2,255,600 Other Authority Top Up Payment 1,043,882 1,043,880 SEN Outreach 275,670 275,670 DSG Contribution to Central overheads 718,846 719,280 High Needs Contingency 851,470 1,129,263 Total 13,096,215 13,595,553
Services funded by High Needs Block
Early Years Children With Disabilities retained panel and support function (£26,010)
1. The panel process and support function has been retained centrally, and ensures that children are allocated support when required. This element of DSG supports the salary costs of the member of staff who coordinates this process as well as administering and supporting the process for pupils who are of school age (SEN and additional pupil support).
Early Years Area Special Educational Needs Co -ordinators - SEND Team (£121,210)
2. This currently supports 2 Area Special Educational Needs Coordinators who support Early Years settings in meeting the needs of children with SEN and Disabilities. Numbers are increasing and due to increase further with the local growth in the population.
Agenda Item 10 3. The recently published Save The Children report as part of Read On. Get On – a Page 51 national mission to get all children reading well by age 11 by 2025 showed that poor children are being left behind in reading in all parts of the country. South West Bedfordshire falls in the bottom 50 of all English constituencies for poor children’s reading ability . This covers Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Houghton Regis as well as the villages of Bidwell, Great and Little Billington, Chalgrave, Eaton Bray, Eggington, Heath and Reach, Hockliffe, Kensworth, Rushmere, Sewell, Stanbridge, Studham, Tebworth, Tilsworth, Totternhoe, Whipsnade and Wingfield .The report recognises the importance of early language in the early years in influencing improving literacy at end of Key Stage 2.
4. Within Central Bedfordshire, the widest FSM attainment gaps in the Early Years Foundation Stage can be seen in the literacy goals of reading and writing, with a 26 and 25 percentage point attainment gap when comparing pupils eligible for free school meals and all others.
5. Central Bedfordshire is recruiting an additional Area SENCo to support settings in improving language and literacy to support this drive for improvement. This requires an increase in this budget to £181,210.
Other Functions supported by High Needs Block
6. Support for high needs 3 and 4 year olds in early years settings : £190,000 supports children in settings and nurseries with high needs who do not yet have an EHC Plan, but require additional support to meet their needs. £150,050 has been spent to date, but this is forecast to fully spend following Spring term allocations.
7. Therapies : £70,000 is used to support therapies such as Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy where it has been specified as an assessed need on a Statement of SEN that therapy is required on a more regular basis than can be accessed through Health Services. This is a needs led budget. £35,000 has been allocated to date, but with Spring Term payments and any new referrals it is expected to increase by the end of the financial year. The demand on this budget is forecast to increase with the introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Reforms.
8. Statements /EHC Plans : £449,900 DSG is used to fund new statements in all schools across the year. This is a needs led budget and is monitored monthly. £292,395 has been allocated up to December 2014. Budget is moved to Academy statements as schools become Academies. We are reviewing the way in which EHC plans are funded, linked to identified provision to meet assessed need rather than banding levels. 37 statements/EHC Plans are due to be made final between December 2014 and March 2015. Funding will be pro rata. Requests for Statutory Assessment have remained at similar levels. This budget is forecast to underspend by £75k.
9. Academy statements /EHC Plans : £3,480,745 is used to fund the cost of statements/EHC Plans in Academies. This is a needs led budget and is monitored monthly. £2,618,105 has been allocated to date, with spring term payments yet to be allocated. This budget will fully spend. We are reviewing the way in which EHC plans are funded, linked to identified provision to meet assessed need rather than banding levels.
Agenda Item 10 10. High Cost pupils : £199,900 supports the additional exceptional needs of the Page 52 most complex pupils in our special schools who have evidenced assessed needs that requires additional support to maintain them in our local special school provision (for example additional Teacher Assistant support for our most challenging pupils). This is a needs led budget. £166,098 has been allocated to date, and it is expected that more pupils will require additional support during the Spring Term. As more pupils are staying in local provision, the call on this budget will increase. In order to support the special schools in retaining pupils in Central Bedfordshire, consideration is being given to recruiting to an additional role to work across the schools in meeting the needs of the most challenging pupils. Approximate costs are £50k.
11. Pre 16 Out of C ounty Placements : £831,134 is allocated to date to fund Out of Authority Specialist Placements. Some of these pupils have been placed as we have been unable to meet needs locally, and some are at the direction of the SEN and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). Health and Social Care services pay a contribution towards some placements. Currently there are 13 pupils who are 16 and under placed out of Authority by education, 2 by Social Care and 1 by Health where DSG funds the education element. 4 of these pupils transferred into post 16 provision in September 2014 and so only the term in which they were in Year 11 is funded from this budget. Of the education led placements, we receive a health contribution to 1 pupil, and a social care contribution to 2 pupils. Post 16 pupils are funded through the Post 16 Cost Centre. While this is currently underspending, it is offsetting an overspend in the Post 16 high needs budget which is a set figure allocated by the DfE/EFA and is insufficient to meet Post 16 costs. Historically, Pre 16 DSG has supplemented insufficient Post 16 funding for High Needs pupils. Based on knowledge of current pupils and their transitions, estimated spend in 2015/2016 is £536,084. This does not account for any new placements.
12. Addi tional Pupil Support : £198,850 is allocated to support pupils with additional needs for fixed periods of time. Many of these pupils are undergoing statutory assessment and this budget supports schools in supporting these pupils’ needs until the end of this process. A significant number of pupils who require this support are at risk of permanent exclusion, and specialist agencies are always involved. Any new requests get approved at Panel. Additionally this budget funds any educational provision for pupils in Independent Hospital facilities. There have been 4 pupils in this type of provision this financial year.
13. High needs Post 16 : £1,761,600 This function and budget was transferred to Councils in April 2013. This budget funds all provision for pupils who are post 16 and with high needs, including out of authority placements, top up funding for statemented pupils who are placed in other Local Authorities’ schools, high needs college and post school placements, including independent specialist providers. There are currently 13 post 16 pupils in out of Authority Independent or Non- Maintained Special Schools. Current costs for these pupils are £1,530,450. Based on knowledge of current pupils and their transitions, estimated spend for just the Out of Authority Independent Special School places in 2015/2016 is £1,248,322. This does not account for any new placements. 14 pupils are accessing mainstream school or special schools in neighbouring Authorities’ schools at a current cost of £144,095. With college costs, this budget is forecast to overspend by £896,000 which is offset by the underspend in the Out of County budget.
Agenda Item 10 14. The amount allocated to Post 16 Provision is determined by the Education Page 53 Funding Agency, and Pre 16 DSG has historically supplemented the shortfall. Showing the overspend against the Post 16 allocation enables us to monitor the true costs of Post 16 provision and report this accurately. With the implementation of the SEND Reforms, which enables provision for young people with SEND up to the age of 25, the spend against this budget is likely to increase.
15. Access and Inclusion : £76,710 supports the staffing costs of the management of advice and process for exclusions and elective home education. The Inclusion Support Officer works part time, and so a second member of staff covers the post for the other two days. The cost of this is £25,000, and so the budget has been increased accordingly for 2015/16 to cover this.
16. Virtual School management and delivery : £200,000 supports the staffing costs and functions of the Virtual School for Looked After Children. The Virtual School is now responsible for supporting Looked After Children pre school and post 16 and ensuring that outcomes improve and all Looked After Children access further education, employment or training. In order to meet this requirement, an additional Personal Adviser has been recruited to support the age group. The Virtual School will contribute 50% of this post. Current Education Advisers have increased their hours to meet the pre school demand. The budget will therefore increase to £217,000.
17. Commission ed Services : £2,255,600 supports the costs of commissioned services to schools and other providers. All High Needs teaching and support services that were previously centrally retained are now commissioned out to school based providers. A performance management schedule has been developed with providers to support the monitoring of the contracts.
18. Hearing Impairment Service £195,632 was allocated for the peripatetic and management element of the Hearing Impaired Service commissioned through The Harlington Area Schools Trust (HAST). HAST were able to employ a part time peripatetic teacher from September 2014, so there have only been part year costs for this element. A Speech and Language Therapy Assistant post has also been agreed which is currently being recruited to. The annual cost of what has been approved and implemented to date is £155,482 due to additional teacher costs being seven twelfths of the year. The new contract cost for 2015/2016 will be £195,000. Caseload numbers will continue to be reviewed regularly through the contract monitoring process.
19. Visual Impairment Service £252,576 funds the contract for this service which is delivered through HAST. The Council is currently in discussion with neighbouring Local Authorities regarding support for our children attending schools in other Local Authority areas. In previous years this has been managed on a quid pro quo arrangement, but some Authorities are moving away from this. This may lead to additional service costs which will need to be added to the current contract.
20. Early Years Children with Disability Service £270,548 funds the Early Years Children with Disabilities Service commissioned through Ivel Valley and Chiltern Area Special Schools.
Agenda Item 10 21. Medical Needs Service Page 54 £467,539, plus estimated £67,000 held centrally outside of the contract to support actual supply costs to meet additional demand for the Medical Needs Service commissioned through HAST. The contract delivery has been reviewed in the light of the change in regulations, and it has been agreed to increase the contracted teachers by 3.5 to accommodate this and ensure we meet the required hours. The Guidance is overdue an update, but the number of hours is unlikely to change. This has increased the contract value to £643,890. This will improve provision, and reduce supply. Additional hours, if required, will continue to be supported through supply cover outside of the contract. A contingency of £15,000 is recommended for this. HAST are considering more flexible methods of delivery. As part of the contract review, where pupils are accessing the service long term, consideration is being given to HAST invoicing for the pupil element from the school where the pupil is on roll for that period.
22. Jigsaw Centre The contract price has increased to £464,731 to reflect the increasing demand on the service. Work will be undertaken in 2015 to develop a hub and spoke model of delivery linked to schools in other areas of Central Bedfordshire.
23. Academy of Central Bedfordshire This is subject to a separate paper form the Governing Body of the Academy of Central Bedfordshire. Their case is supported by the Council and will ensure future stability of the provision.
24. Other Authority Top -Up payments (Pre -16) £1,043,880. This budget is used to fund mainstream statements in other Local Authorities’ schools, and the top up element of the statement for pupils placed in other Local Authorities’ special schools. There are currently 97 pupils who are pre 16 accessing schools across the local borders. Costs of these places are currently at £997,513.
25 SEN Outreach : £275,670 supports the provisions of Outreach Services from Special Schools and other identified excellent SEN practice
26. DSG contribution to Central Overheads : £718,846 is allocated to central overheads to support DSG related functions.
27. The High Needs Block will be finalised by the DfE in March 2015. This will provide information on the allocation for Post 16 and Pre 16, and will enable the figures proposed for 2015/2016 to be finalised. This will then determine the balance to be allocated to statementing.
28. The Council is now required to report on the number of specialist places commissioned from Special Schools and Specialist Provisions. The number of places commissioned from Central Bedfordshire Special Schools is set out below.
• Ivel Valley Area Special School - 155 • The Chiltern Area Special School - 172 • Oak Bank School – 66 • Weatherfield Academy – 124
TOTAL: 517
Agenda Item 10 Numbers of pupils agreed for each school as at January 2015: Page 55 • Ivel Valley Area Special School - 148 • The Chiltern Area Special School - 166 • Oak Bank School – 63 • Weatherfield Academy – 116 (plus 2 agreed to start Sept 15)
All schools admit children throughout the year. Special Schools have seen an increase in pupils with more complex needs who are allocated funding at the higher banding levels. Place numbers are being reviewed in the light of the population growth over the next few years. Building capacity is also being considered. Special School Leaders are working with the Council to develop a vision and 5 year plan for special schooling in the light of this and the SEND reforms.
29. Oak Bank School is currently considering extending their age range to include Post 16 provision for those pupils who need it. Meetings are being held with Oak Bank School to determine whether additional places need to be commissioned for pre-16 pupils.
30. 54 places are currently commissioned across phases for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Condition requiring specialist provision in mainstream schools. We have commissioned 4 additional places at Manshead School for 2015/2016 to reflect their secondary status, and will be re-commissioning primary provision in the area for September 2016, when Streetfield Middle School is due to close.
31. With the growth in the population in the Leighton Buzzard area, demand for additional places will be reviewed in this area during 2015.
32. 12 places are currently commissioned in BESD Provision linked to Lower Schools. Pupils who continue to require specialist provision in Year 5 and beyond are able to transfer to Oak Bank in Year 5. While there is pressure on places in these provisions, this is mainly due to another Authority placing children in one of these provisions. (Silsoe Lower School and Lancot Lower School)
33. 16 places are commissioned for resourced provision for children with Speech and language needs in 2 lower schools. (Heathwood Lower School and St Andrews Lower School).
34. 20 places are commissioned across the 3 phases as resourced provision for hearing Impaired pupils. (Toddington St Georges, Parkfields and Harlington Upper). 35. The difference between the High Needs Block allocation in 2014/2015 and the forecast spend is £1,233,362 (see table in paragraph 36). £1M will be transferred to the Schools Block and redistributed to maintained schools and academies on a one off basis via the AWPU through the funding formula for 2015/2016. The remaining balance in 14/15 and unspent reserves from previous years (£716k) is proposed to be transferred to support capital development in specialist provisions in 2015/2016.
Agenda Item 10 Centrally retained High Needs Block in 201 5/201 6 Page 56
36. Allocated Forecast Initial Final DSG spend to to Year 15/16 2014/15 date End Early Years children with SEN and disability allocation support function 26,010 26,010 26,010 28,000 Area SENCOs 121,210 121,210 121,210 181,210 Early Years SEN Funding 190,000 150,050 190,000 190,000 Therapies 70,000 35,000 50,000 70,000 Statements/EHC Plans 449,900 292,395 374,900 449,900 Academy Statements/EHC Plans 3,480,745 2,610,559 3,480,745 3,480,745 High Cost Pupils 199,900 159,050 199,900 250,000 Out of County Placements (Pre 16) 1,689,330 831,134 831,134 900,000 SEN Additional Pupil Support 198,850 120,000 198,850 198,850 2,657,064 estimated High needs Post 16 1,761,600 2,551,684 1,761,600 Access and Inclusion 76,710 76,710 76,710 101,710 Virtual School 200,000 200,000 200,000 217,000
Commissioned Services 2,255,600 2,243,710 2,255,600 2,552,745 Other Authority Top Up Payment 1,043,880 997,513 997,513 1,043,880 SEN Outreach 275,670 275,670 275,670 275,670 DSG Contribution to Central overheads 719,280 719,280 719,280 719,280 High Needs Contingency 1,129,263 0 0 851,470 Total 13, 887,948 11,409,975 12, 654,586 13,272,060
37. The High Needs Block settlement for 2015/2016 will not be received from the DfE until March 2015. The balance will be held in contingency and applied where it is required in 2015/2016. The following issues will be taken into account
• The resource implications of changes in SEND provision through the implementation of the Children and Families Act in 2014 is determined. • The development of the Hub and Spoke model for the Jigsaw Centre. • The implications of the development of Central Bedfordshire’s vision for Special Schooling and Specialist Provision, including capital costs. • How the EFA plans to top slice Local Authorities and whether that will impact on the initial settlement. • How the EFA plans to apply growth in 2015/2016.
Agenda Item 10 38. Summary Commissioned Services Page 57
The table below sets out the centrally retained High Needs Block to be paid to schools for commissioned services through a contract (continuing commissions). All contracts are monitored termly.
2014/2015 2015/2016 Comment HAST Hearing £195,632 £195,000 Additional Teacher of Impairment Service Deaf (part time) and peripatetic element Speech and Language Therapy Assistant recruited Jigsaw Centre £414,645 £464,731 This will be reviewed (Hawthorn Park) in 2015/2016 with the development of a hub and spoke model linked with the new site at St Andrews in Biggleswade and the relocated BESD Provision at Silsoe... Early Years Children £270,548 £270,548 With Disability - Ivel Valley and The Chiltern HAST Medical Needs £467,539 £643,890 Contingency will be Service plus used if there is a £67,000 requirement to held access additional centrally supply to meet outside of demand for additional the contract hours to support the actual supply costs. HAST Visual £252,576 £252,576 Impairment Service Academy of Central £581,461 £726,000 Bedfordshire
Total £2,249,401 £2,5 52, 745
Summary
All spending using DSG is carefully monitored to ensure it is spent appropriately and in line with the requirements that are set out in the School Funding Regulations. Some elements are needs led and are reviewed monthly. Unspent High Needs Block is now released and redistributed to schools in the following year.
Page 58
This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 11 Page 59
Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Dedicated School Grant Contingency Budgets
Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children ’s Services Summary: To provide an update on the use of the School Contingency Budgets for 2014/15.
Contact Officer: Dawn Hill, Priory House, Shefford Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATION:
1. To note the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) Contingency spend to 31 December 2014.
Background
1. From 2013/14 the Dedicated School Grant is split into three notional blocks; Schools, High Needs and Early Years with each block holding its own contingency budget.
School Block
2. The Schools Specific Contingency Budget falls under Schedule 2 (Part 5) of The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013; ‘Classes or descriptions of planned expenditure prescribed for the purposes of the Schools budget of a Local Authority which may be deducted from it to determine the Individual Schools Budget (ISB)’. Part 5 relates to items that may be removed from Maintained Schools’ Budget Shares by way of de- delegation. De-delegation is not an option for Academies, special schools, nurseries or PRUs.
3. Expenditure on the Schools Specific Contingency is central expenditure deducted for the purpose of ensuring that monies are available to enable an increase in a school’s budget share after it has been allocated and where it subsequently becomes apparent that a governing body have incurred expenditure which it would be unreasonable to expect them to meet from the school’s budget share which may include expenditure in relation to:
• schools in financial difficulty • the writing off of deficits of schools which are discontinued, excluding any associated costs and overheads Agenda Item 11 Page 60
• new, amalgamating or closing schools, or • other expenditure where the circumstances were unforeseen when initially determining the school’s budget share
High Needs Block
4. Contingencies are held centrally to fund the writing off of deficits of special schools which are discontinued. At the School Forum meeting in January 2014 it was advised that due to the lateness of confirming the High Needs Block settlement for 2014/15 additional funds would be held in contingencies until the following issues had been resolved with the EFA:
• resource implications of changes in SEND provision through the implementation of the Children and Families Bill in 2014 is determined. • funding mechanism for the Academy of Central Bedfordshire • medical services continuing to be identified as Alternative Provision as they were previously, and so count as £8,000 per place • impact of Post 16 changes • how the EFA plans to top slice Local Authorities and whether that will impact on the initial settlement • how the EFA plans to apply growth in 2014/2015
Early Years Block
5. Early Years provision is funded based on predicted total number of hours attendance of registered pupils. The LA must review the budget share when further information on actual hours of attendance is available, in accordance with Part 3 of The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013. The Early Years Contingency budget has been set aside to fund the headcount adjustment that is allowable within the regulations.
Update
School Contingency
6. It was agreed at the School Forum meeting of the 14 October 2013 that the de-delegated contingency budget for 2014/15 would remain at the 2013/14 per pupil level of £5.63.
7. The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014:
BUDGET SP END BALANCE £ £ £ Carry Forward from 2013/14 70,950 Budget Allocation 2014/15 104,510 Adjustment Academy Recoupment 590 Unallocated Bursary Post 16 7,147 VAT Reimbursement CLA 23,707 Total S chool Contingency 175,460 31,444 206,904
High Needs Contingency
8. It was agreed at the School Forum meeting of the 20 January 2014 that Agenda Item 11 Page 61
unallocated 2014/15 High Needs Block funding would be held in contingencies until funding issues are resolved, unspent funding will be redistributed to schools in 2015/16.
9. The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014:
BUDGET SPEND BALANCE £ £ £ Carry Forward from 2013/14 155,232 Unallocated HN Block 2014/15 851,470 Specialist Provision adjustment to top (282,249) up funding Adjustment to AP places for the ACB 560,042 Total SEN Contingency 1,006,702 277,793 1,284,495
Early Years Contingency
10 The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014:
BUDGET SPEND BALANCE £ £ £ Carry Forward from 2013/14 117,746 Budget Allocation 2014/15 135,715 January 2014 census adjustment 660,647 May 2014 census adjustment (570,455) October 2014 census adjustment 770,037 May/October 2014 PVI census (92,319) adjustment Total Ear ly Years Contingency 253,461 767,910 1,021,371
Appendices:
None Page 62
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Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: School Forum Budget
Report of: Sue Harrison, Director of Children ’s Services Summary: To provide an update on the use of the School Forum Budget for 2014/15.
Contact Officer: Dawn Hill, Priory House, Shefford Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council
RECOMMENDATION :
1. To note the School Forum spend to 31 December 2014 .
Background
1. The School Forum Budget falls under Schedule 2 of The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013. ‘Classes or descriptions of planned expenditure prescribed for the purposes of the Schools budget of a Local Authority which may be deducted from it to determine the Individual Schools Budget’ – ‘establishment and maintenance of, and consultation with, Schools Forums’. Any deduction must not exceed the amount deducted for the previous funding period.
2. A budget of £3,000 for 2014/15 has been set for costs associated with the operation of the Forum, with the continued membership of the F40 group and £2,000 delegated to the Chairman of the Schools Forum to fund the commissioning of consultancy and administration support. The level of the budget will be reviewed annually.
Expenditure 2014/15
3. The following table sets out the expenditure to 31 December 2014.
BUDGET SPEND BALANCE £ £ £ Carry Forward from 2013/14 1,444 Budget Allocation 2014/15 3,000 Venue Hire/Refreshments (128) F40 Subscription (1,000) Total 4,444 (1,128 ) 3,316
Appendices: None Page 64
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Meeting: Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Revised Schools Forum Constitution and Terms of Reference Report of: Mel Peaston, Committee Services Manager Summary: Th is report advises of the changes to membership of Schools Forums as identified in the Schools Revenue Funding 2015 to 2016.
Advising Officer: Mel Peaston, Committee Services Manager Contact Officer: Martha Clampitt, Committee Services Officer Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: None Function of: Council
CORPORATE IMPLICATIONS Council Priorities:
• Improved educational attainment.
Financial: 1. There are no financial implications arising from the report.
Legal: 2. The Constitution and Terms of Reference of the Schools Forum were previously drawn up to comply with Regulations issued in 2010. New Regulations were issued in 2014.
Equalities Implications : 3. To ensure that any decision does not unfairly discriminate, public authorities must be rigorous in reporting to Members the outcome of an equality impact assessment and the legal duties.
4. Public Authorities must ensure that decisions are made in a way which minimises unfairness, and without a disproportionately negative effect on people from different ethnic groups, disabled people, women and men. It is important that Councillors are aware of this duty before they take a decision.
5. The report proposes compliance with Government requirements which support equalities provision. .
Agenda Item 13 Page 66
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Forum is asked to note: a) the change of membership to the Forum required by the Department for Education as detailed in their report, titled Schools Revenue Funding 2015 to 2016; b) the additional consultation responsibilities regarding special spaces and AP places commissioning; and c) the adjustment to the quorum for the Forum from 7 to 10.
Information
6. The Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum Constitution and Terms of Reference has previously been amended in October 2013. The New Regulations were issued in 2014, which include a requirement to comply with the membership provisions by 1 April 2015.
7. The Forum has accordingly reviewed its membership provisions on 23 June 2014 (minute CBSF/14/9 refers) and agreed to increase the Lower and Middle Academy representation. The new Regulations, issued December 2014, require the addition of 2 new Academy Representatives (1 – AP and 1 for Special Academy, if relevant). The current Constitution and Terms of Reference are attached at Appendix A. The proposed changes are shown by track changes. The Education Funding Agency’s report” Schools Revenue Funding 2015 to 2016” can be found on the Education Funding Agency website. Page 28 of that report refers to Schools Forums, and is attached at Appendix B. Due to the increase in representatives on the Forum the quorate number increases to 10.
8 The report also provides in respect of two additional areas, special places and AP places being commissioned by the authority in different institutions, for the Forum to be consulted as detailed on page 28 of the Education Funding Agency report, attached at Appendix B.
Conclusion
9. The Forum is therefore asked to review the Constitution and Terms of Reference attached at Appendix A, which has been amended in line with the 2014 Regulations, and propose any further amendments so that the document can be re-drafted where necessary and brought back to the next meeting for approval.
Appendices: Appendix A – Constitution and Terms of Reference Appendix B – Schools revenue funding 2015 to 2016 (page 28)
Background Papers: (open to public inspection) None Agenda Item 13 Page 67
Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum
CONSTITUTION and TERMS OF REFERENCE
Definitions
The Forum = the Schools Forum for the area covered by Central Bedfordshire Council
The Council = Central Bedfordshire Council in its role as Local Education Author ity
1. The Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum (the Forum) will consist of up to 261 Members made up of 12 school members and 5 non school members , and 4 9 Academy representatives made up as follows:-
School Members ( 1221 )
2 Lower School Headteachers 2 Lower School Governors 1 Nursery School Headteacher 2 Middle School Headteachers 1 Middle School Governors 1 Upper School Headteachers 1 Upper School Governors 1 Special School Headteacher 31 Academy Lower School Representative 21 Academy Middle School Representative 2 Academy Upper School Representatives 1 ACB Representative 1 Special Academy Representative 1 PRU representative
Non School Members (5)
1 Roman Catholic Diocese Representative 1 Church of England Diocese Representative 1 Private, Voluntary or Independent sector Provider Representative 1 Elected representative Post 16 education provider (not a school or academy) 1 Trades Union Representative
Observer (non-voting)
the Council’s Executive Memb er for Children’s Services
October 2013January 2015 Agenda Item 13 Page 68
2. Forum Members will stand for three years at which time elections will take place for school Members and nominations will be sought for the non -school Members. Should a resignation be tendered from the Forum, an election will be held for the vacancy which will ensure that the representational balance is maintained. Each representative group (Headteachers and Governors by phase) will be responsible for the method by which they elect and nominate school Member representatives.
3. The Council will maintain a written record of the composition of the Schools Forum including the method by which representatives are elected or nominated. The Council will inform all schools of the membership of the Forum and will provide details of any non-school Member appointed to the Forum within one month of appointment. This will be carried out when constituting the Forum and after the appointment of any new or replacement Member.
4. Elected Members who hold an executive role within the Council and officers who have a role in strategic resource management of the authority are unable to be Members of the Forum (these restrictions do not apply to officers employed as teachers or who work for, and those who directly manage, a service which provides education to individual children and/or advice to schools on learning and behavioural matters). Despite these restrictions, officers and Members may attend and speak at Forum meetings. The Executive Member for Children’s Services will be invited to attend meetings of the Forum as an observer. Council officers will support meetings of the Forum.
5. The quorum for the Forum is 107 Members (representing two fifths of the total membership , as required under S3 para 8 of the Schools Forum (England) Reg ulations 2012) ..
6. Substitute Members will be allowed only after approval by the Forum.
7. The meetings of the Forum will be open to the public.
8. Members of the Forum are required to make declarations of interest on appointment and when, for example, the Forum is considering matters relating to contracts.
9. Meetings of the Forum will be called allowing at least two weeks notice. Supporting papers will be sent out at least five days before the meeting.
10. The Council shall appoint a Clerk for the Schools’ Forum who shall be in attendance at each meeting of the Forum and will take minutes. Meetings will be recorded for the purposes of the accuracy of the minutes only.
October 2013January 2015 Agenda Item 13 Page 69
11. All schools and associated groups will be provided with the minutes of all meetings of the Forum and of action taken by the Council on Forum advice.
12. Claiming of expenses for Forum Members will be in accordance with the Forum expenses policy document and claims will be made on the specific claim forms and duly authorised.
13. A budget of £3,000 will be available for each financial year for costs associated with the operation of the Forum e.g. hiring a venue, expenses and clerking costs. This will be a charge against the Council’s Local Schools Budget and retained centrally. The level of the budget will be reviewed annually.
Items for Forum Discussion
14. The Forum will discuss and be consulted upon the following matters:
Consultation on School funding formula
The Council shall consult the Forum on any proposed changes in relation to the factors and criteria that were taken into account, or the methods, principles and rules that have been adopted, in their formula made in accordance with regulations made under section 47 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, and the financial effect of any such change.
Consultation shall take place in sufficient time to allow the views expressed to be taken into account in the determination of the Council’s formula and in the initial determination of schools’ budget sh ares before the beginning of the financial year.
Consultation on Contracts
The Council shall, at least one month prior to the issue of invitations to tender, consult the Forum on the terms of any proposed contract for supplies or services being a contract paid or to be paid out of the Authority’s schools budget where either
a) the estimated value of the proposed public services contract is not less than the specific threshold which applies to the authority in pursuance of Regulation 7(1) of the Public Services Contracts Regulations 1993; or
b) the estimated value of the proposed public supply contract is not less than the specific threshold which applies to the authority in pursuance of Regulation 7 (2) of the Public Supply Contracts Regulations 1995.
Consultation on financial issues
October 2013January 2015 Agenda Item 13 Page 70
The Council shall consult the Forum annually in respect of its functions relating to the schools budget, in connection with the following:
a) the arrangements to be made for the education of pupils with speci al educational needs;
b) arrangements for the use of pupil referral units and the education of children otherwise than at school;
c) arrangements for early years education;
d) arrangements for insurance
e) prospective revisions to the authority ’s scheme for the financing of schools;
f) administrative arrangements for the allocation of central government grants paid to schools via the authority; and
g) arrangements for free school meals
Consultation on other matters
The Council shall consult the Forum on arrangements for
a) the mainstreaming of Teachers’ pay grants into the Council’s school funding formula;
b) updating non-AWPU data within the multi-year budget cycle ;.
c) any special spaces to be commissioned by the authority in different institutions, and the arrangements for paying top -up funding; and
d) any AP places to be commissioned by the authority and by schools in PRUs and other providers of AP, and the arrangements for paying top -up funding.
The Council may consult the Forum on such other matters concerning the funding of schools as they see fit.
15. The Forum shall also have the following powers:
a) to agree minor changes to the operation of the minimum funding guarantee, where the outcome would otherwise be anomalous, and where not more than 20% of the Authority’s schools are affected. Changes affecting more than 20% of schools will have to be approved by the Secretary of State;
b) to agree to the level of school specific contingency at the beginning of each year;
October 2013January 2015 Agenda Item 13 Page 71
c) to agree arrangements for combining elements of the centrally retained Schools Budget with elements of other Council and other agencies’ budgets to create a combined children’s services budget in circumstances where there is a clea r benefit for schools and pupils in doing so;
d) in exceptional circumstances only:
i. to agree an increase in the amount of expenditure the Council can retain from its Schools Budget above that allowed for in the regulations;
ii. to agree an increase in centrally retained expenditure within the Schools Budget once a multi -year funding period has begun; and
iii. to agree changes to the Council’s funding formula once it has been announced prior to the start of a multi -year funding period.
16. Should a judgment be necessary on whether a matter falls within the remit of the Forum, for example whether an item has financial implications, the Council’s Head of Service for Finance and Head of Service for Learning and Schools and the Chair of the Forum shall jointly make the necessary determination.
17. There will be a minimum of 4 meetings per year in accordance with the Schools Forum (England) Regulations 201 2, however there will usually be 5 meetings per year.
18. For decision-making purposes each Forum member will be entitled to 1 vote. In the case of an equal number of votes for and against a proposal, the Chair shall have a second or casting vote.
19. Where an urgent proposal needs to be considered in advance of a meeting, the Forum may be consulted via post or e-mail.
20. The Constitution and Terms of Reference of the Forum will be reviewed annually.
21. A Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected by the Forum from its voting membership annually or at the first meeting following any resignation. A voting Member who is also an elected Member or officer of the Council may not be elected Chair or Vice -Chair. At any meeting where both the Chair and Vice -Chair are absent, the Forum shall elect, from those voting Members present, a person to take the Chair for that meeting only.
October 2013January 2015 Page 72
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Meeting: Schools Forum Date: 26 January 2015 Subject: Outline Forward Programme
Report of: Director of Children ’s Services Summary: To provide an update on the likely programme for the next year.
Contact Officer: Dawn Hill, Technology House, Bedford Public/Exempt: Public Wards Affected: All Function of: Council Reason for urgency (if appropriate)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. To note the programme .
Update
1. Set out in the table below are the likely agenda items for the Schools Forum for the 2014/15 Financial Year. The programme will need to be flexible, to respond to national and local policy issues and the actual timings of preparatory work, including that of any sub-groups.
September November January March Dedicated School Grant Yes Yes Yes Yes National Consultation Funding Yes Yes Early Years Reference Group Yes Yes Technical Funding Group Yes Yes Yes Yes SEN Review Yes Pupil Referral Unit Yes License Deficit Schools Yes Yes Scheme for Financing Schools Yes School Capital Programme Yes School Carbon Reduction Action Yes Plan 14 – 19 Arrangements Yes School Risk Register Yes Yes School Contingency and Forum Yes Yes Yes Yes Budget
Appendices: None Page 74
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