Agenda and minutes

Linda Abbott

Carol Barker

Kathryn Bouchlaghem

Jo Bradley

Moria Dales

Shaun Farrington

Dean Pomeroy

Lucy Savage

Ed Williams

None

Last meeting held on 13 February 2014 for confirmation

The Forum confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2014 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Laura Wilson, Clerk to the Forum, updated the work programme at the meeting to:

(a)  defer the report of Effective Early Assessment for Children in Schools to the next meeting of Forum;

(b)  correct the Budget monitoring statement scheduled to 2014/15 instead of 2013/14;

(c)  include the outturn report for 2013/14;

(d)  note the possibility of a report on High Needs Funding block.

Report of Finance Business Partner, Children and Adults

Ceri Walters, Finance Business Partner, Children and Adults, introduced her report detailing the Schools Budget for 2014/15, which has been prepared in line with parameters agreed at Schools Forum and financial regulations issued by the Department for Education (DfE). The Forum had previously discussed this at its 13 January 2014 meeting (minute 29).

The following comments were made during the discussion:

(a)  the detail on the High Needs Block will be included in a separate report to the Forum;

(b)  the impact of the Children’s and Families Bill can be linked to the High Needs Block report for July;

(c)  summer schools funding is for secondary schools only and remains at £250 per eligible pupil;

(d)  there are concerns surrounding schools delivering the increase in Free School Meals (FSM) for all Year 1 and 2 pupils with limited kitchen facilities. It may also affect Pupil Premium figures as it is allocated to schools based on FSM;

(e)  parents may still apply for FSM as those entitled to them also get a uniform allowance and free milk;

(f)  a number of schools have received additional kitchen equipment during the Easter holidays to cope with the increase in pupils having FSM and plans are in place to expand some kitchens;

(g)  there is an element of unfairness with some schools receiving additional funding for split site catering costs when other schools have managed it without requesting funding;

(h)  there is a need for a funding formula review. The allocation of additional funding for split site catering costs is a short term solution as the schools would previously have had 2 kitchen allocations and now receive one as they have become a primary school rather than a separate infant and junior school;

(i)  the use of reserves to support split site catering should only be agreed for 2013/14 and not for 2014/15 as well.

RESOLVED

(1)  for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to note:

(a)  that the value of the 2014/15 DSG schools budget is £228.310 million;

(b)  the allocation of the Schools and Early Years budget totalling £203.009 million, as set out in Table 7 in paragraph 5.3 of the report;

(c)  that the allocation to the High Needs Block will form part of a separate report;

(d)  that any unallocated DSG will be transferred to the Statutory Schools Reserve (SSR), as detailed in paragraph 5.6 of the report;

(e)  the value of the SSR at 1 April 2014 is currently estimated to be £4.270 million, as detailed in paragraph 5.9 of the report, with risks valued at £3.916 million, as detailed in paragraph 5.10 of the report;

(2)  for Pupil Premium to note:

(a)  the allocation of Pupil Premium, approximately £19.1 million, to schools in accordance with the grant conditions detailed in paragraph 2.7 of the report;

(b)  the allocation of Summer Schools funding and Year 7 Catch Up Premium grant to schools, noting that the actual figure will be based on actual activity confirmed by the DfE;

(3)  to approve  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of Head of Education Partnerships

Alistair Conquer, Head of Education Partnerships, introduced his report detailing the changes to the Schools Forum constitution and membership for approval by the Forum for implementation from September 2014. The Forum had previously discussed this at its 13 February 2014 meeting (minute 35).

The following comments were made during the discussion:

(a)  18 is a small number for membership and may not be representative;

(b)  the meetings of Forum are public so can be attended by any interested party. Non members will not be able to vote on matters but may be able to speak at the discretion of the Chair;

(c)  the revised structure can be reviewed at the end of the first year;

(d)  the unions feel that they should have two votes – one to represent teachers and one to represent support staff;

(e)  members have to be balanced and if the union votes are increased other membership categories would also have to be increased;

(f)  all consultation responses on the revisions have been addressed in Appendix 2 of the report;

(g)  elections for the new membership will be held between now and the end of term and the timeline for the elections will be included when nominations are requested.

RESOLVED to approve:

(1)  the changes to the membership of the Schools Forum from September 2013, as detailed on page 4 of the constitution;

(2)  the revised constitution, noting the revised election procedures for members, for implementation from September 2014, as detailed in Appendix 3 of the report;

(3)  the revised meeting cycle of 6 meetings per academic year from September 2014.

Report of Senior Achievement Consultant

Jane Daffé, Senior Achievement Consultant, introduced her report detailing proposals to end the external provision for Year 11 EAL and to deliver the same services through EAL specialists in the Identity, Diversity and EAL (IDEAL) Team at the Djanogly City Academy site. The Forum had previously discussed this at its 21 March 2013 meeting (minute 38).

The following comments were made during discussion:

(a)  pupils are also accepted at the end of Year 10;

(b)  progress is currently restricted as most pupils tend to continue in post 16 EAL courses at Central College;

(c)  the service would welcome working with more mainstream schools to give students experience;

(d)  working with more mainstream schools would enable the size of the cohort to be increased;

(e)  it is important to look at the outcomes for EAL students across the City to ensure that resources are focussed in the right places.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve not renewing the contract with Central College at the end of the 2013/14 academic year (July 2014), noting that the contract is annually renewable and a maximum of £149,000 is set aside for the external provision;

(2)  note the required funding estimated at £110,000 in the first year (2014/15) for the Djanogly based provision which will be planned, managed and part-delivered by EAL specialists with the IDEAL Team, School Access and Improvement. Noting that the target is to reduce this in subsequent years as the initial set-up costs will only be required in the first year and the allocated funding will cover staffing, administration, premises, resources and curriculum materials;

(3)  note the requirement to recruit additional experienced staff member(s) to jointly deliver the full-time provision i.e. 1 part-time teacher (0.5 FTE), 1 full-time Teaching Assistant, alongside the existing Local Authority consultant team who will establish and manage the provision and jointly provide a proportion of the teaching, at a cost of £42,000 which is included within the £110,000 above;

(4)  approve that any 2013/14 underspend associated with this service is allocated back to the Dedicated Schools Grant reserve and earmarked to support any unforeseen implications from the Children and Families Bill in 2014/15, noting that this will be incorporated into the 2013/14 outturn report.

Report of Sport, Outdoor Learning and Adventure Services Manager

Alistair Conquer, Head of Education Partnerships, introduced the Sport, Outdoor Learning and Adventure Services Manager’s report requesting a 6 month extension to funding to enable the Education Partnerships advice service to become fully traded from 1 September 2014.

RESOLVED to

(1)  approve the £0.030 million funding of this service in 2014/15 from the Statutory School Reserve (SSR), as detailed in section 5 of the report;

(2)  note that any underspends that arise from 2013/14 against SSR allocations will be carried forward into 2014/15;

(3)  note the new charging mechanism that will be in place from 1 September 2014, detailed in paragraph 5.3 of the report.

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration

of the remaining item(s) in accordance with section 100a(4) of the Local

Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the

circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption

outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

The Forum decided to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the next agenda item in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on that basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of Project Manager, School Organisation

Jonny Kirk, Acting Service Manager, Access to Learning, introduced the Project Manager, School Organisation’s report.

Representatives from the school were in attendance for this item.

RESOLVED to approve the recommendations in the report.

At this point the meeting became open to the public again.

Report of Finance Business Partner, Children and Adults

Ceri Walters, Finance Business Partner, Children and Adults, introduced her report requesting membership to establish a sub-group to review the factors to be used to allocate the Dedicated Schools Grant to ensure that they are still fit for purpose.

RESOLVED to

(1)  include Janet Molyneux as a member of the sub-group and request that Mark Precious, Terry Smith and Chris Skeats also participate in the sub-group;

(2)  note that Alistair Conquer or Tim O’Neill will provide officer representation on the sub-group;

(3)  note that the sub-group has no decision making powers and will make recommendations which Schools Forum will have to formally approve at a future meeting.

For information only

This item was an update from the Department for Education that was for information only.

For information. Consultation responses can be completed online at www.education.gov.uk/consultations, by emailing: esg.CONSULTATION@education.gsi.gov.uk or by downloading a response form which should be completed and sent to: Emily Barbour, Funding Policy Unit, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT.

This item was an update from the Department for Education that was for information only.

Report of Director of Family Community Teams

This item was deferred to the July meeting of the Forum.