Agenda item

Report of Inclusion Officer

Michael Wilsher, Inclusion Officer, introduced his report informing the Forum that the local authority will recommence a cost recovery model for permanent exclusions for all secondary schools and academies from September 2014, and highlighted the following points:

(a)  the local authority and all city schools and academies are committed to reducing exclusions, however, there has been a significant increase in the amount of permanent exclusions from primary and secondary schools and academies;

(b)  current legislation states that the local authority is responsible for arranging suitable full time education for permanently excluded pupils form the 6^th day of exclusion and, as a result of this a full cost recovery model was implemented in 2010 to ensure that funding was available for the local authority to carry out its statutory duty;

(c)  the original model included £300,000 from headroom funding to support schools in meeting the full cost recovery of £14,900 for the first year or the first 2 exclusions. Schools were only charged the Average Weighted Pupil Unit rate and the £300,000 topped up the value to £14,900;

(d)  full cost recovery continued in 2011/12 and 2012/13 but, due to changes in Learning Centre funding, it was agreed that full cost recovery would not operate in 2013/14;

(e)  the figures for permanent exclusions from secondary schools over the last 5 years are:

·  2009/10 – 58;

·  2010/11 – 30;

·  2011/12 – 42;

·  2012/13 – 27;

·  2013/14 – 74;

(f)  the figures for permanent exclusions from primary schools over the last 5 years are:

·  2009/10 – 10;

·  2010/11 – 7;

·  2011/12 – 6;

·  2012/13 – 12;

·  2013/14 – 21;

(g)  it is the intention to use the cost recovery to allow partnership between schools/academies and the local authority to support early intervention to reduce permanent exclusions. As well as supporting intervention projects it will also provide a mechanism to ensure the local authority can provide full time education to permanently excluded pupils if the number increase beyond the capacity of the Learning Centres;

(h)  the Average Weighted Pupil Unit will be charged for the first two permanent exclusions from any single secondary school or academy, but cost recovery of £14,900 will be effective for any further exclusions.

The following comments were made during the discussion:

(i)  there appears to be a cross-over between cost recovery and the de-delegation requested for the work of the Behaviour Support Team;

(j)  the legal advice in paragraph 6.4 says that the Forum has to approve the decision but the recommendation is for it to be noted;

(k)  if all excluded pupils can’t be educated at a Learning Centre because the capacity has been reached, the local authority has to find education for them in another way which would require additional funding;

(l)  the top-up funding for Learning Centres that will take effect in April 2015 needs to recognise deprivation;

(m)  the budgets for Learning Centres and alternative provision aren’t clear which makes it difficult to make a decision on cost recovery;

(n)  a sub-group of the Forum is meeting in November to look at the Learning Centre budgets for next year;

(o)  consultation documents regarding alternative provision have been sent out but not all Headteachers have been involved in the process;

(p)  there needs to be a link between the money asked for and the implications on schools budgets;

(q)  the Learning Centres don’t require money so it is unclear what impact the money gained from cost recovery would have. It is also unclear how previous money from cost recovery was used;

(r)  the number of exclusions from primary schools is worrying.

RESOLVED to defer taking a decision until the December 2014 meeting to enable the following information to be provided:

·  a clear description of Learning Centre budgets, including costs and funding;

·  where from schools budgets the £14,900 is expected to come from;

·  what the £14,900 will be used for;

·  the total amount of money available for alternative provision;

·  whether the Forum notes the decision or approves it.