Agenda item

To update the Forum on school funding and to seek comments on proposals from the Council for the 2015-16 Schools Block element of the Schools Budget.

The Forum received a report providing members with an update on school funding and which sought comments on proposals from the Council for the 2015-16 Schools Block element of the Schools Budget. The Forum was aware of the significant financial pressures on external placement costs for High Needs Pupils, which were now estimated at £2.168m for 2015-16.

This significant cost pressure could only reasonably be financed by using funding intended for schools. The consequence of this was that of the £2.824m additional resources in next year’s Schools Block budget, only changes in pupil numbers and their characteristics would be fully funded with schools needing to absorb all other cost pressures.

Whilst 2015-16 was considered the most difficult Schools Budget the Council had to propose to date, it was also highlighted that significant cost pressures were already known to exist in future years, meaning further challenges lie ahead.

In response to the proposals, Secondary Headteacher Forum members expressed concern that financial pressures would be very challenging this year for schools in Bracknell and were concerned about the effect on levels of teaching and being able to respond to the challenges of Ofsted.

RESOLVED that the Forum AGREED:

1. that up to £0.06m of specialist school improvement and management support costs can be charged to the budget to support schools in financial difficulty to reflect actual levels of support being provided (paragraph 5.40);
2. that the requirement to hold £0.51m in general reserves as a contingency provision against unforeseen cost increases is waived one year for the 2015-16 budget (paragraph 5.42);
3. that the arrangements in place for the administration of central government grants are appropriate (paragraph 5.46);
4. the budget amounts for each of the services centrally managed by the council and funded from the School Block DSG as set out in Annex 1 (paragraph 5.48);
5. that any year end deficit on centrally managed budgets, currently estimated at £0.295m can be carried forward and funded from a future Schools Budget (paragraph 5.49);

In its role as the representative body of schools and other providers of education and childcare, the Forum REQUESTED that the Executive Member AGREE the following decisions for the 2015-16 Schools Budget:

6. the self-balancing budget adjustments set out in lines 3 and 4 of Table 2;
7. the £2.824m of additional resources are allocated to the budget areas set out in Table 2 as follows:
   1. £0.929m into delegated school budgets including the release of £0.1m from the Job Evaluation Reserve to part finance the estimated cost of the Bracknell Forest Supplement (column 1);
   2. a £0.098m deduction in centrally managed budgets (column 3);
   3. £1.938m of Schools Block DSG in 2015-16to support High Needs pupils (column 4)
8. that the budget for Schools Block DSG is reset to £65.276m and other Schools Block related grants reset to anticipated 2015-16 amounts (paragraphs 5.16 and 5.41);
9. that the DfE pro forma template of the 2015-16 BF Funding Formula for Schools as set out in Annex 5 be submitted for the 20 January deadline (paragraph 5.10).

RESOLVED that the Forum NOTED:

10. the range of cost pressures that schools were likely to need to finance from within existing resources (paragraph 5.43);
11. the anticipated future cost pressures for which a financial provision would need to be made in the near future (paragraph 5.52);
12. that proposals in respect of the Early Years and High Needs Block elements of the Schools Block would be presented to the Forum in March when more information was available in respect of funding and likely costs (paragraph 5.59).