Agenda item

The Forum was presented with a report on proposals from the Council for the 2016/17 Early Years and High Needs Block elements of the Schools Budget. Recommendations agreed from this report would form the basis of proposals to be presented to the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning.

Early Years Block

Paul Clark, Head of Departmental Finance, Children Young People and Learning said the DfE had confirmed that per child funding for Early Years Block for universal entitlement to 15 hours a week free education and childcare for 3 and 4 year olds would remain unchanged from 2015/16 meaning no allowance would be made for inflation or other pressures. The funding rate would therefore stay at £3,928.30 which was equivalent to £4.13 per hour per child using the DfE calculation of the standard full time education rate of 25 hours a week for 38 weeks a year (950 hours in a year).

Taking account of this information, the initial Early Years Block DSG income is forecast to be £5.196m, and the budget was recommended to be set at this level, with funding rates top be paid to providers remaining unchanged from the current year with the following changes to the budget being proposed:

1.  Updated budget provision for payments to providers to reflect:

·      Estimated actual participation rates for 3 and 4 year olds by provider using May 2015, October 2015 and January 2016 data for 2016/17.  Payments would be adjusted during 2016/17 to reflect actual participation and any difference in actual payments to the estimates would be funded through the contingency.  This would equate to an increase of £0.049m.

·         Actual participation rates for 2 year olds by provider based on January 2016 data which reflected the current take-up.  Again, payments would be adjusted in-year to reflect actual participation and funded through the contingency as necessary.  This equated to a cost reduction of £0.036m.

2. Following the restructure within the Early Help provision, the service delivered at the Margaret Wells Furby Children’s Resource Centre was brought in-house with effect from April 2015.  Third sector staff had transferred into the BFC Early Help Inclusion Team and the restructure had led to improved service delivery and outcomes for children and families.  This change equated to a net nil budget adjustment.

The Forum examined the figures for the Early Years Block Budget of £5.196m for 2016/17.  Questions and comments from forum members were received in respect of:

• The net cost of £11,210 for free milk to eligible children.  Milk was donated by the EU and the budget was needed in order to manage the provision which some Members felt was beneficial to the children.  Discussion took place as to whether the budget could be better utilised by being diverted to a service that had been identified in the proposed additional economies for CYPL. However, it was believed there was a requirement by LAs to provide free milk to eligible children but Members would be advised if this was not the case.
• Funding for one FTE Early Years Development Officer.  Members were advised this was not a new post and was supporting early years providers in tracking and monitoring children’s progress to ensure school readiness.
• Members were advised there was no further update from the DfE on the practical implementations of doubling free childcare entitlement from 15 hours to 30 hours for eligible working families with 3 and 4 year olds or the proposal to increase the average hourly rate paid to childcare providers.

High Needs Block

Members were advised that the Education Funding Agency had calculated an initial 2016/17 High Needs Block allocation for Bracknell Forest of £11.902m, an increase of £0.183m on the current budget.  This allocation included £0.215m which was a share of the confirmed additional national funding of £92m added by the DfE for distribution to LAs based on population aged 2-19 years.  Members were advised that as the final High Needs Block DSG would not be confirmed until the end of March it was proposed to retain the increase of £0.183m in case of an adjustment to the places deduction or if actual costs incurred exceeded budget estimates.

With regard to Rise@GHC, the new 56 place Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) pupil facility at Eastern Road, the original funding model anticipated annual savings when fully opened of around £0.72m on placement fees from 35 BF resident students, with additional placements being made, and paid for, by other LAs. However, the DfE were changing the way that non maintained special schools were to be funded for places, with there no longer being an increase to an LAs High Needs Block DSG if less external places are required. This therefore reduced the anticipated savings by half to around £0.36m which meant a lower contribution to planned cost reductions than previously anticipated. An adjustment to the 2016/17 budget plan would therefore be required.

The report set out the good progress made in managing down 2015/16 expenditure on high needs budgets, with a forecast saving of £0.447m together with an anticipated under spend of £0.048m by other centrally managed budgets in the Schools Budget making an aggregate forecast under spend of £0.495m.

The SEN Team, supported by Finance, had reviewed all High Needs budgets and a number of changes to budgets were proposed of which the key aspects were: 

• The majority of savings being experienced in the current year on external placements were expected to continue into 2016/17, with a full year effect saving of £0.483m; £0.707m basic savings, with £0.224m arising from reduced numbers of ASD placements following the opening of Rise@GHC, where the resultant budget saving needs to be transferred.

• To reflect the additional number of post 16 places expected as the age of funding responsibility had been extended, provision for 15 additional element 3 top up payments and 25 new places at £6,000 each (EFA would pay the first £4,000). Estimated cost of £0.264m.

• An increase in average support needs in 2015-16 at Kennel Lane Special school was expected to create a pressure of £0.295m.

• Income from the EFA for post 16 places at Kennel Lane Special school would be above the current income target by £0.088m.

The report recommended the Forum agree this approach to setting the High Needs

Block related budgets to the Executive Member and to confirm that appropriate arrangements were in place for the education of pupils with SEN and use of pupil referral units and the education of children not in school.

The report stated that further medium term pressures were anticipated from demographic and legislative changes. Therefore, the Council had proposed an independent review of High Needs funding in order to help identify further opportunities for the efficient use of resources and also to maximise the benefits for high needs pupils. The intention was to conduct the review during the summer term 2016 and that the team would comprise an experienced head teacher with senior leadership experience in both mainstream and special schools and a senior officer level post with experience of managing SEN services in at least two LAs. The proposed terms of reference were set out in Annex 6 of the report.

Questions and comments from forum members were received in respect of:

• The proposed budget of £5,000 to prevent exclusions.  Members were advised this figure was intended for short term intervention and had been based on current spend.
• Was Bracknell Forest meeting its statutory duty to primary excluded children not able to access school education? Officers commented they were not aware of any primary excluded children but provision would be made for them via the home tuition service.  In those circumstances, the school making the exclusion had to provide the funds via a transfer of the initial monies allocated to it for that child to whichever service the child then received. 

The Forum AGREED the following recommendations made in the report:

That the Executive Member makes the following decisions:

For the Early Years Block funded budgets:

• That funding rates for the free entitlement to early years education and childcare for 2, 3 and 4 year olds remain unchanged from those paid in the 2015/16 financial year.
• That the total initial budget was set at £5.196m.

For the High Needs Block funded budgets:

• The total initial budget was set at £14.312m.

• In its role of statutory decision maker, that there are appropriate arrangements in place for:

1.      Early years provision

2.      The education of pupils with SEN, and

3.      The use of pupil referral units and the education of children otherwise than at school

• The terms of reference for the High Needs funding review.