Agenda item

To seek agreement from the Forum to proposals for the 2023-24 Early Years budgets, including the values to be attributed to the Bracknell Forest Council Early Years Funding Formula.

The Forum considered a report which sought agreement to proposals for the 2023-24 Early Years budgets, including the values to be attributed to the Bracknell Forest Council Early Years Funding Formula.

Cherry Hall explained that the Forum had agreed during the meeting in December 2022 to keep the funding formula as it was and that in the absence of a funding update from the government, to plan to allocate any  increase in funding into the base rate. 

Subsequent to this, the government had now confirmed that in 2023-24, the council was due to receive a 4.9% increase from the DfE for 3- and 4-year-olds, and a 9.9% increase for 2-year-olds.  However, given the proposed adjustments to some council managed budgets and differences in census points used by the DfE to fund the council compared to those used to fund providers, there were sufficient funds to propose an indicative funding increase to providers of 5.4% for 3- and 4-year-olds and 13.5% for 2-year-olds, which would be a bigger increase than the council was receiving. 

Additionally, the Department for Education had updated the base data used to distribute funding to LAs.  The new data indicated a 10.9% funding increase for 3- and 4 years olds and a 19% increase for 2 year olds.  However, the actual increases were lower to finance funding protection to areas which otherwise would be subject to funding cuts. 

The Forum noted that, although it was positive that there was an indicative funding increase, it recognised that due to general cost increases, there was still likely to be a real terms cut. 

The Forum queried whether the council had done a risk assessment as to whether any providers would no longer be viable and whether this could lead to pressure on places.  Cherry Hall replied that this was an ongoing piece of work and that they always encouraged providers to come forward as soon as they realised there could be an issue.  There had been some providers which had been looking at closing but had gone on to become sustainable by working with the council.  The team had been doing lots of mini surveys to understand the picture across the Early Years’ service.  There had also been issues with recruitment and retention which the council was assisting providers with as some were at capacity as they had been unable to recruit further staff for more children. 

RESOLVED, considering the Early Years Budget proposal from the council

1.     to AGREE that for the 2023-24 financial year the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning sets:

i.        the Early Years Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) income budget at £8.689m (Table 2 of the report);

ii.       the funding rates in the Early Years Funding Formula be as set out in Table 3 of the report;

iii.      the proposed budgets be as set out in Annex 2 of the report; and

iv.     the proposed changes to the arrangements for the Early Years Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund be as set out in paragraphs 5.19 and 5.20 of the report; and

2.     to NOTE the impact of funding protection introduced by the Department for Education in the latest DSG on early years funding rates in Bracknell Forest as set out in paragraphs 5.7 to 5.9 of the report.