Agenda and minutes

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2012

            Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2012 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Minute 18 – Ian Bickerton (Director Access and Provision) advised that with the agreement of the Chair, a report on the Forum’s membership would be submitted to the next meeting. The Forum was reminded of the decisions taken on the membership at the October 2011 meeting, including the changes to the composition of the School Members (head teachers and governors) for secondary schools. The school membership needed to reflect the situation within the Borough but with a series of schools converting to academy status over the next few months, it was sensible to wait until numbers were more settled.

Minute 22 – Ian Bickerton stated that there had been further discussions on the Trade Unions Facilities Agreement and it had been considered by the Education Joint Consultative Committee on two occasions. The result was a few relatively minor changes to the Agreement and a copy was distributed for information.

            Steve Haley (Group finance Manager) submitted a report with draft Terms of Reference covering the scope and operation of the Schools Forum Sub-Group.

            Resolved – That the Schools Forum agrees to the adoption of the Terms of Reference set out in paragraph 2 of the report in respect of the Forum’s Sub-Group.

            Steve Haley (Group Finance Manager) presented a report with information on the projected 2011/12 year end balances of Swindon schools.  He advised that this report followed on from the ones submitted to the meetings on 11^th October 2011 and 17^th January 2012 regarding the new trial scheme.  Details of the estimated year end balances were shown in Appendix A and although it did not include any information from the Academies, they would all be asked to provide the same details for information purposes in April.  Mr Haley again stressed that the focus of the new scheme was to improve financial forecasting and there would not be any claw back of excess balances during 2012.

            Resolved – That the Forum notes the estimated value of committed and uncommitted balances which Swindon schools expect to have available after closure of the 2011/12 financial year.

            The Forum considered a report by Steve Haley (Group Finance Manager) regarding the estimated Dedicated Schools Grant and Pupil Premium position for 2012/13 and other school funding issues.

Mr Haley talked members through the report, commenting on the various items and highlighting the decisions required by the Forum.  He remarked on the Pupil Premium funding, with particular reference to the allocation for Looked after Children, as there was an element of discretion allowed in its allocation.  The proposal was to continue with the current method of distribution and details of how this worked out were included at paragraph 2.8 of the report.  Rachael Mattey (Secondary Head Teacher) stated that whilst she was happy to agree the proposal for 2012/13 the method should be reviewed each year and not automatically carried forward.

 Mr Haley referred to the centrally retained budget position and commented on the 2010/11 underspend that was available for distribution during 2012/13, along with the projected underspend for 2011/12.  A summary of the potential funding to be carried forward to 2012/13, totalling £590,000, was detailed in paragraph 3.5 of the report.

Reference was made to the revised funding scheme for Special Schools that was the subject of a report elsewhere in the agenda. Although a similar approach to funding the Borough’s Special Resource Provision was to be developed, Mr Haley advised that it had not been possible to complete this for 2012/13 but it would be prepared for implementation in 2013/14.  Nick Capstick (Secondary Head Teacher) commented on the number of Special Resource Provision (SRP) Units based in mainstream schools and stressed the need to ensure that SRP funding issues did not detrimentally impact on the mainstream schools. 

The Chair referred to paragraph 5.4 of the report regarding the request for discretionary funding following the amalgamation of Gorse Hill Infant and Junior Schools.  He proposed that the Forum’s Sub-Group should consider the issue and provide advice to the Local Authority on behalf of the Forum.  Members endorsed this proposal but stated that the Sub-Group would need to include a representative from each phase of education.

Mr Haley concluded by advising that individual school funding allocations would be issued as soon as possible, but certainly by 12^th March 2012.  Once 2012/2013 details had been cleared he would then consider future years to provide an indication of each settings funding levels for 2013/14 and 2014/15. 

            Resolved – That the Schools Forum:

            (1)  Notes and agrees the Local Authority’s estimate of Swindon’s 2012/13 Dedicated Schools Grant of £139.838m and the Pupil Premium of £3.829m settlements compared to the current year.

            (2)  Notes and agrees the Local Authority’s proposals on how the Looked after Children Pupil Premium is to be utilized during 2012/13 but determines that there should be an annual review of the allocation method.

            (3) Notes and agrees the Local Authority’s proposed centrally retained budget requirement for 2012/13 of £18.015m.

(4)  Agrees the changes in provision and funding of Special Resource Provision in main stream settings in 2012/13 which will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

            Steve Haley presented a report to inform members of a new funding system for Special Schools.  He advised that the revised system had been developed in conjunction with the Association of Swindon Special School Headteachers (ASSSH) and would be implemented from 2012/13.  Overall, the new funding formula provided a fairer way of allocating funds but the Local Authority appreciated the impact it would have on the two Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) schools that would have reductions in funding for the next three years because of the change. Peter Smith (Trade Unions) commented on the reduced budgets and the possibility of staff redundancies, with the subsequent impact on children.

            Resolved – The Schools Forum:

            (1) Notes the background, context and principles to the review of Swindon’s Special School Funding system.

            (2) Supports the Local Authority’s proposed introduction of a new Special School Funding system with effect from 2012/13.

            (3) Notes and supports the Local Authority’s intention to develop a new methodology for the funding of Special Resource Provision for implementation with effect from 2013/14.

            The Forum considered a report by Steve Haley (Group Finance Manager) seeking support to a range of local formula redistribution changes that the Local Authority wished to implement with effect from 2012/13 following a consultation process with the Schools Forum Sub-Group and the three Swindon Associations of Head Teachers. 

Mr Haley reminded members of the background to the report and referred them to Appendix A which provided an overview of the current funding of mainstream schools. 

During 2011 the Department for Education undertook a consultation exercise which was critical of the complexity of existing local funding formulas and the Local Authority supported its view that the number of funding factors should be reduced.  At the October meeting the Forum agreed changes to the re-distribution of certain funding streams and agreed in principle to others, subject to the Local Authority and the Forum’s Sub-Group further developing the proposals on the basis that the allocations to individual schools were not significantly affected.  Initial proposals were presented to the Forum in January but it was recognized that the cumulative effect of the changes would result in a significant reduction of funding for some schools and therefore further work was needed.  The Sub-Group had since met on three occasions and there had also been meetings with the Headteachers associations to refine the proposals.  The Local Authority believed that the changes now proposed for 2012/13 improved fairness without significantly affecting individual schools, although it was recognized that it would be detrimental to a small number of schools.

Mr Haley commented on the Authority’s concern that some schools seemed unaware that areas of the funding formula were being reviewed.  He referred to the various ways that information was disseminated but stressed that whilst the Local Authority had a requirement to consult with the Schools Forum, it was keen to improve communication with schools on financial matters and asked for suggestions from members on how this could be achieved. As an example, John Gilbert (Group Director Children) had suggested that an annual conference on school funding including any consultation issues could be arranged around November time.  Paul Boyles (Primary Governor) requested that all School Forum members be informed of when Sub-Group meetings were taking place in case they wished to attend.  Julie Tridgell (Secondary Head Teacher) advised that it was not so much that schools didn’t know what was happening, but that in view of the extent of the changes the period of notice was too short.

Peter Smith (Trade Unions) commented on the report, disputing the need to alter the current method of funding distribution.  He remarked on how schools were already struggling to show improvement and stated that the proposed changes ignored the needs of pupils.  Rachael Mattey (Secondary Head Teacher) stated that it was about two years since the Government had indicated that school funding arrangements needed simplifying.  Historically, some Swindon schools had received additional grant funding to meet specific needs at that time. Other authorities that had not received any additional grant funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

            Meeting dates for the next Municipal Year have not yet been finalised but it is anticipated that they will take place at similar times to this year – that is in July, October, January and March. Members will be informed of the exact dates when confirmed.

            The Forum noted that meeting dates for the next Municipal Year had yet to be finalised but that it was anticipated the dates would be at similar times to the current year.