Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services.

The report provides an update to Schools Forum members of the estimated 2016/17 revenue funding provided via the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and any other associated funding streams. The report also provides of the 2016/17 budget requirements, plans and timeline and seeks Schools Forum’s decision on De-Delegation matters for 2016/17.

Schools Forum is asked to consider the detailed recommendations in the report.

Officer Contact: Peter Hughes on 0161 474 3947 or email: peter.hughes@stockport.gov.uk.  

A representative of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update to Schools Forum members of the estimated 2016/17 revenue funding provided via the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and any other associated funding streams. The report also provided details on the 2016/17 budget requirements, plans and timeline.

The schools block element of funding would continue to be based on the autumn term pupil count information taken from the termly census collection. The school pupil population was estimated at 37,036 with a total of £156,625m, illustrating an additional £1.840m of headroom for the pupil population increase of 436 pupils.

The Local Authority was required to adjust the pupil numbers in the local funding formula to account for schools expanding as part of the basic need provision of school places, therefore the total increase in pupil numbers funded through the formula from the 2015/16 baseline would be 540 pupils. Based on these pupil estimates and application of the process at section 4.2 it would require deployment of approx. £1.402m of the available headroom within the current 2016/17 DSG allocation to the local funding formula model. The remaining £0.438m would then be available for deployment to the high needs block and effectively reduce the requirement to deploy DSG reserves to the baseline budget. The growth in pupil population in turn would mean an increase in the number of pupils qualifying for funding via the other additional factors in the local model (i.e. deprivation, SEN, EAL, etc.) and was accounted for in the estimated £1.402m deployment of available headroom.

The LA is required to submit to the DfE the final annual pro-forma toolkit (APT) of the 2016/17 local funding formula by 22 January 2016 outlining all the individual school/LA detail of the above. The final version will be presented to Schools Forum in January prior to submission.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         There was a need to increase high needs capacity whenever possible;

·         The secondary sector wished to de-delegate core Behavioural Support Services however wanted service level agreements for wider services;

·         Many secondary schools did not see the Ethnic Diversity Service as a whole as good value for money;

·         Ethnic Diversity Service was a whole service and shouldn’t be seen as solely a English Language Assessment service;

·         Other authorities had lost their Ethnic Diversity Service and could no longer access EAL support;

·         EAL support offered in primary schools often benefitted the secondary sector as the children required less support when completing their transition to secondary education.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the primary sector agrees to de-delegate in full for all six areas as outlined in the table at section 6.4.

(3) That the secondary sector agrees in principle to the reduced de-delegated package offered by Behaviour Support Service in response to the head teacher request received via the consortia and representatives would seek full approval at the first consortia meeting in the New Year.

(4) That the Ethnic Diversity Service be requested to create and present an alternative model proposal for secondary schools to consider at first consortia meeting planned in the New Year.

(5) That the indicative 2016/17 resource levels to be deployed for the central service areas as per section 7.3 be approved.