Agenda

Items to be considered whilst the meeting is open to the public

To note any apologies, substitutions and changes to the membership of Schools Forum.

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2024(copy attached).

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

To note any declarations of interests.

Schools Forum welcomes contributions from members of the public who are able to ask questions or make a statement in relation to the responsibilities and functions of the Forum at each meeting. A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to this at the start of each meeting, and each question or statement should last no longer than 3 minutes.   Please register with the Officer named on this agenda, and in accordance with the deadlines below.

Statements

Members of the public who wish to submit a statement in relation to an item on this agenda should submit this electronically to the Officer named on the agenda no later than 5pm on Tuesday 25 June 2024.  Statements must not be defamatory, frivolous, offensive, vexatious, unlawful or otherwise improper. They must not name or identify individual service users, members of staff or members of partner agencies.

Questions

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions to the Officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Thursday 20 June 2024 to allow a response to be formulated.  Questions are limited to a maximum of 2 per person/organisation. A response will be given as either a direct oral answer or a written reply. Questions must not require the disclosure of confidential information.  The Chair’s ruling on rejection of a question is final.

The Forum will be asked to note the minutes/updates from the following meetings:

·      Early Years Reference Group – 22 March 2024 and 7 June 2024 (attached)

·       Joint meeting of the School Funding Working Group and SEN Working Group – 17 June 2024 (attached).

The report of Marie Taylor (Head of Finance – Children and Education) seeks to present budget monitoring information against the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the financial year 2023-24 as at 31 March 2024.

The report of Liz Williams (Finance Lead – High Needs Sustainability) and Ben Stevens (Inclusion, SEND and Alternative Provision Lead) seeks to update Schools Forum on the SEND Transformation Programme.

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) and Liz Williams (Finance Lead – High Needs Sustainability Programme) seeks to brief Schools Forum on the consultation questions and supporting information to be sent out to all schools in the autumn of 2024 on the principles and value of any block transfer from schools block to the high needs block in the 2025-26 financial year.

The report of Liz Williams (Finance Lead – High Needs Sustainability) seeks Schools’s Forum agreement on the methodology for allocating funding for the growth in places in Wiltshire specialist provision from the high needs block.

The report of Liz Williams (Finance Lead – High Needs Block Sustainability)  seeks views on the principles to be applied to a review of top-up funding that schools receive for pupils with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) the report is to follow.

The report of Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) seeks to brief Schools Forum and agree a set of questions to be sent out to all schools in the autumn of 2024.

The report of Lucy-Anne Bryant (Commissioning Manager) seeks to inform Schools Forum of the new legislation around early years and wraparound care.

To consider any other items of business, which the Chair agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

Item(s) during consideration of which it is recommended that the public should be excluded because of the likelihood that exempt information would be disclosed