Agenda item

Schools Forum will be asked to consider the Schools Budgets for 2025-26 and make relevant decisions using the decisions matrix.

The Chair led Members through the decisions to be made, and it was then:

Resolved:

The Schools Forum:

Overall Budget:

1)    Agreed to set the overall Schools Budget at the level of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Settlement of £551,890,498, plus the High Needs overspend of £36.513m, totalling to £588,403,498.

Schools Block – Delegated Budget:

2)    Agreed to apply all the funding factors at the 2025-26 National Funding Formula (NFF) rates.

3)    Agreed to set the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) at a level of 0.0%, as being fully affordable.

4)    Agreed the level of the Growth Fund at £0.5m – Split as £0.1m Infant Class Size, and £0.4m Basic Need.

5)    Confirmed transferring 0.236% of the Schools Block to the High Needs Block, £0.914m, as the full NFF was affordable.

6)    Agreed to fund the 7 schools for rent, with a total formula value of £60,955, as an exceptional factor, in line with previous years, and to submit a new Disapplication Request accordingly.

In line with Department for Education (DfE) requirements, please find a record of the votes of all eligible voting Schools Forum Members in attendance below:

7)    Noted that the previously agreed budgets for de-delegation of central services were set as follows:

High Needs Block:

8)    Noted the assumptions in the High Needs Block for 2025-26 and the mitigating actions which reflected the revised High Needs Sustainability Plan submitted to the DfE in December 2024.

9)    Set the MFG uplift at 0.0% for 2025-26, in line with Mainstream Schools.

10) Set the 2025-26 Top-Up rates for Special Schools, Resource Bases, ELP’s (Enhanced Learning Provision in Secondary Schools), and NPA’s (Named Pupil Allowances in Mainstream Schools), to increase by 2.2%. To note: top-up rates will be subject to change during the year following the consultation on changes to Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) top-up funding.

Central School Services Block:

11) Noted the Local Authority Decision to set the budget at £0.571m for Central Copyright Licences for 2025-26 (Section A).

12) Agreed, as follows, the expenditure for the Central Schools Services (Section B):

13) Agreed, as follows, the central spend on Historic Commitments (Section C):

Early Years Block:

14) Agreed to set the following basic hour provider rates for entitled children:

15) Agreed up to £938 per child for 2025-26 from the Disability Access Fund, with the Local Authority to passport the funding.

16) Agreed to the uplift in funding for Pupil Premium to be set at £1.00 per hour, with the Local Authority to passport the funding.

17) Agreed that the Central Early Years’ Teams budget be set at £0.879m.

18) Agreed that the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund Budget be set at £1.706m from the Early Years Block.

19) Noted the deprivation and rurality increase to reflect current spending levels of £250,000.

20) Agreed to maintaining at least 96% of funding to be passed through to providers.

21) Noted that all other funding factors remain at current 2024-25 levels or funded levels.

22) Noted that the Early Years Block is to fund the Early Yars Inclusion Fund at the current level and the High Needs Block to be allocated £0.180m to increase support available in line with the SEN strategy around prevention.