Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Mr R Biglands.

There were no declarations of Disposable Pecuniary Interests and Personal or Personal and Prejudicial Interests.

That the minutes of the last meeting held on 6 October 2022, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded, and be signed by the Chair.

The Chair advised that information on the vacant Secondary Academy representative had been circulated to secondary headteachers but no response had been received.  However, it would be sent out again in the hope of gaining some interest in the position.

The Secretary advised that position of Primary Academy Governor representative was still vacant however another advert had gone out to all governors in the hope of attracting suitable candidates.

Ms T Elliott presented the report.

On 16 December 2022 the Education Funding Agency published the 2023-24 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Allocations.  The allocation for North Lincolnshire was £167.638m after deductions for national non-domestic rates (NNDR) and the direct funding of high needs places by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The DSG Allocations were presented in four blocks, each block was determined by a separate national funding formula.  The report provided information on the planned use of the DSG for 2023-24.

An additional grant was announced for schools following the Autumn 2022 Statement, along with additional funding for high needs to be used to increase both place and top up funding for special schools, academies and free schools.

Resolved – That the central retained schools’ budget, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved:

·       Central spend on the early years block provision

·       Historic Commitments (Combined Budgets)

·       School Admissions

·       Servicing of Schools Forum

·       Contribution to the responsibilities that councils hold for all schools

Mrs N Raines presented the report.

Early Years funding was participation based.  Funding allocations were currently provisional for 2023/24.  Allocations were determined by three census counts (January 2022, 2023, and 2024) final allocations were published July 2024.   

Funding allocations had increased for the 2023/24 financial year with an additional six pence and 18 pence per hour per child on the hourly rate for two-year olds (£5.63) and three and four-year olds (£4.87) respectively.  Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and Disability Access Funding (DAF) had both increased (2p) to 62p per hour per child and (£28) £828 per annum respectively.

Two-year olds were eligible for a maximum of 15 hours funded early learning and care where their family circumstances meant that they were eligible for free school meals, where the family was in receipt of Universal Credit/Tax Credits with an income of approximately £16,000, or where the child was in or had left the care of a local authority; was in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or the child had an Education, Health and Care Plan.  Approximately 530 children were eligible each term in North Lincolnshire.

All three and four-year olds were entitled to a maximum of 15 hours funded early education in the maintained, private, or voluntary sector for 38 weeks of the year.  Children with parents in employment may also be eligible for an additional 15 funded hours, if they were both employed.   Approximately 44 per cent of funded children took up the additional funded hours in North Lincolnshire.   Provider payments were determined using the Early Years Single Funding formula (EYSFF), comprised of a base rate and supplements.  EYPP and DAF were ring fenced funding supplements for children that met eligibility criteria. 

The report gave detailed information on funding allocations, sector consultation, two, three and four year old funding and population projections.

Resolved – (a) That the provisional funding allocation in relation to the Early Years Block of the DSG for 2023/24 be noted; (b) that the proposed rate of £5.63 per hour per child for all funded two year olds be supported; (c) that the proposed local supplements of the Early Years Single Funding Formula – deprivation, sufficiency lump sum and quality, be supported; (d) That an increase in Early Years Pupil Premium and Disability Access Funding to nationally funded rates (62p per hour and £828 lump sum respectively), be supported, and (e) that Option 1, set out in paragraph 3.4 of the report, a base rate of £4.58 per hour per child, deprivation supplement of 8p per hour per child and an additional £1000 to the Sufficiency lump sum, be supported.

Mrs R Maughan presented the report.

On 16 December 2022 the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) published the 2023-24 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Allocations, based on October 2022 School Census data.  The allocation for North Lincolnshire was £167.638m (£158.902m in 2022/23) after deductions for business rates and the direct funding of high needs places by ESFA. 

The element of DSG available for the Individual Schools Budget (ISB), for all mainstream schools was £131.631m before deductions for the funding of National Non Domestic Rates (NNDR) directly by the ESFA.

The Operational Guide set out how individual school budget shares could be calculated. To continue the introduction of the National Funding Formula (NFF) the Department for Education had consulted and now directed that all councils move closer to the NFF so that resources were distributed based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country.

The council’s local formula now reflected the NFF for all factors, except for Sparsity Funding and the Exceptional Premises factor (listed buildings).  The factor values had been increased on top of the amounts added for rolling in the schools’ supplementary grant and were detailed at Appendix 1 to the report.

The report set out the final proposals for the North Lincolnshire schools funding formula.

Resolved – (a) That the distribution of the individual schools’ budget, using the proposed funding formula, be endorsed, and (b) that the contribution of £8.19 per pupil towards the cost of Education Functions that the council provides on behalf of maintained schools, be approved by maintained school representatives.

Mrs J Frost presented the report.

The report provided information about the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) 2023/2024 High Needs funding.

There were 1,149 children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) maintained by North Lincolnshire in January 2022, however in January 2023 there were 1,320 EHCPs, which represented a 15% increase.  Requests for assessment had also increased.

Through discussions with secondary headteachers, a revenue funding model had been agreed to support the school hubs that were currently open through the SEND Capital Funding.  A signed Memorandum of Understanding per school set out clear criteria for access to the funding.  Funding would be applied to schools by the end of January 2023, with an agreed timeline for the annual funding to continue.  Hubs were providing support to children from the home school, alongside supporting children from other schools and agree local authority placements.

The council would be offering the opportunity for primary schools to place a bid via SEND Capital Funding to open hubs within the primary phase, with potential for additional revenue funding from DSG High Needs.

Mrs J Frost advised that there had been a discussion with headteachers with reference to increasing capacity for Educational Psychology to further support early identification.  Mrs A Cvijetic informed members that she had experienced issues with accessing Educational Psychology provision.  She explained that her school was working with two/three children per term and was struggling to move things forward to support the children. 

Mr D Chaplin suggested that the lack of capacity to do preventative work with high needs children was very important when considering funding and the issue could be discussed with Ms T Elliott outside the meeting.

The Chair queried an estimated arrival time for the Memorandum of Understanding.  Mrs W Holmes advised that it would be coming out to headteachers with hubs the middle of the next week.  The Chair thanked the team for their help and proactivity.

Resolved – That the developments outlined in the report and recommendations for next steps be supported.

Mrs J Flintoff presented the report.

The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Central Services Historic Commitments element currently funded two main strands of work:

·       Peer Leader Programme/external School Improvement Partners (SIPs): school improvement focussed activities which were managed through the council, together with a small number of externally brokered SIPs who were not in substantive posts with the council

·       Learning networks: largely delegated to the Primary Consortium and Secondary Heads and Principals, as well as funding some central development and support such as the Primary Engineering, and innovation grants for schools

·       Schools’ contribution to the Children’s MARS board

In Autumn 2019 The Department for Education announced the intention to make year on year reduction to the Historic Commitments budget with the ultimate removal of the grant.  In 2021 the Department also announced the two phase removal of the Local Authority monitoring and Brokering Grant, which funded the substantive school improvement team.  Last year elected members determined to fund the substantive school improvement team through council revenue funding to ensure all schools regardless of designation would be able to access support without cost.

The DSG for Historic Commitments for 2023/24 was a total of £149,504, which was a reduction of £37,376 from last year.  The report set out three options for the Forum’s consideration.

Discussion ensued on each of the three options.

Resolved – (a) That Option 3, as set out in the report at paragraph 2.1, be agreed, and (b) that further discussions to take place around the role of peer leaders.

Energy Efficiency in Schools

A presentation on Energy Efficiency in Schools was shared with the Forum for information.