To approve as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting held on 15 July 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2024 were submitted for consideration as a correct record.

Decision

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2024 as a correct record.

To elect the Chair and Vice Chair of the Schools Forum.

The Forum was invited to elect the Chair and Vice Chair for the next academic year. Andy Park was the sole nomination for Chair and Mike Cooke the sole nomination for Vice Chair.

Decision

To elect Andy Park as Chair of Schools Forum and Mike Cooke as Vice Chair of Schools Forum.

The report of the Directorate Finance Lead – Children’s and Schools is enclosed.

The Forum considered a report of the Directorate Finance Lead – Children’s and Schools which presented the Constitution and Procedural Rules of the Forum and sought approval on updates to Forum membership in line with national regulations which govern the composition, constitution and procedures of schools’ forums.

Members raised concerns about whether Primary School representation was being diluted by the changes as Academy representatives could come from either Primary or Secondary schools and queried if special schools could be given representation in the Academy representatives as 8 schools were due to become Academies.

It was noted that whilst equal representation would be sought, it cannot necessarily be specified the type of school that representatives come from. The item could be brought back to Forum if necessary to review the Constitution again.

Forum members were asked to vote on amending Forum membership as follows:

• An increase of two academy representatives
• A decrease of one primary governors
• A decrease of one non-school member.

Decision

To amend Forum membership as follows:

• An increase of two academy representatives
• A decrease of one primary governors
• A decrease of one non-school member.

The report of the Director of Education is enclosed.

The Forum considered a report of the Director of Education which stated that the Department for Education (DfE) had confirmed £1.2 billion nationally of funding to support schools with overall costs including the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer. The funding is the Core Schools Budget Grant (CSBG). The funding was for the financial year 2024/25 and was to be paid to local authorities in November and Academies in December.

In addition, DfE had confirmed £34m in additional funding via the Early Years Budget Grant (EYBG) to support early years providers with the costs of the September 2024 teachers’ pay award.

The report summarised the allocation rates and methodology for the CSBG and EYBG.

A query was raised as to whether the Early Years Grant was for support staff as well as the teachers pay award. It was stated that the grants were mainly for teachers pay but could be used for other pressures too.

Decision

To note the report.

The report of the Directorate Finance Lead – Schools and Education is enclosed.

The Forum considered a report of the Directorate Finance Lead – Schools and Education which noted that at School Forum’s July 2024 meeting a report on the High Needs Recovery Plan was discussed and the need for a consultation on a 0.5% block transfer from schools’ block to the high needs block in 2025/26 of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) as part of the recovery plan. This report provided an update on the outcome of the 0.5% schools block transfer consultation.

The Director of Education stated that the response rate to the consultation was lower than anticipated. They gave assurances to Forum that schools were aware of the consultation and had opted out of responding. The 0.5% transfer was something that had attempted to not be done for a long time. A report of the National Audit Office had shown the difficulties that all were facing in this area.

A member stated that there had been a 55% increase in EHCP’s in Manchester from 2019 to 2023. Special schools were now full to the brim which was adding additional pressure to those schools.

The Director of Education noted that this had been picked up in the consultation, stating that the high needs block has not grown as the SEND population have grown, as some schools thought it would.

A member stated that they were seeing the impact of lack of funding in the Pupil Referral Unit but understood that there were tight budgets across the sector.

The Chair acknowledged that this was a difficult decision and that there was not enough funding to meet the needs of children. They understood that there was a need for additional high needs block funding, but additional funding was also required in mainstream schools to help support them with pupils with SEND. This transfer, in their opinion, would take funding away from schools which is misguided and would result in staff losses, impacting on mainstream schools. They noted the need for more preventative work to be completed with pupils before an EHCP becomes necessary. It was also stated that the SEND top-up has not been adjusted in mainstream schools for a long time.

A member queried what would be the impact should Forum vote against the transfer. It was stated that the DSG had been ringfenced for several years and that ringfencing could be lifted soon which would put the Council in a difficult financial position. The Council would still need to demonstrate that there are enough reserves to be sustainable. The current general fund reserve was only £20million. The deficit would then become an issue and if Forum said no the proposal, the Council would have to go to the Secretary of State to make a disapplication to still undertake the transfer.

A member noted that the proposal generated £2.7million and asked for clarity on how that would be spent and why it was the correct way to spend it, particularly relating to the SEND unit’s investment. It was stated that special schools  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

The report of the Director of Education is enclosed.

The Forum considered a report of the Director of Education which provided a forward plan of Schools Forum business for the forthcoming academic year, updated from the plan brought to Schools Forum in July 2024.

Decision

To note the report.