The Schools Forum was due to discuss the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in detail at this meeting, including an update on funding for the current financial year (2024-25) and a report on the final spending positions for 2023-24. The forum was also scheduled to review a proposal to increase the fixed fee the council charges schools that are converting to academy status.

Dedicated Schools Grant 2024-25

The forum was scheduled to receive an update on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2024-25. The Dedicated Schools Grant is the main source of funding for schools in England. It is paid to local authorities, who then distribute it to schools based on a national formula.

The report pack for the meeting says that the DSG for 2024-25 is £402,743,048, which is an increase of 6.5% on the previous year. The report notes:

The main increase in funding is within the Early Years block.

You can find more information about the Dedicated Schools Grant in the report pack.

Dedicated Schools Grant 2023-24

Councillors were also scheduled to receive an update on the final spending for the Dedicated Schools Grant in 2023-24. This included an update on the final position for each of the four blocks that comprise the DSG:

• The Schools Block
• The Central School Services Block
• The High Needs Block
• The Early Years Block

The 2023-24 DSG outturn position shows an overspend of £1.476m. You can read more information about the final spending positions in the report pack.

Schools' Balances

The forum was scheduled to note the revenue and capital balances for all of the maintained schools in the borough. The report, which does not include academies, was prepared to fulfil the council's duties under The Scheme for Financing Schools, which is set out by the Department for Education.

The report shows that maintained schools held reserves of £7.6m in 2023-24, down from £8.8m the previous year. The report says:

Of the schools, 44% are carrying reserves in line with reserve levels recommended by the DfE, compared to 53% in 2022-23. Guidance from the DfE has suggested that schools should retain 5% to 8% of their budget as part of good financial management.

The report also says that:

Schools have continued to face cost pressures including:

• Increase in energy costs.
• Increase in inflation.
• Teachers & Support Staff pay awards. 2024-25 pay awards have yet to be confirmed. 3% and 2% has been recommended for budget purposes on the full-time salaries.
• Significant increase in SEND demands across all sectors.

You can read more about Schools' Balances in the report pack.

Academy Conversion Services and Charges

The forum was also scheduled to consider a report asking them to increase the fixed fee charged to schools converting to academy status. The report says that converting a school to an academy requires:

significant resources in relation to officer time and costs

The report says that this work is done by officers in a number of council departments:

• Place Planning and Capital Projects
• HR
• Payroll
• Finance
• Legal
• Property
• Schools Capital Programme Services

The report says that because these officers are already busy:

there is no dedicated academies team within the Council.

According to the report, the council can charge schools for the work required because:

The decision to issue an academy order is binding on the Council. The Council has a statutory duty under Section 5B of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended) to take all reasonable steps to facilitate the conversion of the school into an academy following an Academy Order being issued.

The report asks the forum to approve an increase in the fixed fee from £7,000 to £15,000 per school.

The report also proposes removing an exemption for schools that are judged inadequate by Ofsted that are then issued with an Academy Order. Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. They inspect a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools.

You can read the full proposal in the report pack.