The Haringey Schools Forum met to discuss school funding and related issues. The forum agreed to delegate authority to the Schools Block Working Group to review funding formula models for 2026-27. They also received updates on the Education Welfare Service, the Early Years Block, and the Safety Valve Programme¹.

2026-2027 Dedicated Schools Grant Funding Model Strategy

The Schools Forum discussed the strategy for allocating school budget shares through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) formula for the 2026-27 financial year. Ali Muhammad, Schools Finance Manager, and Neil Sinclair, Head of Finance (People), presented the report. The forum agreed to delegate authority to the Schools Block Working Group to review potential funding formula models for 2026–27, in preparation for consultation with schools and subsequent Schools Forum approval in January 2026.

The forum noted the local authority's intention to submit a disapplication request to the Department for Education (DfE) to transfer more than 0.5% out of the Schools Block² (0.5% to the High Needs Block plus £122,000 to the Central School Services Block for Education Welfare Service functions) by 17 November 2025, before consulting with schools and making a decision at the Schools Forum in January 2026.

The Schools Block Working Group will develop initial funding formula models for consultation with Haringey schools, ahead of submission to the Schools Forum for approval. According to the DSG Funding Model Strategy report, there is limited scope for changes to school funding, as Haringey's Authority Proforma Tool (APT) was aligned with the National Funding Formula (NFF) values in previous years. The only areas where adjustments can be made to schools funding are through Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) variations, de-delegation decisions, and Growth Fund allocations.

Education Welfare Service

The Schools Forum received an update on the work of the Education Welfare Service (EWS). Salma Rahman, Principal Education Welfare Officer, and Neil Sinclair, Head of Finance (People), presented a report on the service. The report highlighted that overall absence and persistent absenteeism remain areas of concern in Haringey. In the 2024–2025 academic year, the overall absence rate in the primary phase was 5.5%, slightly higher than both the London average of 5.4% and the national average of 5.2%. The persistent absenteeism rate for primary pupils in Haringey stood at 15.8%, higher than the London average of 15.1% and the national rate of 13.5%. The overall absence rate in Haringey's secondary schools is 7.8%, which is higher than the London average of 7.4%, but lower than the national average of 8.6%. The persistent absenteeism rate in the secondary phase stands at 24.5%, which is above both the London average of 22.3% and the national average of 24.3%.

The report recommended that the Schools Forum acknowledge the continued need for a central Education Welfare Service to provide schools with expert support in managing complex attendance cases, issuing Penalty Notices, and implementing timely statutory interventions where appropriate. The EWS is also the strategic lead and has drafted an Attendance Strategy and introduced the Attendance Management Board.

The report also recommended enabling the service to continue to support schools and families in addressing barriers to school attendance and safeguarding pupils, and to continue to draw upon the experience and expertise within the Education Welfare Service, ensuring that schools receive timely, accurate, and comprehensive guidance on all matters relating to pupil attendance, strategic guidance and boroughwide approach to all attendance related matters.

Early Years Block

The Schools Forum received an update on the Early Years Block. Akwal Gill, Interim Principal Advisor for Early Years, and Jane Edwards, Director, Schools & Learning, presented a report on the final Early Years Block position for 2024/25, the opening Early Years Block published allocations for 2025/26, and the Early Years Block reserves position.

The Early Years Block report noted that the final July 2025 Early Years Dedicated Schools Grant allocation confirms a £166,000 clawback³.

Update from Working Parties

The Schools Forum received a verbal update from the Early Years Working Party. The Early Years Working Party has not met since January 2025, but a meeting will be arranged before the next Schools Forum meeting.

There were no further updates from the High Needs Working Party. It was noted that the working party had not met since the onboarding and roll out of the Safety Valve Programme, as the work is now undertaken by the work streams of the Safety Valve Programme. Will Wawn, Chair of the School's Forum, will provide feedback to Martin Doyle, Headteacher at Riverside School, that the High Needs Working Party has been superseded by the Safety Valve Programme and is not currently required.

No meetings of the Dedicated School Block working party have taken place since the last meeting.