The Kingston upon Thames Schools Forum met to discuss and vote on a funding model for secondary alternative provision places at Malden Oaks. The forum was asked to consider three options relating to the number of places to fund, and how to divide the funding between the High Needs Block¹ and the Schools Block².

Secondary Alternative Provision

The Schools Forum were scheduled to discuss and vote on a funding model for Secondary Alternative Provision (PRU) places at Malden Oaks for the 2026/27 budget.

Malden Oaks provides education for secondary aged students who are unable to attend a mainstream school. Kingston Council currently commissions 45 full time equivalent (FTE) places to support permanent exclusions, dual registered places and places awarded through the Fair Access Panel (FAP). 18 of these places are to support the statutory duty for permanent exclusion places, with the remainder supporting respite places. The current charge to the High Needs Block is £14,850 per place, increased to £16,500 with an additional £74,250 that was transferred from the Schools Block.

Malden Oaks have stated that they are experiencing financial pressure because they do not receive the same grant funding as most schools to support staff pay awards, pension increases and national insurance increases. They also operate across multiple sites. Malden Oaks have said that without a significant uplift in funding per place, they will be unable to balance their budget. They estimate that the per place charge will need to increase to £28,000, a 70% increase of £11,500 compared to the 2025/26 amount of £16,500.

The report noted that Achieving for Children (AfC) have received assurance from Malden Oaks that costs are being kept as low as possible, but that due to the nature of the provision, this is difficult to confirm. AfC has commissioned an independent review by the Department for Education (DfE) to provide external scrutiny, with the results expected in the next few weeks.

The report stated that this increase could not be afforded within the borough's high needs block allocation, which is only expected to increase by 3% for 2026/27.

The actual usage at Malden Oaks over the past three years was outlined in the table below:

It was agreed that the High Needs Block budget for these places will increase by 3% (from £668,250 to £688,300) in 2026/27. It was estimated that 25 places can be afforded within this budget, which would cover the 18 permanently excluded pupils, leaving 6 FTE places for respite.

The Schools Forum were asked to consider three provision / funding options:

• Option 1 - Retain all 45 FTE places, with 24 of those funded by the HNB (Budget of £688,300) and 21 funded by a SB transfer (£571,700)
• Option 2 - Reduce numbers to 35 FTE places. 24 places covered by the HNB (£688,300) and 11 covered by a £292,800 transfer from the School Block.
• Option 3 - Reduce numbers to 24 FTE places, with all 24 of those funded by the HNB (Budget of £688,300)

Other Items

The agenda for the meeting also included:

• Introductions and apologies
• Declarations of interest
• Confirmation of the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2025
• Setting the date of the next meeting as 26 January 2026.