The Bexley Schools Forum meeting scheduled for 12 January 2026 was set to discuss the financial outlook for schools in the borough, including proposed funding formulas for the 2026/27 academic year and the allocation of the Dedicated Schools Grant. Key topics included updates on the Safety Valve programme, which aims to address the high needs deficit, and a request for a transfer of funds from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block.

Safety Valve Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to an update on the Safety Valve programme, a Department for Education initiative aimed at managing the high needs deficit. The report detailed progress on various interventions designed to reduce costs and improve outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). These included the expansion of special school provision, with new Resourced Provisions planned and the opening of Shenstone School's new building, which aims to provide an additional 140 secondary places. The programme also reported success in repatriating 66 young people from out-of-borough independent special schools over three years, resulting in significant cost savings.

Interventions such as KS1 Talk Boost, Emotional Literacy and Support Assistants (ELSA), and FRIENDS Resilience were highlighted, with over 2,300 children having received one or more of these. New initiatives, including a Secondary Language Link programme and an Early Years SEMH Assistant project, were also discussed. The report noted that the Safety Valve programme had provided a framework for the council to develop mitigations against rising costs, such as increased demand for EHC Plans and higher unit costs for top-up funding.

However, the report also outlined significant financial challenges. Despite the interventions, Bexley was projected to not balance its budget in-year due to higher-than-anticipated growth in EHC Plans and increased expenditure on services for children not attending school. The projected accumulated deficit at the end of the Safety Valve programme in March 2029 was estimated to increase to £78.9m. The report acknowledged that the council would likely require exceptional financial support from central government once the statutory override for Dedicated Schools Grant deficits expires in March 2028.

2026/27 Schools Block Funding

The meeting was scheduled to discuss the proposed funding formula for mainstream schools and academies for the 2026/27 academic year. The report indicated that the unit of funding had increased by 5.71% for primary pupils and 4.94% for secondary pupils. However, it was noted that these increases were partly due to the consolidation of previously separate grants into the Schools Block. Despite the unit funding increases, pupil numbers had decreased by 2.65% for primary and 1.16% for secondary, resulting in an overall reduction in Schools Block funding of approximately £4.7 million. The report also detailed proposed unit values for various factors within the funding formula, such as Age Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU), Free School Meals (FSM), and Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI). A table provided an impact analysis at the individual school level, showing projected funding changes for each school with and without the proposed 0.5% transfer to the High Needs Block.

2026/27 Early Years Block Funding

The draft budget for the Early Years Block for 2026/27 was presented, showing an increase in funding per child per hour for all age groups. The report detailed proposed changes to the calculation of funding allocations, including a new termly census and adjustments to the profile of funded weeks per term. Bexley planned to hold back 3% of the funding to cover central costs, including salaries for Early Years Project Officers and advisors, and contributions to the Capita Early Years Entitlement Portal. The draft budget summary indicated a total expenditure increase of £7.74 million for the Early Years Block in 2026/27.

2026/27 High Needs Block and Request for 0.5% Transfer

A draft High Needs budget for 2026/27 was presented, showing an increase in the High Needs Block allocation of £4.03 million. However, the report clarified that almost all of this increase was due to the consolidation of previously separate grants for special schools, resourced provision units, and alternative provision providers. The underlying increase in High Needs funding, after accounting for this consolidation, was only £0.268 million (0.41%), representing a real-terms reduction due to inflation. This lower-than-anticipated increase, combined with higher expenditure projections, particularly for independent sector placements, resulted in a worsening of the projected in-year deficit for the High Needs Block to £19.713 million in 2026/27. The accumulated deficit was projected to reach £43.484 million by March 2027. The council requested Schools Forum to approve a 0.5% transfer from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block for 2026/27, as permitted by funding regulations and assumed in the Safety Valve agreement.

Draft Budget Consultation 2026-27

The report presented a draft budget for 2026-27, outlining the proposed Dedicated Schools Grant allocations across the Schools Block, Central Schools Services Block, Early Years Block, and High Needs Block. The Schools Block allocation was set to increase by £7.322 million, largely due to increased unit of funding, despite a reduction in pupil numbers. The Central Schools Services Block saw an increase of 12.23%, primarily to cover increased national insurance costs. The Early Years Block was projected to receive a significant increase of £7.818 million, reflecting the full-year cost of increased entitlement for working parents of younger children. The High Needs Block allocation increased by 7.3%, but the underlying increase after grant consolidation was only 0.41%. The draft budget projected an in-year High Needs deficit of £19.713 million for 2026/27, contributing to an accumulated deficit of £43.484 million by March 2027. The council sought views from Schools Forum on the draft budget proposals.

De-delegation

Maintained schools were asked to consider whether to continue de-delegating budgets for maternity cover and Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility checking for 2026-27. The proposed costs remained at £53.23 per pupil for maternity cover and £4.29 per FSM pupil for eligibility checks.