Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 12, 2025

Purpose: Dedicated School Grant (DSG) is a ring-fenced grant of which the Schools Block element is used to fund individual school’s budgets for both Croydon maintained schools and academies.  This paper is to inform cabinet about how the budget was set and to seek cabinet approval before sending the final completed DfE Authority Proforma Tool (APT), which is a model used in setting the school's budget, to the DfE.

Content: The Executive Mayor and Cabinet RESOLVED;   2.1 To approve the statutory, spend of £341.5m (£342.7m less £1.2m referenced in 2.4 below) of Schools Block DSG funding for the period 2025/26;   2.2 to approve the provisional funding formula factors for Croydon mainstream schools (as shown in Appendices C and D) for the financial year 2025/26 in line with the recommendations voted by Schools Forum on 2 December 2024;   2.3 To note the extract of the Schools Forum minute (relating to schools formula factors) and how voting decisions has informed the formula factors shown in Appendices C and D.   2.4 to support the Schools Forum approval and the transfer of £1.2m from the school’s block to the High Needs block as part of DSG Deficit Management Plan;   2.5 to note the factors values reported in appendices C and D. Appendix D provides detail of which factors need to be voted on and those not requiring further vote by the Schools Forum. The decisions made illustrate how the Schools Forum evaluated the three main DfE options for each factor, before selecting the final factor which forms the bases underlying the draft budget for 2025/26.