The Kingston upon Thames Schools Forum met on Monday 29 June 2026 to discuss school place planning, financial outturns and future budgets, and the SEND Futures Plan. Key decisions included noting the 2025/26 finance outturn and approving the 2026/27 budget setting timetable.

School Place Planning

Henry Kilpin, Associate Director for School Place Planning and Achieving for Children, presented an update on school place planning. He highlighted a significant decline in primary school demand, with a 7.4% drop in reception applications for September 2026, more than double the pan-London average. This is attributed to a falling birth rate and demographic changes, leading to a 13.2% vacancy rate in primary schools, exceeding the recommended 5-10%. While in-year applications remain high, they are decreasing and more are school-to-school transfers.

In contrast, secondary school demand remains high, with a 15.4% increase in year seven applications over the last decade. The council has worked with schools to over-offer places to meet demand, though 40 children were unplaced on National Offer Day for September 2026, a situation that has since been resolved. Secondary schools are operating at 100.2% occupancy against permanent PANs, with little capacity.

Specialist provision has seen substantial growth, with an 115% increase in state-funded places between 2011 and 2025, allowing more children with SEND to be educated within the borough. The SEND reform plan has been submitted to the Department for Education (DfE), with positive feedback received on the draft report.

Planned new provision includes the cancellation of two free school projects: Surbiton Primary Academy and King's Meadow Secondary School, following a national review by the DfE. Discussions are ongoing regarding the future use of these sites, with potential for SEND provision.

Finance Outturn and Budget Planning

Scott Gardner, Head of Finance at Achieving for Children, presented the 2025/26 finance outturn. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation for 2025/26 was £107.566 million after recoupment. The outturn position showed an in-year DSG overspend of £12.274 million, with £12.750 million of this within the high needs block. This resulted in a cumulative overspend of £20.540 million before any stability grant. The forum noted the 2025/26 allocation and approved the DSG outturn position and carry forward.

The update on the 2026/27 finance and 2027/28 budget setting process revealed a projected in-year overspend of £18.396 million for 2026/27, with £18.329 million within the high needs block. This would lead to a cumulative deficit of £38.928 million before any stability grant. The forum was asked to note the latest DSG allocation for 2026/27 and the projected DSG outturn position.

Julie Bywater, Schools Finance Business Partner, outlined the proposed budget setting timetable for 2027/28. Key changes include releasing both funding consultations at the beginning of the autumn term and extending the consultation period to allow for workshops and Q&A sessions. The forum will vote on local funding decisions in November.

SEND Futures Plan and SEND Reforms

Charis Penfold, Director of Education Services at Achieving for Children, provided an update on the SEND Futures Plan and SEND Reforms. The Local Area SEND Reform Plan was submitted to the DfE on 19 June 2026, a condition for receiving the High Needs Stability Grant, which aims to offset historical SEND deficits. The plan focuses on strengthening inclusion across education settings, developing a local funding model for specialist inclusion bases, and enhancing early intervention and specialist expertise.

Councillor Sue Ansari, Portfolio Holder for Children's Services, raised concerns about avoiding future deficits, to which Charis Penfold responded that current funding models are insufficient, and transformation will take time. Scott Gardner, Head of Finance, echoed these concerns, projecting continued deficits without significant changes.

Esther Brooks, CEO of Coombe Academy Trust, inquired about addressing the therapy gap and the funding model for the cluster work. Charis Penfold explained that therapies are a key priority within workstream two of the SEND reforms, with recommissioning models being developed. The cluster model is proposed to be rolled out across Kingston and Richmond by September 2027, with a potential funding model involving central contributions and school contributions.

High Needs Subgroup and Cluster Model Update

Esther Brooks, Chair of the High Needs Subgroup, reported that no subgroup meetings had taken place due to the focus on SEND reforms. Questions were directed to the forum, covering part-time timetables and clusters. The High Needs Subgroup will continue to exist on agendas to ensure ongoing focus.

Sophie Cavanagh, CEO of Kingston Educational Trust, provided an update on the cluster model pilot. The pilot, involving a cluster of primary and secondary schools, has demonstrated the value of SENCO collaboration and networking. The proposal is to roll out the model across Kingston and Richmond, with a phased implementation aiming for it to be the normal way of working by September 2027.

Scheme for Financing Schools

Julie Bywater presented the Scheme for Financing Schools for 2026/27. There were no directed revisions from the DfE for this year, meaning the scheme is approved as is, but dated for 2026/27. The forum was also asked to approve a full review of the Scheme for Financing Schools document, which has not been updated since 2016. This review will be presented to the forum in January, followed by a consultation with maintained schools before a fully updated version is presented for approval next year. The forum approved both the updated scheme and the full review.

Other Updates

The next Schools Forum meeting was scheduled for Monday 28 September 2026 at 4:00 pm at the Guildhall, where the election of a Chair and Vice Chair will take place.

The meeting concluded with thanks to officers and presenters for their work on the extensive reports.