The Schools Forum of Barnet Council met remotely on Tuesday 19 March 2024 to discuss a range of financial matters concerning the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), school balances, early years funding, and the High Needs Block. The meeting's agenda focused on updates and decisions regarding the allocation and forecasting of these crucial educational funds.

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Forecast Outturn 2023-24

The meeting was scheduled to receive an update on the 2023-24 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) forecast outturn as at Month 11 (February 2024). The report indicated a forecast underspend of £1.796 million against the budget, with reserves projected to be £10.632 million carried forward into the next financial year. Of this, £1.416 million was earmarked for previously agreed uses. The report detailed the DSG income and expenditure across the Schools, Early Years, and High Needs blocks, noting an underspend in the growth fund and a slight overspend in the Central School Services Block. The Early Years block was on budget due to the use of reserves to offset a clawback from the Department for Education (DfE).

2023-24 School Balances Q3

An update was scheduled on the financial position of Barnet's maintained schools as at Quarter 3 of the 2023-24 financial year. The report highlighted significant financial pressures faced by schools, including rising staff costs, building maintenance, and energy prices. It indicated that 41 out of 87 maintained schools were forecasting a revenue deficit for the current financial year, totalling £5.692 million. This represented an increase of 14 schools compared to the previous financial year. The report also detailed the number and total value of surplus and deficit balances across different school types over the past three years, noting a significant increase in primary schools forecasting a deficit.

2024-25 Early Years Funding

The Schools Forum was set to receive an update on the Early Years funding rates for 2024-25. This followed a consultation process with early years providers regarding proposed changes to local funding arrangements, driven by the DfE's review of funding for working families' entitlements. The proposed hourly rates for various entitlements, including those for 3- and 4-year-olds, disadvantaged 2-year-olds, and new entitlements for working parents of 2-year-olds and 9-month-olds, were to be presented. The report indicated an overall pass-through rate of 96.5% to settings for the Early Years block, with the remaining 3.5% centrally retained for services.

High Needs Block (HNB) Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to an update on the financial position of the High Needs Block (HNB). The report indicated that while the HNB allocation had increased in recent years, the projected increase for 2024-2025 was significantly lower at 2.99% after deductions. This was in contrast to an 11% increase in the number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) maintained between January 2023 and January 2024. The report detailed the HNB's expenditure across various areas, including place funding, top-ups for special schools and alternative provision, and mainstream top-ups. It highlighted substantial growth in costs related to independent sector placements, bespoke packages for SEND children, and special school top-ups. The forecast for the 2024-2025 HNB was a deficit of approximately £2.7 million, with projections indicating this deficit could grow substantially in subsequent years if current trends continued. The report also noted the lack of volunteers from the school community to lead on developing more flexible funding methods for pupils with higher SEND needs in mainstream settings without recourse to an EHCP.

Other Agenda Items

The agenda also included items such as membership updates, declarations of interest, and the confirmation of minutes from the previous meeting. Nominations for the Vice Chair position were also scheduled to be discussed, with a contingency plan if no nominations were received. The use of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Reserves was also on the agenda, with proposals to expand criteria for supporting children arriving from overseas conflicts and for urgent exceptional repairs to school buildings.