The Wandsworth Schools Forum met on Monday 15 January 2024 to discuss the 2024-25 schools block funding, de-delegation, and the Nursery Inclusion Project for All (NIPA). The forum agreed to the proposed local funding formula rates, exceptional funding factor, and school budgets for the upcoming academic year, which includes a projected decrease in overall funding due to falling pupil numbers. They also agreed to de-delegation items and final Education Function funding allocations, and the criteria for the Growth Fund.

2024-25 Schools Block Funding

The forum discussed the Local Funding Formula for the forthcoming academic year, which has been kept as close as possible to the 2023-24 model. Wandsworth's Schools Block funding for 2024-25 has decreased by 0.7 percent, a reduction of nearly £1.3 million, primarily due to falling pupil rolls. This decline has accelerated in the primary phase after a slowdown last year. While the closure of Broadwater Primary School and the accommodation of its pupils elsewhere has led to some sufficiency improvements, measures such as reducing school intakes are still being implemented. A consultation is also underway regarding the proposed closure of Christchurch Primary School due to falling rolls.

While the teacher's pay additional grant, designed to cover 3 percent of the 6.5 percent teachers' pay rise, will be fully funded in FY 24-25, teaching assistants will not receive similar support, making school staffing structures a difficult issue for the following financial year. Officers noted that the Department for Education (DfE) recalculated its formula for 2024-25 after identifying an error, leading to reduced amounts compared to earlier calculations. With inflation and other factors considered, the DfE formula is described as the lowest settlement in at least 12 years, with rate increases for basic entitlement and deprivation elements below inflation. Consequently, 59 percent of primary and 45 percent of secondary schools in the borough are expected to see a funding reduction in FY 24-25 compared to FY 23-24. The average reduction is estimated at £61,000 for primary schools and £345,000 for secondary schools. The forum resolved to agree the local funding formula rates, the exceptional funding factor, and the school budgets as detailed in the report.

De-delegation and Education Functions Budget

The forum agreed to de-delegation items and final Education Function funding allocations. De-delegation applies only to maintained primary and secondary schools. As pupil rolls have decreased, the contribution from these schools has fallen, necessitating an increase in de-delegation rates per child to cover the remaining budget functions. The proposal includes a 1.4 percent rate increase for both primary and secondary schools for three de-delegation lines, with a total contribution of £289.4k for 2024-25, down from £293.8k in 2023-24.

The Head of Schools Finance, Gareth Evans, highlighted that the maternity leave and union cover from the de-delegation budget has historically incurred a shortfall, paid by the Local Authority (LA). For 2024-25, this shortfall is projected at £234k, with only £80k in reserves. To ensure the budget breaks even in future years, a significant rate increase for this line is required. Any recouped charges exceeding expenditure will be carried forward to offset future costs. Negotiations with private organisations are planned to reduce costs. While union cover is mandatory, schools can opt to purchase cover for maternity leave, long-term sickness, insurance, and redundancy.

Concerns were raised about new headteachers potentially not understanding the risks and the need for insurance, though members noted that de-delegated maternity cover offers value for money. The redundancy function is considered particularly necessary given the current educational climate and falling rolls, with £200k from the LA's General Fund to be added annually to the redundancy budget. The long-term sickness cover is to be reviewed for cost-effectiveness. Academy headteachers mentioned their ability to absorb cover within their Trusts. The possibility of pooling costs to achieve better rates was discussed, requiring data from a live payroll feed. The forum resolved to agree the de-delegation items and final Education Function funding allocations with 6 votes for and 1 against.

Nursery Inclusion Project for All (NIPA) Report

The forum agreed to the report proposals for the NIPA commissioning process, with modifications to the commissioning contract period for yoga and parent support elements to allow for greater flexibility. The Lead Early Years Inclusion Advisor, Monika Hammel-Lobo, presented the report, addressing questions about the cost of yoga sessions and the selection criteria for NIPA settings. The hourly rate for yoga sessions will reduce to £45 per hour, with the annual cost capped at £29,000. These sessions are reported to be valuable for children's language development.

The NIPA project is currently provided to private, voluntary, and independent (PVI) settings and schools that historically received the most Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF). The criteria for participation will be broadened to include a setting's capacity to engage with NIPA, alongside the level of deprivation and historical SENIF. Transparency regarding setting selection is being improved. The project aims for support to taper off over a year, with Early Years SEND Advisors providing ongoing support. The effectiveness of NIPA is linked to stable staffing teams.

Regarding parent sessions, the current model's high cost and inconvenient timing for working parents will be reviewed, with sustainable alternatives to be considered. The NIPA review also aims to expand the offer to more children and settings, potentially making resources like parental workshops available via a website. The commissioning review will also consider alternative organisations for mindfulness sessions, with tendering work to commence if the report proposals are agreed. Contracts for yoga and parent support elements will include a break clause to incorporate feedback from settings. The inclusion of health visitors in identifying emerging needs at an early stage was also agreed to be explored further.

2024-25 Growth Fund Criteria

The forum agreed to the growth fund allocation and criteria for the fund, with no proposed changes for 2024-25. The Growth Fund is intended to support schools with capacity to recover from a 10 percent decrease in pupil rolls in a geographical area. Brandlehow Primary School was highlighted as the only school requiring support from the fund, but only for the following two years, not for 2024-25. Given the borough's falling rolls, the trigger for the fund is unlikely to be met, meaning the DfE allocation of £280k will be assigned to the Schools Block budget.

2024-25 Split Sites Criteria

The forum noted the report regarding split sites funding, which is now a DfE requirement within the National Funding Formula. Schools with split sites, such as Belleville Primary School and Gatton Primary School, qualify for both basic eligibility funding and distance funding. This will result in increased payments for these schools in 2023-24 compared to previous years under the Local Funding Formula for split sites.

Central Schools Services Block

The forum agreed to the proposals outlined in the report for the Central Schools Services Block (CSSB). Commitments for the CSSB cannot be reduced. Wandsworth has successfully requested a disapplication from the usual annual funding reduction for the CSSB, based on actual historical commitment costs exceeding the proposed funding. As a result, the LA will receive £2.635m for the 2024-25 CSSB.

Matters Arising

During the discussion of previous minutes, Nabila Haroon, a Maintained Primary Governor for Ronald Ross Primary School, raised questions about the financial costs of tribunals, seeking clarification on the number of tribunals heard and their success rates for academic years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. She noted a discrepancy between Wandsworth's data and a BBC article regarding tribunal success rates. It was agreed that this matter would be raised at the forthcoming High Needs Block meeting. Additionally, Ms Haroon requested a review of data concerning educational, health, and care needs assessments, citing differences in recorded numbers of children. The Performance Team will be asked to review this data.