The Schools Forum of Wiltshire Council was scheduled to consider a range of financial and operational matters concerning the county's schools. Key discussions were scheduled to include the Dedicated Schools Grant budget monitoring for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years, the review of school revenue surplus and deficit balances, and proposals for de-delegating certain central expenditure. The forum was also scheduled to address the Department for Education's consultation on upfront funding for mainstream schools to support SEND¹ provision and consider funding for exceptional circumstances related to school rents.

Updates from Working Groups

The forum was scheduled to receive updates from its working groups. This included noting the minutes from the joint meeting of the School Funding and SEN Working Group held on 23 September 2026¹. This working group's discussions were scheduled to cover the DfE consultation on high needs block funding, school balances for the 2025-26 financial year, the scheme for financing local authority maintained schools, de-delegation for maintained mainstream schools, and exceptional circumstances regarding school rents.

Wiltshire Schools Forum Review of Proportionality and Confirmation of Membership

A report was scheduled to be presented concerning the review of the proportionality and membership of the Wiltshire Schools Forum. This review was to ensure that the forum's membership broadly reflected pupil numbers across different school sectors. Proposed changes to the overall voting membership and the number of primary academy representatives were scheduled to be considered. The report also sought endorsement for revised Terms of Reference² for the forum.

Dedicated Schools Budget - Budget Monitoring 2025-26

The forum was scheduled to review the budget monitoring information for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the financial year 2025-26, reflecting the final outturn position as at March 2026³. The report was to detail variances by individual DSG block, highlighting an overall overspend against the DSG budget, largely driven by pressures within the high needs block, offset by an underspend in the early years block.

Dedicated Schools Budget - Budget Monitoring 2026-27

Budget monitoring information against the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the financial year 2026-27, as at the first quarter (June 2026), was scheduled to be presented⁴. This report was to outline forecast variances by DSG block, indicating an overall underspend against the budget, with a forecast overspend in the high needs block and an underspend in the early years block.

Schools Revenue Surplus and Deficit Balances 2025-26

A report was scheduled to present the position of revenue balances for Wiltshire maintained schools as at 31 March 2026, identifying those in surplus and deficit⁵. The report was to detail the net surplus balances for the financial year, noting a decrease in the number of schools in deficit compared to the previous year, alongside a reduction in the number of schools holding surplus balances. The report was also to highlight schools that may trigger an investigation from the Department for Education due to holding significant surplus or deficit balances for extended periods.

Annual Schools Consultation - De-Delegation

The forum was scheduled to be briefed on the annual schools consultation regarding the de-delegation of central expenditure⁶. This consultation seeks views from maintained schools on whether certain budgets, such as those for Free School Meal eligibility, licences, maternity costs, and school improvement services, should continue to be de-delegated for central provision. The report was to confirm the services for consultation, including Risk Protection Arrangements, and agree on the consultation questions.

DfE Consultation - Upfront funding for mainstream schools: Creating a 'Local SEND Inclusion Formula'

The forum was scheduled to consider the Department for Education's consultation on creating a local SEND inclusion formula⁷. This proposal aims to increase the upfront funding provided to mainstream schools for SEND support by raising the threshold of costs schools are expected to meet before accessing top-up funding. The report was to outline Wiltshire Council's response to the consultation, including concerns about the lack of additional funding and the potential financial risks, and explain the rationale for not submitting an expression of interest to pilot the new formula.

Update on Local SEND Reform Plan

A verbal update on the Local SEND Reform Plan was scheduled to be provided by Kathryn Davis, Director of Education and Skills, and Ben Stevens, Inclusion, SEND and AP Transformation Lead.

Funding for Exceptional Circumstances - Rents 2027-28

The forum was scheduled to consider an 'in principle' decision regarding the Wiltshire funding formula for the 2027-28 year, specifically concerning funding for 'Exceptional Circumstances Rents'⁸. This involves submitting a disapplication request to the Department for Education to support schools that incur significant rental costs for facilities like halls or playing fields, provided they do not exceed 5% of Wiltshire schools.

Scheme for Financing Local Authority Maintained Schools

A report was scheduled to provide Schools Forum members with updates incorporated into the Wiltshire Scheme for Financing Maintained Schools⁹. These updates were to reflect minor tweaks and changes in guidance, particularly concerning borrowing by schools and the introduction of IFRS16 for local authorities, which affects the accounting treatment of leases. The report was also to list the maintained schools to whom the scheme applies.

Confirmation of Dates for Future Meetings

The forum was scheduled to confirm the dates for its future meetings.