This meeting of the Schools Finance Forum was scheduled to be about the financial position of Gwynedd's Schools. The meeting was scheduled to include presentations from the Schools' Group Accountant on school balances, the education budget, and projections for school funding. There was also scheduled to be an update on changes being made to the way that funding for Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion (ALN) is allocated.

School Balances

The Schools' Group Accountant, Kathy Bell, was scheduled to present her report on School Balances. The report shows balances for individual schools as at 31 March 2024 and analyses trends in the Authority's balances for schools back to 2017. The report notes that while school balances increased during the pandemic, those gains are currently being used up very quickly . The report notes that three primary and three secondary schools had a financial deficit by the end of the 2023/24 financial year. The report goes on to say that Finance and Education services [are] working with those schools to resolve debt and to plan so that the schools [are] in a better financial position in the future . The report highlights that the total balances held by schools was projected to decline by the end of the 2024/25 financial year to approximately £4 million. The report concludes by noting that the emphasis should be on headteachers ensuring that the schools were scrupulously protected through the current period of financial uncertainty .

Education Budget and School Allocations

Kathy Bell was scheduled to present her report on the Education Budget and School Allocations. The report describes how the Education Department's budget of £117.9 million was to be allocated in the 2024/25 financial year. £96.6 million of the budget was allocated to schools, with the rest allocated to services including:

• Schools Quality Services
• Infrastructure and Support Services
• Leadership and Management
• Additional Learning Needs and Inclusion
• Youth Service. The report sets out how the money allocated to schools is further divided between primary, secondary, and special schools. The report also includes a detailed explanation of the formulae used to calculate funding allocations for individual schools. These formulae include a range of factors, including pupil numbers, the number of teachers, building floor area, numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals, and the number of pupils with Special Educational Needs.

Update: Changes to the ALN Funding Method

Ffion Edwards Ellis, Assistant Head of Department: Special Educational Needs and Inclusion, was scheduled to present her report on the new funding formula for ALN. The report describes the rationale for moving away from allocating ALN funding through the Moderation Panel to a new formula-based system, arguing that this will be fairer and provide greater stability in funding. The report explains that the new model uses data from pupil's Individual Development Plans. It notes that the data used does not take the age of the child into account, as this enabled schools to ensure that they made the best use of the budget for the benefit of the children while also ensuring that the formula to allocate funds did not become overly complicated . The report concludes by outlining the timetable for implementing the new model, with a view to having it in place by March 2025.

Schools' Projections

Kathy Bell was scheduled to present her report on Schools' Projections. The report is based on pupil census data from September 2024 and forecasts the impact of changing pupil numbers on school budgets over the following three years. The report projects that primary school pupil numbers will decrease by 460 by 2026, leading to a budget reduction of approximately £1.2 million. It was noted that 6th form funding is now the responsibility of MEDR, the middle tier body for North Wales. The report concludes by warning that as a result of messages about the Council's financial situation it is inevitable that schools will face a cut in 2025/26 .