The Wandsworth Schools Forum was scheduled to meet to discuss the Dedicated Schools Grant recovery strategy, school balances, and the potential use of AV1 robots to support children with medical needs. The meeting was also scheduled to review the minutes from the previous meeting and note future meeting dates.

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Recovery Strategy

The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Recovery Strategy, including both the content of the updated recovery plan and the key milestones in the 'invest to save' initiatives.

A report in the Public Reports Pack - June 2025 outlined the challenges and successes in delivering ambitions for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It noted that Wandsworth was proud of its local SEND provision, having invested £45 million in new state-funded local provision in the last five years. However, the report also acknowledged financial pressures and the impact of falling pupil numbers on school funding.

The report stated that the trajectory of Wandsworth's DSG deficit was concerning, with the current accumulated deficit of £21 million potentially rising to between £40 million and £70 million over the next five years.

The report outlined a plan to mitigate these trends, focusing on:

• Investment in provision to support schools and enable greater inclusion.
• Early intervention initiatives to support young people transitioning between educational stages.
• Investment in state-funded provision while working with regional organisations to reduce reliance on independent placements.

The DSG Recovery Plan aligns with the goals of improved SEND outcomes while reducing financial costs, and it is linked to Wandsworth's new SEND strategy for 2025-2028¹. The strategy focuses on ensuring early support, building a more inclusive education system, supporting smoother transitions into adulthood, and fostering stronger partnerships between children, families, and professionals.

The report also detailed several recovery plan strategies and business cases, including:

• Nursery Inclusion Project for All (NIPA): This project aims to provide early intervention and support to children in their nursery year, enabling more successful transitions into reception without requiring an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
• SEN Support Fund: This fund provides training for mainstream primary and secondary schools to reduce the number of EHCP assessment requests.
• Enhanced Transition Project: This project provides a multidisciplinary network of support for pupils during periods of transition, such as from nursery to reception or year 6 to year 7, without the need for an EHCP.
• Child Poverty Alleviation Strategy: This strategy aims to ensure that all families have access to the right support to prevent them from falling into or remaining in poverty, recognising that children with SEND are disproportionately affected by poverty.
• SEND Sufficiency: This involves investing in local state-funded provision, reducing the average cost of placements, and encouraging independence. This includes expanding Paddock School², Nightingale School, and Granard Resource Base.
• Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) intervention and training: This includes developing a SEMH strategy and addressing Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA).
• In-House Tuition: This involves bringing tuition from the private sector to an in-house solution led by Francis Barber PRU³ and the Hospital and Home Tuition Service (HHTS).
• Rapid Response Team: This team would provide quick interventions to target support at crisis points to help maintain placements in mainstream settings.

The report presented two scenarios for the DSG reserve over the next five years, with the difference being the effectiveness of the 'invest to save' initiatives in reducing EHCP demand.

A related report, the DSG Recovery Strategy - Delivery Plan - June 2025, outlined the key dates for delivery of the various 'invest to save' strategies and the proposed next steps.

School Balances

The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss a report illustrating the change in schools' balances over the last year and outlining the support offered by the local authority (LA) to schools facing financial difficulty.

The School Balances FY 2024-25 report provided details of the levels of state-funded school balances and how they compare locally and nationally. It noted that Wandsworth provides schools with support, training, tools, and data to help manage financial and resource management challenges, particularly those posed by falling pupil numbers.

The report stated that school balances overall had increased steadily between 2020-21 and 2024-25, with cumulative reserves now at £43.4 million. However, academy reserves have shrunk by 5.7% since August 2023, while maintained schools saw a 14.3% increase in reserves in FY 2024-25.

Maintained nursery schools in Wandsworth continue to experience significant financial difficulties, although the level of reserve has risen slightly from £(404k) in March 2024 to £(329k) by March 2025.

Cumulatively, primary schools' reserves in Wandsworth have decreased over FY 2024-25 by 2.2%. Secondary school balances also decreased by £1.1 million (4.4%) in FY 2024-25.

Following two years of decline, Wandsworth Special School balances have increased significantly over the last year, with an increase of £1.7 million in FY 2024-25.

The report also included benchmarking data, comparing Wandsworth schools to those in Inner London, Outer London, and Outside London.

The report detailed the financial support offered to schools, including financial tools and applications, such as the Access Education Finance application and the Arbor MIS application. It also outlined the process for identifying schools with emerging financial concerns and providing support through informal Financial Support meetings.

AV1 Robots

The Schools Forum was scheduled to receive information on the council's proposal to launch a needs-led implementation of AV1 robots⁴, a dynamic online technology to support children with medical needs.

The AV1 Robots - June 2025 report stated that the AV1 robot, developed by No Isolation, offers an alternative approach, allowing pupils to maintain their presence in the classroom through secure, real-time audiovisual communication.

The council was considering introducing up to 20 AV1 robots to provide a practical, technology-driven solution that maintains access to education while students are unable to physically attend school. The focus is on implementing technology-driven solutions that facilitate real-time audiovisual communication, allowing pupils to maintain their presence in the classroom. The commissioning of AV1 will aim to address persistent absence, particularly due to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

The AV1 is a remote learning avatar robot which becomes the student's 'physical presence' in a classroom whilst a young person accesses the robot from hospital or their home. Through the AV1 dedicated app, the user can connect to their AV1 at school, whilst they remain remotely at home or hospital using their smartphone or tablet.

The report referenced the Department for Education's guidance, Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health Needs: December 2023, which specifically references telepresence technology as an integration tool for pupils during periods of absence.

The report also presented data on school absence in the UK, noting that more than 150,000 pupils are now classed as severely absent.

The report detailed approaches taken by other local authorities, such as Southend-on-Sea, Somerset, and Staffordshire County Council, who have adopted AV1 with positive outcomes.

The report outlined several options for the council to consider, including short-term rental, long-term rental, and outright purchase of AV1 robots.

The report also addressed the potential risks and safeguarding considerations associated with the use of AV1 robots.