The Hounslow Council Schools Forum met on 7 July 2025 to discuss school finances, membership, and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The forum was scheduled to review the 2024/25 budget outturn, school balances, and the scheme for financing schools. Members were also expected to discuss updates to the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Programme, banded funding, and the forward plan.

Finance Update

The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss several financial matters, including the 2024/25 budget outturn, school balances, and updates to the scheme for financing schools.

Budget Outturn: The forum was to review the general fund budget outturn, which showed an overspend of £14.8 million, including overspends in adult social care, housing services, waste and recycling, leisure services, and planning and buildings. The report noted that the overspend required a higher than planned drawing from reserves, weakening the council's financial resilience. The 2024/25 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) projection showed an underspend of £0.27 million against the high needs block, resulting in a smaller drawing from the DSG reserve than budgeted. The early years DSG ¹ had a brought forward balance of £1.297 million, but a clawback of £559,000 and an outturn overspend of £372,000 led to a reduced reserve balance of £365,000. The high needs DSG reserve had a deficit of £11.21 million at the start of 2024/25, which increased to £12.33 million after accounting for the in-year reserve drawing and contributions from the Department for Education (DfE) Safety Valve Programme² and local contributions.

School Balances: The forum was also scheduled to discuss school balances as of 31 March 2025. Schools with deficits and excess balances were to be identified. Schools with excess balances are those whose balances exceed 8.3% of their funding for the 2024/25 financial year. Schools that have held balances in excess of this amount for three consecutive financial years should expect the excess to be clawed back by the council, to offset shortfalls in the high needs DSG budgets. Schools with an excess balance are required to submit a use of balances return, explaining why they are holding the excess.

Scheme for Financing Schools: The Schools Forum was to discuss updates to the scheme for financing schools, which sets out the financial relationship between the London Borough of Hounslow and its maintained schools. The council last reviewed the scheme in 2024, and the DfE published updated statutory guidance in March 2025. One change to the previous scheme was to reflect the addition of an extra item where a school's budget share may be charged: the cost of an undisputed invoice for energy where a school has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of State for the supply of energy and failed to pay such an invoice. The updated scheme is scheduled to be formally updated and communicated to maintained schools, and published after approval by the cabinet in September.

High Needs Budget: The Schools Forum was to discuss the 2025/26 high needs budget, which is proposed at £79.76 million, exceeding available funding by £4.24 million. The high needs budget funds provisions such as special schools, SEN centres, independent and mainstream schools, further education, alternative provision, and specialist support services. The budget requirement is increasing across most categories of expenditure, with the largest increases in mainstream schools and maintained special schools.

De-delegated Budget: The Schools Forum was to receive an update on the de-delegated budget for 2025/26. De-delegation allows local authorities to retain funding from maintained schools' budgets to provide key education support services centrally. This approach aims to ensure consistency, efficiency, and access to specialist expertise across schools.

Unison Facilities Time: The Schools Forum was to consider a request from Hounslow Unison, representing non-teaching employees in schools, for parity of treatment with teaching unions regarding facility time. Unison argues that schools should not distinguish between the rights of teaching and non-teaching members in terms of trade union representation. They requested access to the facility time fund, noting that they have 446 members employed by Hounslow schools and should be entitled to two days full-time equivalent facility time.

SENIF Update: The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss changes to the way Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (SENIF) is allocated. Under the new model, all settings will receive SENIF as a notional funding, which is a set amount per child, to help support making their settings more inclusive and better learning environments. Early Years Ofsted registered providers, schools and child minders will not have to apply for notional SENIF budget, and it will be paid automatically along with the usual early years grants. Settings will still be able to apply for SENIF for children with additional needs that fall into bands 3, 4 and 5, and these cases will be discussed at a Mainstream Inclusion Panel (MIP).

SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Programme

Phillip Walker was scheduled to provide an update on the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Programme. The update was also to include discussion of banded funding and the school organisation plan.

Banded Funding: The Schools Forum was to receive an update on the One Hounslow Banded Funding Model. The model includes descriptors of need for cognition and learning, communication and interaction, sensory and physical needs, and social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH). It also includes a banded funding calculator and a funding matrix, with four bands ranging from £2,000 to £30,000. The model covers mainstream schools, SEN centres, and special schools, and aims to provide similar funding to pupils irrespective of the setting. The SEND and Alternative Transformation Board approved the rollout of the One Hounslow Banded Funding Model on 7 May 2025, and from September 2025, the new model will be applied to all new Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) where the council has agreed to issue one. The new model will be implemented according to the implementation plan agreed by the board, i.e., years 5 and 9 over the next four years.

Schools Forum Membership

The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss its membership. The membership list included John Wright as chair, Ranjit Berdesha as vice-chair, and representatives from various schools and organisations, including Vanessa Townsend from Strand on the Green I and N, Nadine O'Hara from Green Dragon Primary, John Norton from Alexandra Primary School, Ruth Woods from Strand on the Green Juniors, Joanne Lacey from Southville Primary, Mike Rose from The Heathland School, Clare Longhurst from Lindon Bennett, Lou Grimley from Woodbridge Park Education Service, Matilda Browne from Reach Academy Primary, Robert Ind from Cranford Community College, Andy De Angelis from Bolder Academy, Simon Hart from Springwest Academy, Jo Higginbottom from Isleworth & Syon School for Boys, Mairead Standring from Oaklands Academy, Tracy Aust from West Thames College, and Charlotte De Lacey from De Lacey Montessori School. Observers included Cormac Bourne, Councillor Samia Chaudhary, and Karen Kemble.

Forward Plan

The Schools Forum was scheduled to review the forward plan, which included dates for future meetings and topics for discussion. Future meetings were scheduled for 13 October 2025, 17 November 2025, 19 January 2026, and 23 February 2026.