The Wandsworth Schools Forum convened to discuss several key issues impacting education in the borough. The forum members agreed to set aside £40,000 from the SEN Support fund for Year 3 of the Enhanced Transition Project (ETP), and also discussed the National Funding Formula (NFF) for the upcoming financial year, pupil population projections, and high needs benchmarking data. The forum also noted reports on pupil population projections and high needs benchmarking for information.

National Funding Formula FY 2026-27

The Wandsworth Schools Forum discussed the upcoming changes to the National Funding Formula (NFF) for the financial year 2026-27. Abhay Gupta, Strategic Finance Business Partner - DSG & Education, presented a report outlining the changes and sought the forum's guidance on the principles behind the Wandsworth Local Funding Formula (LFF) for the same period.

The main points covered in the report were:

• The largest part of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is the Schools Block, which funds maintained and academy mainstream schools, both primary and secondary.
• The council receives this funding via the NFF, which looks at specific school and pupil characteristics at a fixed point in time (October census) to calculate the amount.
• Local authorities can choose to distribute funding to schools via the NFF or implement a Local Funding Formula (LFF).
• Every year, local authorities must move their LFF 10% closer to the NFF until the two formulae are aligned.

The report noted a delay in the Department for Education (DfE) publishing the NFF changes and Schools Block Allocations for local authorities for FY 2026-27. As a result, the forum had to rely on the current year's formula and allocations to inform their discussion on the FY 2026-27 LFF.

Gareth Evans, Assistant Director Children's Finance, explained that the DfE would be rolling certain grants into the NFF in FY 2026-27, including the Schools Budget Support Grant (SBSG) and the National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant.

Historically, Wandsworth's LFF has provided some protection to primary schools as pupil numbers have fallen in that phase. It has also focused on the Free School Meal (FSM) factor as the primary means of distributing deprivation funding. However, the requirement for the LFF to move at least 10% closer to the NFF each year is diluting these historical attributes.

The report included a table showing the annual percentage change in pupil numbers in primary and secondary phases over the last five years. It indicated that secondary numbers were increasing until FY 2023-24, when they started to fall. In FY 2025-26, they fell by 2.67%, which is now higher than the 2.25% fall experienced in the primary phase.

The forum was asked to consider the speed at which Wandsworth moves towards the NFF. Keeping to the minimum 10% move would transfer funding from primary to secondary schools more slowly, while moving directly to the NFF would result in the fastest movement of funding to secondaries but could put further strain on primary schools.

The Wandsworth Schools Forum resolved to model Minimum Funding Guarantee at 0% and -0.5% for a move of 10% (minimum) towards National Funding Formula (NFF), 20% and 100% closer to NFF.

Enhanced Transition Project - Update Dec 2025

The Wandsworth Schools Forum agreed to set aside £40,000 from the SEN Support fund for Year 3 of the Enhanced Transition Project (ETP). Andy Fish, Inclusion Service Manager, presented a report on the project's progress to date.

The ETP was piloted in January 2024 with 20 Year 6 pupils and funded for a second year, commencing in January 2025 with 22 pupils. The project aims to provide enhanced support for one year to pupils at SEN Support making the transition to secondary school who are deemed to be at high risk of requiring an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) without additional support.

The report highlighted positive outcomes for pupils within the first ETP cohort, now in Year 8. All 20 pupils continue to be recorded at SEN Support, and there have been very few exclusions or suspensions recorded. Feedback from professionals indicates that being part of the ETP has made it easier for them to promote their existing transition support to schools.

The report estimated the cost avoidance for Cohort 2 to be £120,000 per year, based on the assumption that eight out of 22 pupils were likely to have received an EHCP without the ETP.

The report recommended setting aside £40,000 from the SEN Support Fund for financial year 26/27 to fund the project. The funding would cover educational psychologist time, specialist teacher time, and resources/assessment materials.

The report also recommended implementing actions to build on the project's strengths, such as developing holistic support plans through Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings and improving communication and collaboration between professionals and schools. It also suggested actions to address challenges, such as difficulties around parental engagement and time and resource pressures.

Pupil Population Projections

Adam Wells, Head of School Admissions, Place Planning and Exclusions, presented an update on the Pupil Population Projections and Implications report. The report outlined current trends and considered possible future projections and their impact on areas of Wandsworth. All Wandsworth projections are underpinned by Greater London Authority (GLA) population forecasts.

The report noted that birth rates are currently forecast to continue to decrease until at least 2030, which is likely to drive a reduced need for school places for the next 10 years or more. The secondary population is also projected to decline from 2027/28.

To meet the impact of declining need for school places while ensuring future expansion flexibility, the council has been reducing the numbers of forms of entry for schools. Four primary schools have closed in recent years: Broadwater, Christchurch, St Anne's and Goldfinch.

The report included an update on current and possible future changes to primary school forms of entry by locality.

The report concluded that the next 10 years will be a challenging time for school budgets as the system adapts to a steady decline in pupil rolls. It is critical that the council works to ensure school classes are as full as possible.

The Wandsworth Schools Forum noted the report for information.

High Needs Benchmarking

Abhay Gupta, Strategic Finance Business Partner - DSG & Education, presented a report on the High Needs Benchmarking tool provided by the DfE alongside the FY 2025-26 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation at a per pupil level.

The High Needs Benchmarking Tool is a resource provided by the UK Department for Education (DfE) to help local authorities, schools, and stakeholders analyse and compare spending and outcomes related to high needs education.

The report compared Wandsworth's high needs expenditure to the average of its closest statistical neighbours: Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, Westminster, Camden and Richmond.

The key takeaway from the report was that, in FY 2023–24, Wandsworth had 27% more children with EHCPs per 1,000 of the 2–18 population compared to its statistical neighbours. Consequently, Wandsworth supported a higher number of children with EHCPs, per 1,000 of the 2–18 population, across mainstream schools, special schools, resource bases, and independent settings than its statistical neighbours.

The report also noted that Wandsworth spent more per head of 2-18 population for children with EHCPs attending special schools/AP&PRUs and mainstream schools.

The Wandsworth Schools Forum noted the report for information.

Other Matters

The Wandsworth Schools Forum also:

• Approved the minutes of the meeting of the Schools Forum held on 13th October 2025 as a correct record.
• Noted the future scheduled meetings of the Schools Forum on 12th January 2026, 16th March 2026, and 11th May 2026.