The West Northamptonshire Schools Forum met to discuss school and early years funding for the 2026-27 financial year, agreeing to increase the amount of funding passed directly to early years providers, and to continue transferring 0.5% of funding from the schools block to the high needs block. The forum also reviewed and approved the updated West Northamptonshire Council Section 19 Policy Statement, which outlines the council's duty to provide education for children unable to attend school. The Schools Forum also noted updates on the Schools White Paper, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) monitoring for 2025-26, and high needs provision.

Schools Funding 2026-27

The Schools Forum endorsed proposals for the 2026-27 schools budget, following a consultation with schools. ¹ Key decisions included:

• Transferring Funds to High Needs: The forum agreed to continue transferring 0.5% of funding from the schools block to the high needs block, a move that has been in place since 2023-24. This transfer aims to alleviate pressure on the high needs budget, which faces increasing demand for services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Some respondents requested greater transparency in how the funding is spent, and assurance that it won't disproportionately affect growing schools. Others felt that schools are already required to use their notional SEND budget and that top up funding doesn't cover the full costs for high needs pupils, and that top slicing budgets will greatly impact schools which are already over-stretched.
• Balancing Budget Shares: In the event that the total of schools' individual budget shares exceeds the available schools block allocation, the forum agreed to apply a cap to year-on-year per-pupil increases. Some responses suggested that if capping is applied, that scaling should also be applied and that the cap affects some schools unfairly, with specific mention of schools with planned strategic growth and those in low socio economic areas. There was a request for more financial modelling to be provided for increased transparency and additional consultation.
• Growth Funding: The forum supported the proposed growth added into school budgets for new and growing schools, where new classes are being added but are not yet reflected in the October census (referred to as weighted average numbers). Some respondents asked whether weighted numbers would result in taking funding from other schools, and expressed concern that this would add to the financial strain on schools. There was also a request for greater transparency on how the decision is taken to fund certain schools, and whether schools with spaces could pick up additional numbers even if slightly out of area.
• Falling Rolls Fund: The forum agreed to create a falling rolls fund of £0.5 million from the schools block for 2026-27, to support schools facing declining pupil numbers. Some responses added that the funding shouldn't be a substitute for robust place-planning or long-term sufficiency strategies, with suggestions such as restructures and joining larger Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) provided. It was also noted that if implemented the falling rolls funds criteria must be clear, equitable and consistently applied and well communicated to schools.
• Central Schools Services Block Expenditure: The Schools Forum supported the proposed central schools services block expenditure. Two comments were received for the central schools services block both supporting the spend but requesting greater transparency to include service-level outcomes reports showing what has been delivered and the measurable impact, breakdowns of cost drivers, including inflationary pressures and service redesigns, and clarity on statutory vs. discretionary elements, enabling schools to understand where value for money is strongest.
• Trade Union Facility Time: The Schools Forum agreed to continue with the current rate of £7.93 per pupil for trade union facility time de-delegation[^1] . [^1]: De-delegation is where funding is taken from maintained primary school budgets for specific purposes. Academies can choose to buy into these services.
• School Improvement Grant: The forum agreed to continue the School Improvement Grant at the rate of £4.50 per pupil.
• Redundancy Fund: The forum agreed to continue the redundancy fund at an unchanged rate of £4.00 per pupil, to support schools that are restructuring to prevent a deficit budget.

Early Years Funding 2026-27

The Schools Forum agreed to increase the pass through rate to early years providers to 97% of total budget for 3 and 4-year-old funding, with 3% retained centrally. They also agreed to continue passing through 97% of the total budget for under-2s and 2-year-old funding, with 3% retained centrally.

The forum agreed to continue the deprivation supplement for 3 and 4-year-olds, as set out in Department for Education (DfE) guidance. However, they did not agree to introduce a deprivation supplement for under-2s and 2-year-olds. The Schools Forum agreed to increase the existing Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding (SENIF) hourly rate by £2.00, resulting in a new hourly rate of £12.00 for eligible providers. The forum agreed to continue the current distribution of the ring-fenced part of the Maintained Nursery Schools grant, funding 5% based on the number of children from Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) 30% postcodes and the remainder on January census hours.

New West Northamptonshire Council Section 19 Policy Statement

The Schools Forum noted the updated Section 19 Policy, as agreed by West Northants Cabinet on 11 November 2025. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to provide suitable education for children of compulsory school age who, due to illness, exclusion, or other reasons, cannot attend school. The policy aims to provide clarity to schools and parents/carers on when this duty applies and confirms the council's approach. The policy aligns with Department for Education (DfE) policy and is in line with statutory requirements. The processes outlined in the policy have been developed by the school attendance service. The policy sets out the council's position on Section 19 responsibilities and provides clarity of expectations.