The Bury Schools' Forum met on Monday 12 January 2026 to discuss the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the 2026-27 academic year, including the Schools Block, Central School Services Block, High Needs Block, and Early Years Block. The Forum also reviewed the High Needs Budget Report for the same period.

Schools and Academies Funding 2026-27

The Forum discussed the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the 2026-27 academic year, which includes allocations for the Schools Block, Central School Services Block, High Needs Block, and Early Years Block.

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG)

The overall DSG allocation for Bury for 2026-27 was £270,890,792, representing a 5.3% increase from the previous year. This increase was largely driven by a significant 24.3% rise in the Early Years Block. The Schools Block saw a 3.5% increase, while the Central School Services Block increased by 2.2%. The High Needs Block remained unchanged.

Schools Block

The Schools Block allocation for 2026-27 was £176,712,533. This allocation was based on the National Funding Formula (NFF) unit values, which the Forum had previously recommended. The report highlighted a net reduction in funded pupils across both primary and secondary schools, with primary schools seeing a decrease of 334 pupils and secondary schools a decrease of 69 pupils. Despite the overall decline in pupil numbers, there was an increase in pupils attracting funding due to Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility. The report noted that while the funding rate is based on pupil numbers and characteristics, increases in certain factors that attract additional funding are lagged by a year by the Department for Education (DfE).

The Forum had previously recommended that the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) protection be set at -0.5%, in line with DfE guidance. The MFG is a safeguard to prevent a school's per-pupil funding from decreasing by more than a set percentage year-on-year. For 2026-27, local authorities could set the MFG between -0.5% and 0.0%.

The Forum also recommended the use of headroom – unallocated DSG Schools Block funding – to cover outstanding items such as October 2025 census variations, growth in pupil numbers, falling rolls, and MFG protections. A transfer of up to 0.5% of unallocated Schools Block headroom to the High Needs Block was also recommended to support deficit recovery.

Central School Services Block (CSSB)

The CSSB for 2026-27 was £1,175,003, an increase of 2.2% from the previous year. This block funds services such as admissions, Schools' Forum administration, national copyright licences, education welfare, asset management, and statutory/regulatory functions. The report proposed that the CSSB budgets be allocated to the applicable services and that the remaining balance of £131,200 be transferred to the High Needs Block to support cost pressures and the DSG Management Plan.

High Needs Block

The High Needs Block allocation for 2026-27 was £53,538,534, which remained unchanged from the previous year. This block funds local authorities' statutory duties for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The report noted that previous specific grants for special schools and other providers had been rolled into the main DSG allocation. A separate report detailed the estimated spend for the High Needs Block, which indicated an in-year deficit of £8,189, leading to an estimated deficit of £30,072,000 by March 2027. This deficit was attributed to the lack of inflationary increases in funding and increased demand for high needs provision.

Early Years Block

The Early Years Block saw a significant increase of 26%, reaching £39,464,722. This rise was attributed to the extension of the free childcare offer to eligible working parents for children from nine months old, and an above-inflation increase to the Pupil Premium funding rate for the Early Years Block. The report detailed the proposed central budget allocation within the Early Years Block, which represented 2.8% of the total funding and met the DfE's requirement to pass through at least 97% of funding for specific entitlement streams to providers.

High Needs Budget Report

The High Needs Budget Report provided a detailed breakdown of the estimated spend for the High Needs Block in 2026-27. The total estimated expenditure was £65,598,000, against a total allocation of £53,538,533, resulting in an in-year deficit of £8,189,000. This deficit was projected to increase the overall deficit brought forward from previous years to £30,072,000 by March 2027.

Key areas of expenditure included:

• Special Schools: £25,606,000 for 886 equated places across five special schools: Millwood, Elms Bank, Brookhaven, Cloughside, and Ash Grove.
• Resourced Provision Units: £2,729,333 for 157 places.
• Mainstream Top Ups: £12,254,000 for mainstream Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The number of EHCPs was projected to increase to 1,482 by the end of the year.
• Independent Special Schools: £14,773,022, a figure that had remained relatively stable due to increased capacity in Bury's own special schools.
• Post 16 Places: An estimated £2,400,000.
• Alternative Provision: An estimated £2,000,000, reflecting a significant increase in expenditure in this area.
• Other SEND Services: £4,590,000, covering a range of support services.

The report highlighted that the High Needs Block was cash flat, meaning there were no inflationary increases in funding. This, combined with rising demand, contributed to the growing deficit. The report also noted that Bury's allocation on a per capita basis was higher than its statistical neighbours, but future funding arrangements would be subject to SEND reforms and a new methodology.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 December 2025 were approved. This meeting also discussed the 2026-27 school and academies funding, including the Dedicated Schools Grant, Schools Block, Central Schools Services Block, High Needs Block, and Early Years Block. Decisions were made regarding formula unit values, de-delegation of funds, the Minimum Funding Guarantee, and the use of headroom. The High Needs Budget Report was also presented, outlining the estimated spend for 2026-27.