To receive the above report.

James Norris said the purpose of the report was to provide an update on the indicative settlement in 2021-22, the submission of the draft Authority Pro-forma Tool (APT) and the DMP.

The Chairman asked if the DMP could be delayed until the full impact of COVID-19 could be assessed, and the Forum was informed it would be unlikely to have a definitive plan and caveats would be put in place to allow variances.

The Chairman asked for Councillors present in the meeting to inform the Council that any action was short-term, with a review of longer-term plans post COVID-19. Councillor Hunt affirmed she would take this forward.

James Norris said there was an increase in the Schools Block, which would be passed onto the schools directly through the local formula. As the budget setting exercise was undertaken in advance of the December 2020 settlement, there was a need for budget realignment in the new financial year.

(Councillor Knowles joined the meeting.)

The LA was required to submit the draft Authority Pro-forma Tool (APT) to the Education Skills Funding Agency to ensure allocation of funding was going to academies and maintained schools equitably. This was to be approved by the Council on 23 February 2021.

The Chairman asked for a summary of why there was an increasing deficit going forward, and the Forum was informed that since 2016/17, the budget was in deficit. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit was steadily rising and there was approximately £1mn overspend in the High Needs Block (HNB). There were opportunities and underspends in the central block and growth fund, which had been factored in and could be released this year. The DSG deficit was forecasted to be £1.4mn in March 2021 and school balances had reduced over the same period by 40%. More money was going out of the system than in.

The Chairman said the growth in the HNB was worrying and the schools that had built up resilience were having to use them to close the gap within the budgets.

James Norris said that using trend data, it was forecasted that by 2024/25, if no changes in processes and practices were made, there would be a deficit in all blocks amounting to £8.2mn. It was proposed to pay off the current £1.4mn deficit in the next four financial years and reduce costs by £400,000 annually.

Kevin McDaniel explained the proposed list of DMP actions to help reduce costs, including:

• Block transfers - Block transfers could be made to provide greater resource to the HNB.
• Review existing Specialist Resource Provision – Have a wider collection of bases to support individual expertise within existing schools or settings to keep children in EHCP plans within the local system, rather than mainstream schools where support was given individually.
• Open new Resource units.
• Improved commissioning including annual reviews, inflation negotiations - Reassess the way annual reviews were done so that value for money and the outcomes were identified. There was additional capacity in the system to make annual reviews focused on provision and its impact.
• Increased contributions from partners – Young people received contributions from the health services for their conditions. The health services said they could be more responsive with the funding streams from the NHS to bring more resources. National mental health programs funded by the NHS would be rolled out in the next 4 years. Work would be done to see how the skills could be used to divert expenditure elsewhere.

(Councillor Cannon left the meeting.)

• Local SEN place sufficiency plan – Ensure there were enough places locally in special schools rather than resource units. Manor Green had grown significantly and the number of students with additional needs had increased in the college sector. Instead of sending children out of the borough, provisions could be made locally and ensure the authority was an influential commissioner. This could increase attractiveness to families and children with challenges outside of the borough.
• Post 16 pathway planning and proactive promotion of vocational pathways – With the change to EHCPs running up to the age of 25, there was an increasing proportion of young people accessing residential colleges outside the area, which was expensive. Feedback from young people suggested they would prefer accessing education while living in their existing community, which would reduce the cost. 
• Annually review the use and value for money of notional SEN funding with evidence that it is being used built into processes – Ensure there was consistency in provision, as the borough was diverse in the distribution of EHCP pupils.
• Review of High Needs Block activities for cost effectiveness – To ensure the activities add value and evaluate each funded cost centre.
• Review other block expenditure projections – Ensure the budget plan had credibility.

The Chairman asked if the actions were feasible and the Forum was informed there was no choice and there was a need to nationally pressure the system to be just.

The Chairman asked if there was any progress in plans to allocate borough children in local special schools before other boroughs, and the Forum was informed that there was limited progress because of law and regulations in admissions. The challenge was when children from other boroughs were having in-year transfers because of placement breakdown, and therefore remained the following year. Work needed to be done to stabilise placements to avoid breakdowns.

The Chairman said extra resource units would be greatly received by headteachers, as it made sense for children to be taught in their community. Kevin McDaniel said there was a significant growth fund allocation in mainstream schools planning, which was an allowable sum of money within the Schools Block to be delegated to the plan to provide the right units. The Forum could share the growth revenue to enable the units to start quickly. 

Michael Wallace raised his concern regarding the proposed resources, not units, that were spread between Windsor and Maidenhead. The children that went out of borough for a specialist education would not be suitable for resource provision but for a resource unit. Children would still travel a significant distance within the borough and would be away from their local community. Kevin McDaniel agreed and said the budget forecast had an additional cost for the items on the plan. This would not make a big cost saving for out of borough children and there was a need for a bigger group of schools to be willing to be involved in the conversation.

Kevin McDaniel asked if the Forum would be willing to write to the DfE about the concerns of the Forum and to recognise the Director of Children’s Services was from the local authority, which was one part of the triumvirate. The Chairman agreed and thanked the officers for their efforts.