Issue - meetings

This report provides an update against the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) Action Plan which identified actions to be taken to address the significant governance issues identified in the 2024/25 AGS.  

Progress against the agreed action plan is as follows: 

Dedicated School Grant (DSG) - The DSG deficit continues to increase, with an accumulated DSG deficit of £113.3m as of 31 March 2025. This is predicted to grow to £183.1m by the 31 March 2026. A detailed update report was taken to November Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. A further report is going to the January committee which includes potential suggestions for mitigations.  

Department for Education Statutory Direction for special educational needs and disability services (SEND) – February 2024 – a revised SEND and Improvement Plan was signed off in September 2025. This is reviewed monthly and reported to the SEND Improvement Boards. The local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and CQC took place in November, and the final report will be published in February 2026.  

Mandatory Training – training completion rates for Members has increased slightly but still falls below the expected rates.