Agenda item

To consider the Report

Vicky Wales presented the High Needs Block report.

The HNB Task and Finish Groups in Poole and Bournemouth have been brought together, along with representation from Christchurch, as per the request at the previous meeting.  The new combined group is titled the BCP HNB Financial Strategy Group.

Members of the new Group have been identified and the first meeting is to be held on 15 November 2018.  Vicky Wales and Dave Simpson have worked together to create a Terms of Reference and Forward Plan for the Group.  There are 3 meetings scheduled prior to the December meeting of the Shadow Schools Forum.

It was acknowledged that the timescales given were tight; the Group has a lot of very challenging work to do before the Forum meeting in December with some potentially unpalatable decisions to be made.  It was considered that methods considered deliverable in reducing spend have already been taken into account in calculating the £5.7 million shortfall. 

Outreach services across Bournemouth and Poole were discussed; data is being collated to determine the way forward.

It was raised that there was no Early Years representative in the HNB Financial Strategy Group.  A volunteer was requested.

ACTION: The Clerk will provide the dates for the BCP HNB Financial Strategy Group to the early years representatives.

It was considered that there was a danger that cuts in budgets had the potential to increase spend, not reduce it; the success of schemes may not be able to be measured in terms of lower spend, but rather in the reduction in of increases in costs.

The timescale for the decision about the size of the transfer to the HNB was discussed.  A transfer of larger than 0.5% needs to be lodged with the DfE by the 30 November 2018; this does not have to specify the amount of the transfer.  The decision regarding the amount of transfer needs to be completed at the December meeting of Forum.

On completion of the discussion regarding the HNB funding, Forum considered the recommendations of the Mainstream Formula Sub-Group:

(i)    Support the recommendations of the formula subgroup in establishing the formula changes required to achieve a 1.5% transfer, the scaling of this option for smaller transfers, and the approach illustrated to achieve transfers above 1.5% and agree whether these recommendations should form the basis of the LA formula consultation with schools.

(ii)  Agree/ disagree disapplication requests can be submitted to the DfE in preparation for decision-making will be in December.

RESOLVED by unanimous agreement that:

(i)   Support the recommendations of the formula subgroup in establishing the formula changes required to achieve various levels of transfer

(ii)  It should be lodged with the DfE by 30 November 2018 that a transfer of greater than 0.5% may be requested.  A disapplication request to be made to vary the MFG calculation for all all-through schools adding primary year groups.

Previous discussions considered setting a variable MFG such that for any school whose funding is protected at >20% through MFG would have MFG set at -1.5% and no floor, regardless of the MFG level set in the formula. This option did not have the support of the formula working group and so it is proposed not to submit a disapplication request for this.