Agenda and draft minutes

Welcome by the Chair and introductions by all Forum Members present.

The Chair welcomed everyone to today’s meeting and introductions were made.

To invite Forum Members to declare any interests they may have on agenda items to be considered at this meeting, to confirm the nature of those interests and whether they intend to leave the meeting for the consideration of the item.

No declarations of interest were made.

Recommendation:-  To receive and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 30^th January 2025

Resolved:

·            That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2025 were agreed and approved as a correct record of the proceedings.

To consider and report on any matters arising from the previous minutes:-

No matters arising arose during the consideration of the previous meeting minutes.

To consider any updates or amendments to the membership of the Schools Forum following a review of membership arrangements.

Based on the School Sector Breakdown to include:-

·       John Barnett, Primary School Headteacher (Maintained) (filling a vacancy).

·       Kate Blythe, Primary School Headteacher (Maintained) (filling a vacancy).

·       Paul Higginbottom, Primary Academy Representative (filling a vacancy).

·       Carol Brookes as Substitute for Lisa McCall (Secondary Academy Representative)

and remove:-

·       Phil Davies, Secondary Academy Representative

·       David Sutton, Academy Governor Representative

Recommendation:          

To consider and approve the amendments/updates to the membership of the Rotherham Schools Forum.

Consideration was given to the membership and constitution of the Schools’ Forum and suggested changes were put forward for approval.

Resolved:

·            That the appointment of John Barnett as a maintained Primary School Headteacher representative for a term of 3 years be agreed.

·            That the appointment of Kate Blythe as a maintained Primary School Headteacher representative for a term of 3 years be agreed.

·            That the appointment of Paul Higginbottom as a Primary Academy representative for a term of 3 years be agreed.

·            That the appointment of Carol Brookes as a substitute attendee for Lisa McCall, Secondary Academy representative be agreed.

·            That the removal of Phil Davies, Secondary Academy representative be agreed.

·            That the removal of David Sutton, Academy Governor representative be agreed.

Head of Finance (CYPS) and Principal Finance Officer (CYPS) to report.

Recommendations:

1.    That Schools Forum note the latest published DSG funding for schools for the 2024/25 financial year.

2.    That Schools Forum note the financial positions of Rotherham’s maintained schools and the identified financial risks against the schools DSG budgets for the year.

The Principal Finance Officer presented a report on the latest position of the schools’ budget for 2024/25 and commented on the following:

·       The latest confirmed DSG funding allocation position which remained unchanged from the last reported position to Forum on 30^th January 2025.

·       The de-delegated budgets position which remained on track to spend to budget, with the exception of the Schools in Financial Difficulty which had a small over-commitment forecasted for the year.

·       The Central block position which remained within budget.

·       The latest forecasted position for the High Needs Block which had increased from the last reported position to Forum on 30^th January 2025 and the factors that were attributable to the cost pressure in this area.

·       The latest forecasted position for the Early Years Block and the factors that were attributable to the cost pressure in this area.

·       The local authority maintained delegated school budget position, which had seen a positive shift due to changes to the nursery and secondary budgets that were partially offset by a negative shift in primary school budgets noting that the reduction in primary school budget balances had been largely driven by the recent conversion of two schools.

·       The February budget monitoring submissions which indicated a decrease in net surplus compared to the 2023/24 outturn position reflective of the increased financial pressures faced by schools as well as the in year academy conversions.

·       The latest position of those schools operating with licensed deficits which continued to be closely monitored.

·       The associated timescales for maintained schools to submit their budget plans covering a three-year period from 2025-26 to 2027-28.

·       The funding arrangements for the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) grant for mainstream schools in 2025/26 noting that for 2026-27 the funding for mainstream primary and secondary schools would be incorporated into the schools national funding formula (NFF).   Separate national base rates would apply for each age range in respect of the Early Years NICs grant (as set out in the presented report).

·       Accessibility of the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) grant calculator tool for mainstream schools.

·       The provisional 2025-26 Pupil Premium Grant allocation for Rotherham, noting that a further increase was expected next year as a result of the additional pupils identified through the Free School Meals exercise recently undertaken.

Resolved:

·       That the Schools Forum note the latest published DSG funding for schools for the 2024/25 financial year.

·       That the Schools Forum note the financial positions of Rotherham’s maintained schools and the identified financial risks against the schools DSG budgets for the year.

Head of Finance (CYPS) and Principal Finance Officer (CYPS) to report.

Recommendations:

1.    That Schools Forum note the High Needs funding settlement for 2025/26.

2.    That Schools Forum note the proposed funding requirements for 2025/26, particularly in relation to the number of commissioned specialist places and the payment of top up funding to mainstream, special schools /academies, and other providers and settings.   

Form Members agreed to the deferral of this item to the next scheduled meeting.

To consider the attached Forward Plan of agenda items and receive any updates.

Forum Members reviewed the Forward Plan circulated with the agenda pack and confirmed no additions or amendments were required.

Resolved:

·            That the Forward Plan be noted.

To receive any other items of urgent business.

There were no other urgent business items raised.

The Chair of the Forum concluded business and thanked everyone for their attendance and contributions.