Agenda item

Louise Keith / Joshua Amahwe to report.

Recommendation:- (1) To note the latest DSG funding for schools for the 2024/25 financial year. 

(2) To note the financial positions of Rotherham’s maintained schools and the

identified financial risks against the schools DSG budgets for the year.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Louise Keith, Principal Finance Officer (Schools Finance) which provided an update on the school’s budget for 2024/25 since the position was last reported to Schools Forum in January 2024 and initial budgets for Rotherham maintained schools were submitted to the local authority in May 2024.

The latest confirmed DSG funding allocation for Rotherham for 2024/25 was £109.3m which included a total of £30.4m in schools block funding.

The total schools block allocation for 2024-25 after deductions for academy recoupment and NNDR was £30.45m.  There was no impact on the schools’ budgets as a result of the funding recoupment for academies. 

The revised High Needs Block allocation for 2024-25 was £46.37m after deductions of £11.5m for recoupment.  These were broken down as follows:-

·       Mainstream Academies - £592k

·       Special Academies - £8.1m

·       Special Free Schools – £1.4m

·       Further Education and Independent Learning Providers – £1.3m  

The £0.5m increase in the Early Years block increase in entitlement for Under 2’s was due to an increase in the estimated numbers from the DfE. 

The Forum was asked to note that the funding transfer of £1.2m was made from the schools’ block to the high needs block in 2024-25 and reflected the confirmed DfE decision on the disapplication request made by the Local Authority. 

It was confirmed that approved detailed 3-year budget plans were submitted to the Local Authority by maintained schools by the agreed deadline.  All but three schools submitted a balanced budget position.  Recovery and action plans have been put in place and two schools were receiving some additional financial support to help them return to a sustainable position within an agreed timeframe. 

It was noted that schools within the Borough had continued to raise sustainability concerns associated with increased cost pressures linked to the cost-of-living crisis this combined with a national fall in pupil numbers was putting primary schools under significant budget pressures. 

Forum Members were advised that there were a number of ways the Local Authority was able to support schools in financial difficulty and were encouraged to engage with Finance colleagues in the Local Authority to access support.

A verbal update was then provided on the free school meals auto enrolment process.  The main aims of the project were to ensure families received what they were entitled to, and schools received the Pupil Premium Grant associated with free school meals.  Each child currently receiving free school meals equated to £1,455 for primary students and £1,035 for secondary students. 

A working group was established comprising of representatives from Revenue and Benefits, Customer Services, Finance, Public Health and Education.  The core of the process involved cross matching revenue and benefits team data with school census data to collate a list of children eligible for free school meals but who are not currently claiming them.   The estimated number of families to be contacted was 500-600 and letters to those families were expected to be issued towards the end of July.  Customer Service staff would receive appropriate training for dealing with any associated calls or emails. 

Forum Members went on to discuss the potential barriers (language etc) that may occur through the issuing of a letter and if this had been taken into consideration. The Principal Finance Officer agreed to refer this back to the project lead officer.   

Forum Members commented that primary settings appeared to be the most affected from the data presented at 5.7 of the budget report.  The Principal Finance Officer confirmed that this was predominantly due to a fall in pupil numbers and that the same challenges were likely to be seen in secondary settings over the next five years. 

It was recognised that it was taking time to get support to address the significant rise in SEND needs.  EHCP costs were difficult to predict and ISG funding was a huge cost to schools. 

The Assistant Director confirmed that a Matrix of Need would be presented to Forum for discussion in September which would set out an agreed framework for funding children.  The SEND sufficiency programme was also working with schools to develop and implement increased SEND provision across the Borough.

Forum Members confirmed they would also welcome further detail on what financial assumptions were being made, and if there were any emerging patterns from the previous year’s financial position to help provide further context and understanding of associated risks.    The Principal Officer confirmed she would discuss this further with the Head of Finance and consider how this could be captured and reported.

Agreed: (1) That the latest DSG funding for schools for 2024/25 financial year be noted.

(2) That the financial positions of Rotherham’s maintained schools and the identified financial risks against the schools DSG budgets for the year be noted.