Agenda and minutes
Venue: Bromley Civic Centre
Contact: Philippa Gibbs 020 8461 7638
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Karen Raven and David Wilcox.
The Chairman reported that Richard Edmunds was no longer a member of the Schools’ Forum having left his post of Head Teacher at Warren Road Primary School in December 2019.
The Chairman also welcomed Julie Crew, the new Head of School Finance Support, to the meeting and introductions took place. It was noted that Julie Crew would be taking over from Amanda Russell at the end of the month and was attending as an observer at the meeting. |
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 7 NOVEMBER 2019 PDF 149 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2019, were approved and signed as a correct record.
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2020/21 DEDICATED SCHOOLS GRANT PDF 173 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Report ED18085
The report provided an outline of the final Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocation for 2020/21 and an overview of how funding would be spent.
The expected income from the DSG, divided into the four blocks, was
Each of the four blocks had been reviewed and the related expenditure for 2020/21 forecasted based on information currently available. Full details of the projected grant income and expenditure were included at Appendix 1 of the report. In summary, the Schools Central Block was showing a £360k overspend, which was proposed to be met by a contribution from the Council to offset the deficit. The Early Years block remained balanced, despite a slight decrease in income, the Schools Block remained balanced, and the High Needs Block was showing a £1,100,000 underspend which would be carried forward to offset funding pressures in future years.
The outgoing Head of School Finance Support introduced the report and provided an explanation of each of the four blocks within the DSG, noting that on the whole there had been a good settlement for Bromley this year.
Schools Central Block
The Schools’ Forum noted that much of the expenditure in this block was fixed (such as the licenses for all schools) and consequently there was limited scope for savings to be made. This block had been balanced by an expected contribution from the Local Authority (LA) of £360,000.
Early Years Block
The Head of School Finance Support circulated a document detailing the agreed increases in Bromley Early Years funding. The Forum also noted that there was a £500,000 contribution to the High Needs Block to support Early Years children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Early Years representative confirmed that the funding for 2020/21 would be well received by the Early Years Settings.
In response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, the Head of School Finance Support explained that she did not know whether the new funding rates took account of the London Living Wage. However, it would be down to the settings to manage the funding they received and it was hoped that in allocating funding the Government had taken account of the London Living Wage. The Head of Education and Children’s Services Finance confirmed that if the London Living Wage became a particular issue there would be a need for the Government to make in-year adjustments.
Schools’ Block
The Head of Schools Finance Support provided a detailed explanation of the calculations for the block. Based on the published figures the Primary unit of funding had increased from £4200 to £4282 (an increase of around 1.95%). The Secondary unit of funding had increased from £5183 to £5408 (an increase of around 4.34%). The funding for each school was calculated using the National Funding Formula (NFF) with additional funding ... view the full minutes text for item 21. |
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS Minutes: In bringing the meeting to a close, the Chairman noted that this was Amanda (Mandy) Russell’s last Schools’ Forum meeting. Mandy had been instrumental in setting up the Schools’ Forum and had supported it from the start. The Chairman noted that Mandy would be a big loss to the Schools’ Forum and the Forum wished her well in retirement and thanked her for everything she had done.
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING Provisional dates for the 2020/21 municipal year are
11 June 2020 17 September 2020 5 November 2020 21 January 2021
The provisional dates are subject to change and will be confirmed in May 2020. Minutes: Provisional dates for the 2020/21 municipal year were
11 June 2020 17 September 2020 5 November 2020 21 January 2021
The provisional dates were subject to change and would be confirmed in May 2020.
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