Report CEF20044

The report provided an outline of the final DSG allocation for 2021/22 and an overview of how this would be spent.

The Sub-Committee noted that there had previously been concerns in terms of the sufficiency of the funding received for the High Needs Block which had been part of past lobbying activity.  It was pleasing that over the past two years there had been considerable uplift in the funding received which was very much needed however there remained ongoing pressures on the High Needs Block and lobbying would continue until this was recognised and appropriate funding allocated to meet the ongoing pressures.

The Head of Children’s Services Finance provided an overview of the report explaining that adjusting for the recoupment for High Needs, overall DSG funding amounted to just over £312m.  The Central Block mostly covered the Local Authority central services and continued to receive a contribution from the Council as year-on-year funding continued to be cut.  This year, although funding for the Central Block had increased, £240,000 of this had been the result of an additional grant put into the Block as a result of this, in real terms funding had decreased.  Funding for the Early Years Block had remained static with some additional funding due to increases in the hourly rates payable via the grant.  Funding from the Schools Block was nearly all distributed to schools with a small amount retained for growth funding.  The Sub-Committee noted that the Teacher’s Pay and Pension Grants had been amalgamated into the DSG and this accounted for the majority of the increase in funding.  The National Funding Formula was used to allocate funding to schools.  The Committee noted that at this point there were no particular issues with the funding to schools with some schools still having a minimum funding guarantee.  In relation to the High Needs Block, there were a number of pressures on this block with significant increases in the number of Education Care and Health Plans (ECHP) and these significant pressures would continue.  Challenges in the High Needs Block would continue in the coming years with one key issue being the lack of clarity in terms of funding beyond 2021/22 and whether there would be sufficient funding to meet demand coming through.

In response to a question, the Head of Children’s Services Finance confirmed that in previous years the Local Authority had contributed £1m to the School Central Block as a contribution to the High Needs Block in addition to the £1m that was transferred from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block.  The current contribution of £450,000 was in recognition of the decreases in the Central Schools Block that would be implemented over time.

The Head of Children’s Services Finance confirmed that £500,000 would be transferred from the Early Years Block to the High Needs Block as some of the costs covered by the High Needs Block were related to early years high needs services that were being delivered.

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Director of Education confirmed that the Local Authority would always seek to implement appropriate early intervention and provision for all children and young people requiring such support.  The exponential increase in the rate of ECHPs was leading to pressures on the High Needs Block but it was also recognised that not every child required an ECHP and the provision available needed to be appropriate to the specific needs of the child.  The Director of Children’s Services confirmed that future reports would be predicated on the fact that the Local Authority was managing its offer of early help very well and consequently predicting the slowing of the rate of the increase in ECHPs.

The Sub-Committee noted that the issue of the engagement of medical professionals in the statutory ECHP assessment process had been specific to the first national lockdown in response to Covid-19 when the impact of the pandemic had been unknown and as a result a number of medical professionals across the Country had, quite rightly, been diverted to support the response to the pandemic.  This led to an element of delay with the completion of the statutory assessment process.  However, the situation had been well managed and the Local Authority had worked with families to mitigate and minimise the impact.  Health colleagues had now returned to working in their substantive roles and the Local Authority had been provided with assurances that there would be no further redeployment of staff.

In respect of the impact of the closure of Hollybank, the Chairman noted the impact of the current lockdown with many special schools currently operating at almost 100% capacity as the guidance indicated that education provision should continue for children with special needs.  The Director of Education confirmed that special schools and specialist provisions had done a wonderful job in supporting some of the most vulnerable children throughout the pandemic, as had other settings.  The Local Authority had been working closely with all settings and schools to support them in responding to the Government guidance and advice.  The Local Authority had issued a Collaborative Risk Assessment Framework that supported any setting to consider the individual needs of a child and whether they could safely attend schools or other settings.  As such, attendance of the most vulnerable children and young people was manged on a risk based approach appropriate to the needs of children and young people.

RESOLVED: That the Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the Dedicated Schools Grant allocation and the methodology of its distribution.