Agenda item

Response to Special Schools and PRU

The Forum received a report which was tabled, for information, in relation to the information regarding a query which had been raised by Special Schools and PRUs with reference to finance.

In March 2022, Special Schools and PRUs had submitted a paper for discussion at Schools Forum around their budgets.  This paper was submitted too late for discussion and it was agreed that it would be forwarded to the meeting in June 2021.

The Special Schools and PRUs felt that the consultation on the HNB held in December 2021 omitted a proposal to increase top up funding to Special schools and PRUs only by 2%.

The Special Schools and PRU had not had an increase in top-up funding for 5 years despite the HNB receiving significant increases. They felt that contextual information around their funding was not presented.

The Special Schools and PRUs would like to be consulted on how the Special School Supplementary Grant would be distributed and receive a 4% increase.

Local Authority Response

The proposals within the SEND and HNB consultation in December 2021 had been formulated through initial steering group meetings with Primary, Secondary and Special School / PRU / FP schools.  These proposals were then further refined and ratified by a steering group from Schools Forum.  The Schools Forum steering group consisted of Head Teachers from a mainstream Secondary School, a mainstream Primary School, a mainstream Secondary School with Focus Provision, a Special School and 2 PRUS.  The steering group considered the inclusion of a proposal whereby the top-up funding for pupils in Special Schools and PRUs only would increase.  This proposal was voted on by the group and had been discounted from the final consultation.

Although the total funding provided by the HNB had risen over the last 5 years, the additional funding had been used on supporting the increasing numbers of C/YP with EHC Plans, increasing specialist places and increasing access to SEN Support.  Surplus monies would be used to further support the increase in Specialist Places going forward and prevent the HNB from going into deficit.

An independent review of HNB funding in May 2022 had used a benchmarking exercise to measure Special School funding in Sandwell against similar special schools nationally.  It found that Sandwell special schools had a comparatively high spend per head compared to national.  This suggested that Special Schools still received adequate funding to provide for their students.

Moving forward the LA would await the results of the DfE SEND and AP Green paper consultation before reviewing the banding structure for Special School top-up funding.  The SEND and AP Green Paper was consulting on introducing a new national framework of banding and price tariffs for funding, matched to levels of need and types of education provision set out in the new national standards.  This would impact on all additional funding received by all Special Schools including academies and independent schools.

Schools supplementary grant was awarded to Special Schools and PRUS through an increase in the HNB funding (2.3 million).  Unlike mainstream schools, there was not a formula to base distribution on.  Local authorities could choose how they allocated funding.  In Sandwell, this was done through consultation with Special Schools and PRU.  The schools were provided with different models to base the funding allocation (FTE staff, NOR etc) and they had voted on a final model.

Each Special school and PRU received more than a 4% increase to their total budget through the supplementary grant.

Further methods of distribution would be reviewed and agreed during the next financial year.

M Arnull referred to paragraph 3.6 of the report where it stated that the proposal has been voted down.  In paragraph 3.9 it stated that a model was awaited.  In paragraph 3.11 it stated the special schools had received money through the supplementary grant in any case.  In view of this, he enquired why a vote had been taken, as referred to in 3.6, when the schools received the money in any case, via a different means.

M Tallents advised that at the point when the vote referred to in 3.6 had taken place, the supplementary grant had not yet been released.  The LA had not realised that this grant would be coming through at that point in time.  The supplementary grant, when received, had indicated that special schools would be dealt with differently to maintained mainstream schools.

Agreed that the contents of the Report be noted.

Further AOB

D Broadbent enquired if there was any additional funding for PE grants.

R Kerr advised that an email on this subject had recently arrived and that she would include the detail in the next Head Teachers’ letter.

The dates of future Forum meetings were noted, as set out below:-

                  •        26 September 2022

•        7 November 2022

•        12 December 2022

•        16 January 2023

•        20 March 2023

•        19 June 2023

The Next Meeting of Schools Forum: 26th September 2022 @ 2.30pm.

                  Location: TBC.

Meeting ended at 4.09pm