Schools Forum

Introduction   Schools Forums were set up to give schools greater involvement in the distribution of funding within their Local Authority (LA). They became mandatory in January 2003 and the powers of the Forum have been revised to reflect changes to school funding regulations.  The Schools Forum has some formal decision making powers on matters relating to the funding of schools.   Purpose of the Schools Forum   Functions of Schools Forums   The main functions of the School Forums are to comment on:

·         proposals for the school funding formula.

·         issues in connection within the schools budget

·         contracts for the provision of services to schools   Role of the LA   The LA has the lead role in making proposals to the Forum. In addition to setting up the Schools Forum, the LA calls and records meetings, and disseminates the outcomes to schools. It is also responsible for managing the expenses of Schools Forum members.   The Forum cannotmake proposals of its own but may comment and / or decide on the proposals put forward by the LA.   Membership   Schools Forum is made up of schools and non schools members.  The schools members are nominated or elected from schools and academies within the LA. The non schools members are appointed by the LA and comprise up to a third of the total membership of the Forum.  Terms of Reference   The detailed Terms of Reference for Enfield Schools Forum can be obtained from the Clerk to the Schools Forum.   Meetings   The LA decides the frequency of meetings in discussion with the Schools Forum.  As a minimum it should meet four times a year, but the Enfield Schools Forum usually meets about five / six times per year. Meetings are organised to take place in time for the Schools Forum to feed into the LA and school budget cycle. The timetable of meetings for the Enfield Schools Forum can be found at the top of this page. All meetings of the Forum are open to members of the public, however to ensure that adequate administrative arrangements are in place, please notify the Clerk to the Forum, in advance of the meeting that you wish to attend.   Contact details for the Clerk to the Schools Forum: Danusia Brzezicka (My pronouns are – she/her) Resources Co-ordinator People Department, London Borough of Enfield, Civic Centre, PO Box 56, Silver Street, Enfield EN1 3XQ   Direct tel: 0208 132 1822