The Gloucestershire Schools Forum meeting on 13 June 2024 focused on the allocation of the Early Years Teachers Pay Award Grant, the draft High Needs Budget for 2024/25, and updates on the f40 Group's activities. Key decisions included the allocation of surplus Early Years funding and the proposed 3% inflationary uplift to the SEND banding.

Early Years

The Head of Early Years presented a report on the proposed use of the Early Years Teachers Pay Award Grant and the carried forward Early Years balances from 2022/23. Gloucestershire County Council received £124,000 for the 2023/24 Early Years Teachers Pay Award Grant. As there is no maintained Early Years provision in Gloucestershire, the council was advised to target the funding to address additional pressures faced by Early Years providers.

The Forum agreed to add the surplus Teachers Pay Award Grant of £124,000 to the Early Years balance of £612,000 from 2022/23, making a total of £736,000. This amount will be used as follows:

• Retain £200,000 (27%) for contingency.
• Allocate £536,000 (73%) to providers proportionately, based on the full academic year hours 2022/23.

The Early Years block for 2024/25 provided hourly rates of £10.33 for under two-year-olds, £7.60 for two-year-olds, and £5.47 per hour for three- and four-year-olds. The majority of providers selected option 1 for the devolvement of the hourly rate, which was subsequently agreed. Further consultation is ongoing to agree on the payment schedule, including the possibility of moving from termly to monthly payments.

Roz Nelson, representing Early Years, highlighted the significant pressures on the sector, including the risk of closures and challenges around recruitment and retention of staff. The Forum discussed the need for sufficient funding and support to ensure the sustainability and quality of Early Years education.

High Needs

The Head of Education Strategy and Development presented the draft High Needs Budget for 2024/25, which showed a gap of £23.583 million between expected expenditure and the High Needs funding allocation. Key assumptions included a 3% increase in the banding levels, an increase in special school places, and adjustments to the Hospital Education services.

Two Forum members representing secondary school headteachers emphasised the crisis point schools are facing due to insufficient funding for SEND support. They suggested that any additional government funding should be allocated to schools to support children with SEND. A member representing special school governors also stressed that the proposed 3% increase to special school banding was not sufficient.

The Head of Education Strategy and Development acknowledged the reliance on independent special schools and the need for more special school places in the county. A breakdown of the cost of placements at independent special schools will be presented at the June Forum meeting.

The Forum also discussed the SEND Targeted Support Funding Model, which is being reviewed to provide greater control of expenditure and assess the impact of funding. The new model will be implemented in two phases, with further refinement and consultation planned for the summer.

f40 Update

The Head of Education Strategy and Development provided an update on the f40 Group's activities. The f40 Group is working to ensure that education is a key priority in political manifestos ahead of the forthcoming general election. The Group believes that £4.6 billion is needed for SEND funding based on demand and inflation from 2015-2023. If the full level of funding cannot be provided by the government, policy reforms will be considered.

Key areas of focus for the f40 Group include investment in Early Years and mainstream education, clarity around the national notional SEND funding formula, and the need for sufficient specialist places to reduce reliance on independent special schools.

For more details, you can refer to the Public reports pack Thursday 13-Jun-2024 14.00 Gloucestershire Schools Forum and the Minutes - March 2024.