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Lincolnshire Schools' Forum - Thursday, 2nd October, 2025 1.00 pm
October 2, 2025 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
The Lincolnshire Schools Forum met to discuss and approve the Section 251 Budget Statement for 2025/26, revised school budgets, alternative provision arrangements, and academies updates. Councillor Tristan Revell was elected as Chair of the forum, and Councillor Josh Greaves was elected as Vice-Chair. The forum also received reports on special educational needs and discussed the work programme for future meetings.
Election of Chair and Vice-Chair
Councillor Tristan Revell was elected as Chair of the Lincolnshire Schools Forum for 2025-2026, and Councillor Josh Greaves was elected as Vice-Chair. Councillor Revell thanked the forum for his nomination, noting that he had stepped forward to avoid the difficulties the forum had experienced in the previous meeting. Councillor Greaves also thanked the forum for his nomination.
Section 251 Budget Statement 2025/26
The Schools Forum received a report on the Section 251 Budget Statement 2025-26, presented by Mark Popplewell, Strategic Finance Lead for Children's Services. The Section 251 statement outlines the planned budget for education and children's services in Lincolnshire for the financial year. The forum was provided with a copy of the statement for their review.
Revised Schools Budgets 2025/26
The Schools Forum received a report regarding the Revised School Budgets 2025-26, presented by Mark Popplewell, Strategic Finance Lead for Children's Services. The report notified the Schools Forum of the revised schools budget for 2025/26 and sought support for the proposed use of underspending from 2024/25.
Alternative Provision Arrangements
The Schools Forum received a report providing a summary of the Alternative Provision (AP) arrangements in Lincolnshire 2024/25. The report was presented by Kate Capel, Head of Service Inclusion. Alternative provision refers to education arranged for students who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, are unable to attend mainstream schools1.
Annual Report - Special Educational Needs
The Schools Forum received the Annual Report on Special Education Needs, presented by Katie Marsden, Head of Service – Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Academies and Trust Update
The Schools Forum received a report providing information on the latest number of academies and pupils in academies, and academy trusts2. The Academies and Trust Update was presented by Mark Popplewell, Strategic Finance Lead for Children's Services.
Lincolnshire Schools' Forum Work Programme
The Schools Forum discussed potential items for future meetings, which will be subsequently included in the Work Programme.
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Alternative provision (AP) is education outside of mainstream schools for pupils who can't attend for various reasons, such as exclusion, illness, or other special needs. It aims to provide tailored support and education to help these students re-engage with learning. ↩
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Academy trusts are organisations that run academies, which are state-funded schools in England that operate independently of local authorities. They have more control over their curriculum, finances, and staffing. ↩
Attendees
Topics
No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.
Meeting Documents
Additional Documents