The Portsmouth Council Schools Forum is scheduled to meet on 8 October 2025 to discuss budget monitoring, revisions to the Dedicated Schools Grant, and pressures on the High Needs Block. The forum is expected to note the forecast overspend in the Dedicated Schools Grant, consider mitigation plans, and endorse budget revisions. They will also discuss new funding arrangements for the Early Years Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund.

High Needs Block Pressures

The Schools Forum is expected to discuss the pressures on the High Needs Block (HNB) of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). A report on this matter follows on from a previous report to the Schools Forum on 4 June 2025 entitled: meeting SEND needs and managing the pressure on the High Needs Block.

The report pack states that most local authorities are facing challenges in managing their High Needs Block, due to the increase in Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and the statutory nature of that provision. The report pack refers to a Local Government Association (LGA) survey from February 2025, which found that over half of responding councils anticipate being unable to balance their budget in 2026/27, with this figure rising to 65% in 2028/29.

The report pack also refers to a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies of December 2024, which highlighted the strategic dilemma facing central and local government in terms of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The report pack notes that central government funding for high needs has increased substantially, but that even with this substantial rise, funding has not kept pace with the increase in pupils with EHCPs. As a result, per-EHCP funding has fallen by around a third in real terms over this period.

The report pack notes that there are financial incentives for schools to seek EHCPs, because mainstream schools can only access local authority 'top-up' funding if the additional cost of SEND support is over £6,000.

The report pack states that Portsmouth City Council remains committed to inclusion in its mainstream schools, but is experiencing a significant increase in the numbers of EHCPs. It is estimated that there will be an additional 755 statutory school aged pupils with EHCPs by 2031. The report pack estimates that the current structural deficit is circa £4.7 million.

The Schools Forum is expected to agree to a round table/workshop in late November 2025 to examine possible financial scenarios and potential mitigations to address any deficit in the DSG for 2026/27 and beyond.

Dedicated Schools Grant Budget Monitoring

The Schools Forum is scheduled to discuss the projected revenue expenditure of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for the current financial year 2025-26 as at the end of June 2025, along with proposed budget revisions.

The DSG is a ring-fenced grant for education, which can only be used for the purposes of the Schools Budget as defined in the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations¹.

The report pack states that the budget is forecast to overspend by £0.5m. The High Needs block is forecast to overspend by £0.5m. This is due to:

• A forecast overspend of £54,200 relating to special schools' Element 3 top-up, based on class lists received from The Harbour School at the end of May 2025.
• A forecast overspend of £18,500 relating to Alternative Provision Element 3 Top-up.
• A forecast overspend of £0.6m relating to The City of Portsmouth College.
• A forecast overspend of £0.1m relating to other local authority Schools Element 3 Top-up.
• A forecast overspend of £0.5m relating to specialist and independent settings.
• A forecast overspend of £52,500 on the Outreach budget.

The report pack also details revisions to the 2025-26 budget. The Early Years funding was adjusted in July and reflects the reduction in hours on the January 2025 census. The High Needs Block has an increase of £144,000 relating to the annual import/export adjustment.

The Schools Forum is expected to endorse the new funding arrangements for the Early Years Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENDIF) emerging, the proposed hourly rate of £11.50 for the SENDIF+ Complex Needs and the proposed Early Years Inclusion Centre hourly rate of £19.00.

Previous Minutes

The Schools Forum is expected to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 July 2025 as a correct record. At the previous meeting, the Schools Forum endorsed the principles of a new model of funding for early years SEND provision based on the following three components:

• Changes to the SENDIF Emerging Fund to be implemented from 1 September 2025.
• An increase to the hourly rate for SENDIF+ based on the changes set out in paragraph 4.3 to be implemented from 1 September 2025.
• A new hourly rate for a specialist Early Years Inclusion Centre to support children with the most complex SEND, the details of which are set out in paragraphs 4.4 to 4.5 and in appendices A and B to be implemented as soon as practically possible subject to an assessment of expressions of interest from providers.

Membership Update

The Schools Forum is expected to note that Christian Down, secondary academy representative has resigned. The Forum noted their thanks for his input and support during his time on the Forum.

The report pack notes that there are currently five vacancies: Three secondary academy trust representatives and two primary academy trust representatives.