The Lewisham Council Schools Forum met virtually on 23 October 2025 to discuss school finances. The forum was scheduled to discuss the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), the Scheme for Financing Schools, and the Schools Finance Manual. The meeting also included updates on the DSG for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Dedicated Schools Grant Update

The Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss the final position of the 2024/25 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and receive an update on the 2025/26 DSG.

The report pack included a recommendation for the Schools Forum to agree to transfer £854,000 from the Early Years block to support the High Needs Block¹ in 2025/26. The report pack noted that the Director of Education Services, Angela Scattergood, and other officers, had asked for the Pensions and Insurance teams to investigate options for schools to manage premature retirement or redundancy costs.

The report pack stated that the draft (pre-audit) DSG position for 2024/25 showed an overspend of £3.0 million, an improvement on the original assessment of £6.0 million. It also noted a reduction in overall school balances from £13.0 million to £9.9 million, with 25 schools in deficit and 17 schools with a surplus greater than 15% of their funding.

The report pack stated that the core schools' budget would grow by 1.1% in real terms on a per pupil basis over the next three years, but this was against a backdrop of falling pupil numbers.

The report pack also noted concerns from members that the budget planning process had a significant impact on the wellbeing of headteachers.

Scheme for Financing Schools and Schools Finance Manual

The Schools Forum was scheduled to receive an update on changes required by the Department for Education (DfE) to the Scheme for Financing Schools and associated documents, including the updated Schools Finance Manual.

The report pack noted that local authorities are required to publish their Scheme for Financing Schools, setting out the financial relationship between them and the schools they maintain.

The report pack outlined several changes to reflect current policy positions and changes in legislation, including:

• An extra item where a school's budget share may be charged:

  the cost of an undisputed invoice for energy where a school has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of State for the supply of energy and failed to pay such an invoice (Regulation 23 of the regulations)

• Updates to reflect the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standard 16 (IFRS16).

• The addition of Section 11.11 to define what expenditure is treated as capital and revenue, and the capital de minimis limit.

The report pack included the London Borough of Lewisham's Scheme for Financing Schools, effective from 23rd of October 2025, and the Schools Finance Manual, effective October 2025.

Other Business

The Schools Forum was also scheduled to discuss any other business and future meeting dates. Future meetings were scheduled for 11 December 2025 and 20 January 2026. The High Needs Sub Group meetings were scheduled for 27 November 2025 and 08 January 2026.