The Kingston upon Thames Schools Forum is scheduled to convene for an online meeting to discuss and decide on the funding model for Secondary Alternative Provision at Malden Oaks. The forum will consider different options for funding these places, taking into account the financial pressures faced by Malden Oaks and the limitations of the borough's high needs block allocation.

Secondary Alternative Provision Funding

A key item for discussion is the funding model for Secondary Alternative Provision (PRU) places at Malden Oaks. The Schools Forum is being asked to discuss the options and vote for a preferred funding model.

Malden Oaks provides education for secondary-aged students who are unable to attend mainstream schools. The council currently commissions 45 full-time equivalent (FTE) places, which support permanent exclusions, dual-registered places, and places awarded through the Fair Access Panel (FAP). Of these, 18 places are to support the statutory duty for permanent exclusion places, with the remainder for respite places. The current charge to the High Needs Block¹ is £14,850 per place, increased to £16,500 with an additional £74,250 transferred from the Schools Block last year.

Malden Oaks has reported significant financial pressures because it does not receive the same grant funding as most schools to support staff pay awards, pension increases and national insurance increases. The report pack states that:

As an alternative provision they do not automatically access formula driven funding through the schools block and therefore do not receive automatic per pupil uplifts in the same way as mainstream or special schools.

Malden Oaks estimates that to cover costs, the per place charge will need to increase to £28,000, a 70% increase of £11,500 compared to the 2025/26 amount of £16,500.

The council has received assurance from Malden Oaks that costs are being kept as low as possible, and has commissioned an independent review by the Department for Education (DfE) to provide external scrutiny and recommendations. The results of this review are expected in the next few weeks.

The Schools Forum is being asked to consider three provision/funding options:

• Option 1: Retain all 45 FTE places, with 24 funded by the High Needs Block (HNB) at a budget of £688,300, and 21 funded by a Schools Block (SB) transfer of £571,700.
• Option 2: Reduce the number of places to 35 FTE. 24 places would be covered by the HNB (£688,300) and 11 covered by a £292,800 transfer from the Schools Block.
• Option 3: Reduce the number of places to 24 FTE, all funded by the HNB with a budget of £688,300.

The report includes a table outlining actual usage at Malden Oaks over the past three years:

The report pack for the meeting includes questions and answers relating to this topic as an appendix.

Other Items

The agenda for the meeting also includes:

• Confirmation of the minutes from the previous meeting held on 17 November 2025.
• Setting the date for the next meeting as 26 January 2026.