Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

1.1.         To approve the statutory spend of £319.1m of DSG funding for the period 2024-25,

1.2.         To approve the provisional funding formula for Croydon schools for the financial year 2024/25 for both maintained schools and academies in line with the recommendations voted by Schools Forum on 6 November 2023,

1.3.         To support the local authority strategic decision to transfer £1.2m from the school’s block to the High Needs through the disapplication process as part of DfE High Needs Safety Valve DSG Deficit Recovery Strategy,

1.4.         To note the DfE optional factors values reported in appendix D and E. Appendix E provides additional insight into the how Schools Forum evaluated the three main DfE options for each factor shown appendix D before selecting the final factor which forms the bases underlying the draft budget for 2024/25,

1.5.         To finally note the three key changes required in setting the 2024/25 school’s budget.

The Executive Mayor introduced the Dedicated Schools Grant School Funding 2024/25 Formula Factor

Cabinet was the final governance process in declaring the annual School’s Budget Setting.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Maria Gatland, informed Cabinet that the report outlined the factors agreed at the schools forum which was discussed and voted on at a meeting held in November 2023, listed in Appendix E within the report.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Amy Foster, asked a question relating to the Children’s Commissioner who recently issued a warning for the significant increase in demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and the adversarial relationship between councils and families for those of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and asked whether it was unhelpful that the government called for a safety vow, for a short term solution to what was really a long term problem, seeing the year on year increase in demand.

The Executive Mayor responded that there was no adversarial relationship between this council and families following the SEND strategy that was addressed in Cabinet over the last months where young people and parents had presented and shared their involvement in the process. Further, the council was working with families and there was a good strategy in place. Additionally, a new hub had been opened where so many services were delivered supporting families across the borough. The Director of Education, Shelley Davies added that the EHCPs continued to increase within this borough and the focus in Croydon was on early intervention for the SEND support programme. This meant children would be able to access support at a much earlier stage, and for those children where appropriate, they would be able to move on to the EHCP. The service was working hard with families to ensure children’s needs were met early.

The Executive Mayor in Cabinet

RESOLVED:

1.1.        To approve the statutory spend of £319.1m of DSG funding for the period 2024-25,

1.2.        To approve the provisional funding formula for Croydon schools for the financial year 2024/25 for both maintained schools and academies in line with the recommendations voted by Schools Forum on 6 November 2023,

1.3.        To support the local authority strategic decision to transfer £1.2m from the school’s block to the High Needs through the disapplication process as part of DfE High Needs Safety Valve DSG Deficit Recovery Strategy,

1.4.        To note the DfE optional factors values reported in appendix D and E. Appendix E provides additional insight into the how Schools Forum evaluated the three main DfE options for each factor shown appendix D before selecting the final factor which forms the bases underlying the draft budget for 2024/25,

1.5.        To finally note the three key changes required in setting the 2024/25 school’s budget.