Agenda item

Cabinet recommended to Full Council:

1. Schools Block (detail in Appendix A.3)

a)      the Schools Block budget be set at £295.864m for 2021/22, as per Table 1 above, after £1.4m of the overall Schools Block DSG has been transferred to the High Needs Block, this was agreed by Schools Forum on 13 January 2021;

b)      the basis for distributing the funding to mainstream schools be as set out and agreed by Schools Forum (Appendix A.3)

c)      the Growth Fund for established schools expanding in September 2021 be set at £2.0m (a component of the total Schools Block budget);

2. Central School Services Block (detail in Appendix A.2)

a)      Following Schools Forum agreement, the Central School Services Block budget is set at £2.627m for 2021/22, after £0.147m is transferred to the High Needs Block.

3. High Needs Block (detail in Appendix A2)

a)      The High Needs Block budget be set at £69.053m for 2021/22 as per Appendix A2, after receiving transfers of £1.547m from other blocks;

b)      Members note that this level of budget is estimated to lead to a cumulative deficit in the High Needs Block in the region of £13.4m by the end of March 2022.

4. Early Years Block (detail in Appendix A2)

a)      the Early Years Block budget be set at £37.185m for 2021/22, noting that spend and DSG income will vary up or down, according to participation levels in each of the three terms;

b)      Funding for Early Years should be distributed in line with the arrangements explained in report to Schools Forum (Appendix A2)

5. Overall position

a)      Members note that individual school balances are expected to be in the region of £3.9m at the end of 2020/21, with 17 of 67 maintained schools in deficit, and the DSG position is currently expected to overspend by £8.6m for 2020/21.