The Chairman made the following announcements:-

1.            He paid tribute to Mr Bill Hamilton, who had passed away unexpectedly.  Mr Hamilton had been a long serving member of both the Central Bedfordfordshire Schools Forum and the Bedford Borough Schools Forum.  He had provided insightful comments and moved the Forums forward in a passionate way.  His wisdom and presence would be missed on the Forums.

2.            The new Schools Forums (England) Regulations 2012 had come into force from 1 October 2012 and the DfE had prepared a Schools Forums: Operational and Good Practice Guide.  The Guide had only become available earlier this day.  The Procedures section paragraph 1.40 (c ) detailed the voting process which would now be followed.

To approve the minutes of the meetings of the Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum held on 25 June 2012 and 3 September 2012 and to receive an update on any matters arising from these.

RESOLVED

1.                  that the minutes of the meeting of the Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum held on 25 June 2012 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to the removal of the last sentence in the third paragraph of CBSF/12/55.

The Forum asked for the categorisation of schools in the risk register to be reported to the 26 November meeting.  However, due to the number of agenda items this will be brought to the January meeting, after school out-turn have been reviewed.

2.                  that the minutes of the meeting of the Central Bedfordshire Schools Forum held on 3 September 2012 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note the update on the Funding Consultation with Schools and propose the formula factors for distribution of the DSG for 2013/14.

The Forum considered a report which provided an update on the Funding Consultation with Schools and proposed the formula factors for distribution of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for 2013/14.

The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), since 2006/07 financial year, has financed the Schools Budget in each authority.  The allocation of the DSG is based on number of full time equivalent pupils as at January census multiplied by the GUF.

There have been three consultations carried out by the DfE relating to the creation of a transparent, fairer and less complex system.  Two consultations “Rationale and Principles” and “Proposals for a fairer system” were held in 2011.  In March 2012 the third consultation “Next steps towards a fairer system” was launched. 

In 2013/14 the DSG will be allocated by being split into three notional blocks: Schools £142.5m, Early Years £10.5m and High Needs £20.9m.  Whilst funding could be redistributed between the blocks restrictions would apply.

The DfE require that schools reduce the number of funding factors within their formulae from the current limit of 37 (Central Bedfordshire uses 27) funding factors to only 12 from 2013/14.  The funding will be based on the October pupil census uplifted for the difference between October and January counts.  It was noted that Early Years would be calculated differently based on three January Counts comprised of the previous January count, the current January count and adjusted at end of next year.

The MFG has been set at negative 1.5% per pupil for both 2013/14 and 2014/5.

The full Schools Forum met on 3 September 2012 to consider the consultation document.  An FAQ document was also provided.  The short response time required the early meeting of the Schools Forum.  Articles had been placed in Central Essentials and Governor Essentials, and finance surgeries were held at both Dunstable and Shefford for individual schools to discuss their personal circumstances.  There were 43 attendants representing 28 schools. 

The Technical Funding Group sub group had met with officers on 3 October to consider the responses from the 58 schools (50 maintained and 8 academies).  It was noted that where multiple responses had been received from a single school the responses would be counted as 1 reply.

A breakdown of the questions asked and the responses received were contained within the report.  The Forum noted that the FAQs were updated throughout the consultation to answer queries that became evident.

There were updates provided on: the number of EAL students being 55 across Central Bedfordshire (which is low), the exclusion of the PFI would be revisited in 2014/15 and a new definition for split site schools. 

The Forum considered de-delegation of school funds which would result in a service being provided centrally.  De-delegation only applies to the maintained sector and removed the need for the DSG Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG) for Academies, which will disappear in 2013/14.

The Forum were asked to vote, by phase, for the possible central provision of two services:- (i) Facilities Time (Union representation at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

To note a proposed change in the membership provision for the Schools Forum.

The Forum received a report which provided a proposed alteration to the membership provision for the Schools Forum.

In March 2012, the Forum re-elected its membership for three years and amended its Constitution & Terms of Reference to reflect the increased Academy representation.

The Regulations, which came in to effect from 1 October 2012, required the inclusion of a PRU representative, on the same basis as the voting school members.  It was noted that Central Bedfordshire’s PRU was officer led and that there was not a person able to meet the criteria to be appointed to the Forum. 

It was further noted that the PRU will require a delegated budget in April 2013, however, this would only be for one term as it will be operated as an Alternative Provision Free School (Academy) from September 2013.

The Forum noted that there were still three vacancies on the Forum and it was agreed that the positions would be re-advertised.

The Forum agreed that the Constitution and Terms of Reference would be brought to a future meeting for review.

RESOLVED

That the inclusion of a provision in the Constitution and Terms of Reference for a PRU representative, not be agreed.