Agenda item

The Chair noted that consideration of the CSSB budget should have been brought to Forum earlier, but this did not happen because of difficulties around capacity within the LA. The Chair explained that this is an area where Schools Forum has a decision making role; in this case Forum was being asked to note a decision that that had been made, and to retrospectively agree the CSSB budget allocations for 2023-24. 

SH explained that there was a block allocation of £785k in January 2023, together with an agreement by Schools Forum for a further £100k to be transferred from the Schools Block.  This gave a total budget of £885k. This paper outlined the expenditures, including some costs which are negotiated centrally for all authorities, such as the copyright licenses we there is very little leeway to opt out. 

Comparison with the 2022-23 figures showed the high needs block contribution from the CSSB has been removed.  The cost for the virtual school had been removed from the statutory regulatory line and was now being funded by the Slough Borough Council general fund. A small portion of the CSSB relates to historic commitments;  this figure is about £32k and this will be decreased by 20% per annum over the coming years.

JC thanked SH for the update and asked for questions/comments about individual budget lines.

MW asked whether the allocation for admissions included the annual request to support by transferring £100k from schools block, first brought to Forum some years ago because of pressures in the admissions team.  MW asked if this would be an ongoing annual request and expressed concern about the viability of the service going forward if it were dependent on this transfer. SH confirmed that the commitments were greater than the CSSB allocation, and combined with the year by year reduction in the allocation for historic commitments, and bringing the total budget allocation down to the CSSB funding level could be challenging without impacting services. The Chair confirmed that a transfer has been approved in at least two previous years and that Forum would be considerate of a transfer again; presumably that request would have to be made and then approved at the January Forum.

RB commented that there was little flexibility in the funding levels, and questioned whether there was sufficient funding to address the pressures on education welfare given the current attendance challenges. NH noted that the council was looking at how to realign teams to priorities, and how to encourage collaborative working on attendance with early help and with social care.