Newcastle Schools Forum

Minutes and Actions

1 December 2015

Members

Name / Position / In attendance
School Members
Academy Group
Philomena Marshall / Executive Principal, ExcelsiorAcademy / 
Hugh Robinson / Principal, GosforthAcademy / 
John Foster / St Mary’s Catholic School
Craig Taylor / Excelsior Academy
David Pearmain / Kenton School
Diocesan Rep
Barbara Redhead (Chair) / Central Walker / 
Early years Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector
Claire Robson / Cooperative Childcare PVI Sector / 
Governors
Anne-Marie Ellison-Wardlaw / Atkinson Road Nursery School / 
Sheila Ross / Secondary Maintained / 
Nursery
Anne Stoker / Ashfield Nursery School / 
Anne Humble / Monkchester Rd Nursery
Primary Maintained
Deborah Ashcroft (Reserve) / Regent Farm First School / 
Judy Cowgill / Headteacher, Hawthorn Primary School / 
Aidan Duffy / Headteacher, St John Vianney / 
Gary Wallis-Clarke / Headteacher, WestJesmondPrimary School / 
Heather Campbell / Canning Street Primary School
Lee Gallon / Farne Primary
Pupil Referral Unit
Jeff Lough / Headteacher, Linhope PRU / 
Secondary Maintained
Neil Walker / Headteacher, Benfield School / 
Tim Stout / Gosforth East Middle School / Apologies received
Special School
Margaret Dover / Headteacher, Newcastle Bridges / 
Diane Scott (Reserve) / Thomas Bewick School / 
Non-school Members
Trade Union
Jo Chalder-Wood / NASUWT / 
John Hall (reserve) / NASUWT / 
Lori Ashbridge / Unison
In attendance
Ewen Weir / Director of Wellbeing, Care and Learning (Local Authority) / 
Dean Jackson / Commissioner for Curriculum and Learning (Northumberland Council on behalf of the Local Authority) / 
Ged Gray (In attendance for item 4) / HR (Local Authority) / 
Anne Calvert (In attendance for Item 4) / HR (Local Authority) / 
Anna Snowdon / Finance Partner (Local Authority) / 
Deb Tyler / Education School Services Manager (Local Authority) / 
Gemma Gill / Minute Taker (Local Authority) / 

Minutes

No. / Item / Action
1 / Apologies
1.1 / Apologies were noted from Tim Stout. It was also noted that Nicola Nelson-Taylor has stepped down as a Primary Rep for Newcastle Schools Forum.
2 / Minutes of the previous meeting
2.1 / The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a true and accurate record.
3 / Matters arising
3.1 / There were no matters arising.
4 / Living Wage
4.0 / G. Gray gave a presentation in relation to Living Wagewhich outlined the following
  • Historical context
  • Current position on pay
  • Understanding the “new” National Living Wage
  • Foundation Living Wage v Newcastle Living Wage
  • Data Analysis – Impact on schools based jobs
  • Emerging issues
  • Considerations for the future
It was agreed that working groups will be formed for Primary, Secondary and Special heads to work alongside HR colleagues to look at evaluating jobs that are to be affected. A presentation will be delivered to all Headteachers and information will be sent to all Governing bodies in spring term.
Presentation is attached below

5 / Falling Rolls
5.0 / D. Tyler presented the report and noted that the Forum are asked to approve the establishment of a Falling Rolls Fund, agree the proposed criteria for schools and academies accessing funding allocated for Falling Rolls and approve the funding required within the schools block for 2016/17.
5.1 / The following queries were raised
  • Can an overview of surplus capacity in Newcastle schools be provided and what is the longer term picture?
  • Is the proposal about falling rolls or maintaining surplus capacity?
  • How many schools would meet the criteria?
The Forum felt that further clarification was required therefore, the decision will be deferred to the January meeting.
6 / Syrian Refugees
6.1 / D. Tyler presented a report on the Vulnerable Family Resettlement Programme.Newcastle City Council have publicly committed to taking in Syrian refugee families as part of the national commitment to rehome 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next 5 years, with overall numbers coming to Newcastle to be confirmed.
D. Tyler noted that initially 8 families have just arrived in Newcastle which include up to 30 children from ages 0 – 18. All school age children and young people up to Y11 will be placed in a school as soon as possible. This will follow the usual in-year admissions process and managed to find the most appropriate place for family groups based on distance to their proposed housing and the support available from those schools. Young people aged 16+ will be supported by Connexionsand are likely to be enrolled on ESOL provision at Newcastle College.Home Office funding has been allocated and the first year costs are covered (details regarding year 2 and beyond awaited but government has confirmed some additional funding will be made available).
It is proposed to split the funding available to support education between schools and central education services. The allocation to schools would be made in line with the elements linked to relevant “additional need” elements within the school funding formula plus the equivalent of pupil premium and for the provision of free school meals (all families will be registered for and entitled to benefits on arrival). The amounts proposed are shown in the table below.
Pupil premium (FSM 6) / EAL / FSM (190 x FSM cost) / Total / Proposed allocation
Primary (R/KS1/2) / £1,320 / £518.99 / £437 / £2,275.99 / £2,300
Secondary (KS3/4) / £935 / £518.99 / £503.50 / £1957.49 / £2,000
For pupils with identified special educational needs (following assessment), there will be an opportunity to apply for additional funding from within the Council’s overall allocated funding or directly to the Home Office.
The following comments and queries were made:
  • We want to and should be a city (and schools) that welcome refugees
  • Funding from Home Office welcomed but also underlines existing issues about the fact that there is no funding for schools who take in pupils all year round outside this programme who have similar needs until the pupils-led funding kicks in which could possibly be up to 18 months later
  • Discussion regarding period for which funding to schools intended to cover – if more than a year but only 1 year funding. There is a potential period of between 6 and 17 months (2 - 4.5 terms) before pupil-led funding based on October Census would be allocated via the school funding formula. Funding could therefore be applied as a single full year allocation regardless of the start date or allocated on a pro rata basis linked to the start date. The advantage of the former method is that it would allow schools to plan more effectively and address the short term needs of pupils arriving but either model could be applied. Information about the way funding will be allocated to the City Council has only arrived today but indicates that the initial allocation (only a child is registered at a school) would be 22% of the total amount with the remainder being paid over the following 6 months. We need to consider how to ensure that schools have security about their funding to employ/buy additional support but that the risk of not getting the full allocation (e.g. if families left/pupils moved school) could be managed.
  • Disapplication from Performance tables – query whether what was stated in the report was correct. This has been followed up and confirmed that it is current DfE guidance that pupils arriving after the start of Y5 or Y10 (who meet the relevant criteria) can be discounted from KS2/KS4 performance tables if the school applies to do so
  • Others noted that while disapplication was OK for published performance tables, Ofsted used provisional RAISE on-line data to identify schools that they view as a risk regarding reinspection, as we are currently experiencing. This could still have a negative impact on schools
  • Positive response that we would need to retain some funding centrally and that as the scheme expanded Kaleidrascope were likely to need more resources as already stretched
  • Early Years funding – query about no allocated funding for 0-3 year olds from Home Office so how would 2 year old places be funded? There is a different funding mechanism for EYs for 2,3 and 4 year olds, therefore pupils would be funded anyway via termly headcount so providers would not experience the same funding time lag as is the case for school places
  • Post-16 provision –query about why ESOL/Newcastle College identified as likely option for post-16 pupils as schools could provide a better offer. This will be fed back to Education services involved in support to ensure that all appropriate provision considered.

7 / Director’s Update
7.0 / E. Weir noted that he is aware there are significant concerns within the Newcastle Schools around the current changes within the Education Division, he assured the Forum that he is fully committed to working in strong partnership with the Schools and by the end of the week he will be in a position to provide an update on how we move forward with the outstanding issues that have been raised.
7.1 / E. Weir gave a presentation which outlined the Local Authority’s budget savings over the next year. (Copy of the Presentation is attached)
E. Weir highlighted that overall the Local Authority have already taken a cumulative total of £191m out of its budget to date and it is anticipated that a furthersaving of £100m is required over next three year, £30m of this is anticipated for 2016/17. E. Weir stressed that this is a huge task and presents us with some difficult challenges and choices ahead.
E. Weir also highlighted the Wellbeing Care and Learning Directorate budgets and proposed savings for 16/17.
Dean Jackson then gave an overview of Northumberland’s approach to the Government Spending Reviewand provided a more detailed overview of the Spending review in Newcastle.

7.2 / At the last Schools Forum meeting a concern was raised in relation to a drop in FSM entitlement that Schools have been experiencing. D. Jackson explained that a shift in government policy that encourages employment has resulted in an increase in the number of people in employment in Newcastle. It was also highlighted that people whose income is topped up through receipt of working tax credits are not eligible for FSM.
While the numbers of pupils ceasing to be entitled to FSM has decreased, the impact on pupil premium due to pupils coming off FSM would be less severe as FSM6 is used for pupil premium entitlement.
The following work is also being undertaken by the Local Authority to increase the FSM take up
  • Improving the quality of the data we collect from families to ensure that all eligible families can access FSM.
  • Simplifying the application process for all passported benefits.
  • Looking at families rather than individuals to ensure that all eligible children are claiming, e.g. by cross referencing across EYPP, UIFSM and FSM claims.
  • Working with revenue and benefits section to try to target families that are eligible but not claiming.
D. Tyler noted that in response to the introduction of UIFSM, a different approach to eligibility checking was introduced so that as long as schools collected relevant data from parents, including NI numbers, these could be batch processed and checks carried out for ALL pupils. As a result of this, significant numbers of additional pupils eligible for FSM had been identified who would attract more pupil premium funding into the city’s schools. Other LAs have seen a reduction in eligibility due to parents not applying because of universal entitlement.
8 / Quarter 2 Budget Monitor
8.0 / A. Snowdon spoke to the report highlighting that the overall position for quarter 2 is a deficit of £1.312m then noting the breakdown below –
Schools block and Early Years block are currently projecting a year end breakeven position
High Needs Block is projecting a net deficit position of £1.312m. This can be covered by the carry forward from 2014/15. Of the projected deficit, £0.405 relates to Post-16 activity and specific teaching support to High Needs pupils.It was also noted that the final DSG allocation for 15/16 has not changed and remains at £196.759m which is in line with projections used when constructing school budget allocations.
B. Redhead noted that discussions have taken place with the Local Authority regarding the urgency of the work required around the High Needs Block, PRU and ARCs. It is important that work takes place to make these budgets sustainable before the new financial year.
9 / S251 Budget Data Benchmarking
9.0 / A. Snowdon presented the report detailing top-line figures from the annual Section 251 budget return to the DfE. Appendix A to the report provides a summary to the main sub-totals within the benchmarking tables and compares the figures for Newcastle to the England Average, Statistical Neighbour average and North East average.
A. Snowdon noted that while the Individual School Budget figure was ranked 2nd highest out of 12 North East authorities this is consistent with the fact that in comparison to other authorities Newcastle has a lower level of centrally retained budgets with more funding distributed through the School and Early Years formula process.
10 / Central Budgets
10.0 / Clarification was requested on membership voting rights, therefore, all decisions will be deferred to the January meeting.
Action / G. Gill to email B. Redhead the Schools Forum membership and voting rights sheet to review.
11 / Any other business
11.0 / B. Redhead noted that it was Margaret Dover’s and Philomena Marshall’s last ever forum meeting, B. Redhead thanked them both for all their hard work and contribution to the work of the Forum over the years.
11.1 / B. Redhead also thanked all Local Authority Officers who were involved in collating the reports and who have recently been providing support to the Forum.

Date of next meeting: 19 January 2016

Schools Forum minutes 1 Dec 2015Page 1 of 9

Minute taker: Gemma GillPage 1 of 9

Newcastle Schools Forum

Actions Summary

1 December 2015

Actions from Current Meeting
Date Raised / Ref / Action / Action Owner / Progress / Completion / Status
1.12.15 / 10.0 / G. Gill to email B. Redhead the Schools Forum membership and voting rights sheet to review. / GG/BR

Schools Forum minutes 1 Dec 2015

Minute taker: [Name of Minute taker]Page 1 of 9