Agenda item

·         Proportionate representation / Forum membership update

·         High Needs Review update

·         Absence Insurance Scheme deficit recovery

3.1 Proportionate Representation 2018/19 and Forum membership update [minute 3.1 of the 29^th June meeting]

Proportionate representation

The Forum has ten membership positions from the mainstream primary and secondary school sectors. The number of representatives from the maintained primary, maintained secondary and mainstream academy sectors are determined from an annual check from the May pupil census of the total number of pupils (Reception to Year 11) in each of the sectors at that point. The table below shows the relevant numbers and proportions used to inform Forum membership for the academic year ahead.

The above numbers have not changed significantly enough from a year ago to alter the sectoral proportions which have applied for the last two years. It was pointed out that the maintained secondary proportion has exhibited an increase in comparison to last year.

Membership update

Maintained Primary – potential vacancy due to a period of secondment. The next Kirklees Primary Heads meeting takes place on 13^th November when the question of representation will be considered.

Maintained Secondary – the last Kirklees High School Heads (KHSH) meeting effectively ran out of time to decide upon the issue of representation. There is, however, an officer meeting next Friday with the KHSH Chair and vice Chair at which it is hoped that two new Forum representatives can be confirmed.

There was some discussion at the KHSH meeting about the lack of a Secondary academy representative to the Forum. Clearly this situation has arisen, in the main, due to the absence of anyone from that sector putting themselves forward for the ballot that took place over the summer. However, the fact that there are more primary academies than secondary academies in Kirklees also weighs against the secondary academy sector. It would be helpful if the Schools Forum regulations included a statement about the need for academy representation to be proportionate to the two sectors as is the requirement for maintained school representation.

3.2 High Needs Review update [minute 3.3 of 29^th June] [Mandy Cameron, Head of Service – Education Safeguarding and Inclusion, attended the meeting for this item].

Mandy Cameron provided a verbal update about the next steps in the High Needs action plan following the recent workshop event at the John Smith’s Stadium.

·       Various work-streams have been created and are in the process of being time-lined.

·       It is intended that work on funding levels be pulled together into proposals by the end of this term.

·       There will be meetings held with individual special schools over November and December to refresh the earlier Core/Core Plus work in the light of further development of the high needs continuum. Schools with the same specialism will be seen together.

·       There is also a need to map ASD and SEMH difficulties across all of our special schools.

·       The assessment of costs within the Special sector must be balanced against the need for specialist places.

·       For mainstream schools there is a need to determine how to increase the capacity of schools to cope with children with complex needs. Partly this is related to delivering appropriate levels of funding, but also workforce development is a key driver to ensuring schools can meet most needs. The workforce planning work-stream will develop the strategy going forward.

·       It is important too that parental views become more evolved. The ‘system’ needs to be better at explaining the school setting that would be best for their child’s needs.

The High Needs Strategic Review has been ‘writ large’ across the Council and given priority focus due to the significant financial pressure which continues to build within the High Needs account. In addition to the general fund picking up the HN deficit (£4.66m) at the close of 2017-18, additional funding has been committed by the Council to strengthen the SENDACT service to bring their structure more into line with how other local authorities are operating and work has commenced on capital programmes to create additional capacity within the system to cope with volume pressures.

One of the biggest factors in the High Needs deficit is the increasing numbers of children having to be placed in expensive external specialist provisions. It was asked whose responsibility it is within the Council to quality assure the impact and value for money of these provisions. [It is Kate Mawer]. In general, Kirklees already shies away from provisions that do not offer a quality service.

Mandy reported that a local Alternative Provision Free School bid was submitted by the LA earlier this week to create an additional 90 specialist places – some of which can be commissioned directly by schools. A decision on the bid will be made early in the New Year. If successful, it is estimated the new provision will be open for September 2021. If it can be delivered at an earlier point it will be. If the bid is unsuccessful the fall-back position would see the Council taking on the Capital build issues itself to develop the AP places alongside its commitment to develop further places for SEMHD children.

3.3 Absence Insurance Scheme deficit recovery [minute 6 of 29^th June]

It was confirmed that the journal charges to recover the deficit in the insurance scheme had been made in the accounts in Month 6. Schools affected had received an explanatory e-mail from David Gearing. Only one school had exhibited some bad temper about the charge. Most of the schools who responded to the e-mail had understood the need to keep the scheme in balance.