:: Minutes ::
Title of meeting:
Sheffield Schools Forum
Time and Date:
17 December 2015, 3-5pm
Location:
Conference Room, Town Hall
Chair:
Paul Stockley
School Forum Members:
Also in attendance:
John Doyle, Director of Business Strategy
Cllr Jackie Drayton, Sheffield Local Authority
Antony Hughes, Children's Commissioner &
Director of Inclusion & Learning
Jayne Ludlam, Executive Director of Children,
Young People & Families
Amanda Murray, Business Strategy (notes)
Mark Sheikh, Head of Service, Business
Strategy
Primary Heads
Joanne Bradshaw (Wybourn)
Cathy Rowland (Dobcroft)
Paul Stockley (Bradway)
Primary Governors
Keith Crawshaw (Wybourn)
Maureen Neill (Lydgate Junior)
Steve Randall (Bradway)
Secondary Head
Vacant seat
Observers:
Stephen Betts – Interim CEO, Learn Sheffield
Julie Holdridge, Education Funding Agency
Andy Humphreys, Education Funding Agency
Bob Sawyer, Chair of Secondary Heads
Secondary Governor
Vacant seat
Academies
David Bowes (Tapton)
Steve Fowler (Meadowhead)
Chris French (Hinde House 3 – 16)
Morag Somerville (Steel City Schools
Partnership)
Presenters:
Alasdaire Duerden, Programme Manager –
SEND Reforms
Tim Bowman, Head of Inclusion & Targeted
Services
Special Head
Avril Young (The Rowan)
Special Governor
Liz Tunnard (The Rowan)
Non-school Members
Edward Burdall, Little Imps Nursery
John Cape/Huw Thomas, Faith Schools
Mo Nisbet, 14-19 Sector
Rod Padley (Trade Union)
Robert Kapadia obo David Haigh (Trade Union)
Page 1 of 5
:: Minutes ::
Item
1.
Details
Action
Welcome, Introductions and Apologies
Introductions were made and apologies were noted from Norma Armitage,
Mo Nisbet, John Cape/Huw Thomas.
To note: Maureen Neill is from Lydgate Junior, not Infant school as per the
membership list.
2.
Previous Meeting Minutes
Update on meeting with Schools Minister
The meeting scheduled for 3 November was postponed and is now being
planned for the first week in February.
Forum Constitution – Elections
A meeting was held with secondary and academy representatives to
discuss the election process. We are expecting the formal election process
to fill the vacant seats by the relevant sector group and this is ongoing.
Members’ Induction
An induction session has been arranged for 15 January and an induction
pack has been produced which will be circulated shortly with a request for
any additional questions to be addressed at the session.
All other actions are noted as complete or covered by the agenda.
3.
Inclusion Strategy: Locality Working and SEND Funding – Tim
Bowman and Alasdaire Duerden
A presentation was tabled to give an update from the SEND working group
and key points of the discussion included:
 A recap about the fact that this is a stepped change to ensure
consistency of practice.
 Consideration was given to an emerging allocation model for the
£2.1m top-up funding proposed by the working group as it had been
agreed that historical allocations may not be the most relevant. This
includes:
o An upfront allocation of £75,000 lump sum to each locality,
retaining individual funding for existing C and D banded
children while they remain in their current setting.
o An allocation made on a combination of proportion of school
population and identification of need (5/12ths in April and
7/12ths in September). The September allocation must
ensure funding is in the right place to support children and
young people’s needs.
 The Forum recognised the implications around how locality working
can be achieved at pace, while safeguarding support for vulnerable
learners – those with the most complex needs.
Page 2 of 5
:: Minutes ::


Feedback also included views about the allocation of and extent of
funding, issues of capacity and administrative challenges.
Two very important themes emerged from the workshops: firstly the
need for a city-wide strategy, with transparency, consistency,
accountability and clear governance; and secondly the need to
clarify the role and ensure the responsiveness of wider services in
locality delivery – particularly specialist health services such as
CAMHS and Social Care.
Other comments to note from Forum members regarding locality working
included:
 Cathy Rowland suggested that Locality F needs to be considered as
three localities (due to how the locality works) and that one lump
sum may not be appropriate.
 There was both secondary and primary representation at the locality
workshops and the principles were considered as opposed to the
more detailed information. Locality F had cross-sector
representation and felt that they required more information to
implement the locality working model on time.
 Feedback from primary leaders was mixed in terms of capacity to
implement changes, with some localities being more positive than
others.
 To bear in mind that the £2.1m top-up funding is a relatively small
proportion of the overall funding.
 Thanks were expressed to special school heads who have entered
in to the spirit of the new way of working by aligning pupils on the
new model and completing the initial assessment.
 To ensure that we drive change differently to how it has been
managed in the past through: partnership working; inclusion in
mainstream; adopting the Support Grid to identify support and a citywide framework to support that provision.
 To give consideration to the early years agenda.
 It is essential that we increase parental confidence.
 Inclusion may reduce transport spend and work around this is being
undertaken separately.
 More work is still required to ‘demystify’ the Locality model consideration to be given to what a good Locality should look like.
Action: Learn Sheffield to carry out an audit as part of the delivery
plan.
 Action: to circulate the link to the localities map.
The Forum agreed to continue to work together on a number of next steps,
as per the presentation and including:
 The funding working group to complete more detailed work on the
allocation model for the £2.1m to ensure it reflects where the need is
in the city and mitigates wherever possible any negative impact on
localities – final recommendations to the February Forum meeting.
 To work with special school Heads and the Heads of Integrated
Resources to develop their roles in supporting localities and agree
funding models.
Page 3 of 5
Learn
Sheffield
A Murray
Working
Group
T Bowman/
A Duerden
:: Minutes ::



The Council to develop proposals for central services to deliver
differentiated central support for localities, including developing new
delivery and finance models for the PRU and Educational
Psychology Service.
To work with and support localities in following up agreements
reached during the workshops and developing prototypes. This
includes the continuing work and learning from the Early Help pilots
and the My Plan Pathfinder.
Continued implementation of the SEND reforms – including
improvement of the Education, Health and Care assessment
pathway.
To support this work, SCC will set up a City-wide Inclusion Board in
January. This will be chaired by the Executive Director of Children, Young
People and Families, and will include the Chief Executive of the Clinical
Commissioning Group, school leaders and the elected member with
responsibility for children and families. The Board will develop and oversee
the strategic, city-wide approach, addressing a number of key messages
from the locality workshops.
SCC has committed to providing a one-off lump sum of £50k to each
locality for a full year, available from January 2016, to support leadership
capacity, administration and other roles that may be needed – for example,
Area SENCos. Deployment of this funding will be flexible and a review of
the impact will be carried out after six months. This recognises that an
upfront investment is now necessary to realise our vision for a new way of
working that enables finite resources to deliver effective support to children
and young people with additional needs.
4.
5Sheffield Funding Formula
John Doyle and Mark Sheikh provided an update and recommendations
from the Funding Formula Review Group (as per Paper A and associated
appendices):
 At the request of the Forum, the working group explored maintaining
(pegging) Prior Attainment and Social Deprivation at 2015/16 levels,
and the effects that this would have on Age Weighted Pupil Unit
(AWPU) as well as on individual schools.
 It was not an option to ‘do nothing’ as a standstill budget means that
we would need to find an additional £3m investment to maintain the
Prior Attainment and Social Deprivation funding at existing levels.
 The models provided aim to strike a better balance across the city
between the increase in pupil numbers whilst maintaining a
commitment to need (Prior Attainment and Social Deprivation).
 The information which was initially considered by the Working Group
was as at 3 December (Appendix 2a).
 Appendix 2b takes into account updated information as at 10
December, with no top slice for growth and includes updated pupil
numbers and Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)
information. The IDACI information requires further consideration,
but in the short term does not have a significant impact on the
figures.
Page 4 of 5
T Bowman
T Bowman/
A Duerden
T Bowman
J Ludlam
:: Minutes ::

The Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) continues to provide a
safety net to all schools (ensures no loss of funding above 1.5%)
and will therefore neutralise any additional IDACI impacts.
Further discussion by the Forum included the following key points:
 The overall budget position should remain the same, but there is
some difference at individual school level.
 Schools that depend on AWPU have had to contribute to support
increases in Social Deprivation and Prior Attainment, but now where
a school loses deprivation funding, they should gain in AWPU.
 The balance has to be redressed as a result of growing pupil
numbers as well as growing deprivation.
 Sheffield’s Prior Attainment spend is currently comparatively higher
than other authorities.
Decision
A vote was cast and the Forum agreed the need to redress the balance of
AWPU, by pegging the Prior Attainment and Social Deprivation pot at
2015/16 investment levels.
It was recommended that regular reviews be undertaken via the working
group.
5.
Indicative School Budgets – John Doyle/Mark Sheikh
 Members were asked to note Paper B for information.
 Approval was sought to top-slice the funding by £1.5m to fund
lagged growth in 2016/17.
 The working group to undertake further work around new arrivals
and growth fund policy.
 To raise the IDACI queries at the ministerial meeting in February.
It was agreed to top-slice the Schools Block funds by £1.5m to make
provision for pupil growth fund. It was also agreed that the existing growth
policy should be reviewed, updated and tabled at the February Forum
meeting for a decision.
Working
Group
J Doyle
M Sheikh
Indicative budgets will now be finalised and published based on the topslice and the agreement to peg as per above.
6.
6AOB
Edward Burdall highlighted issues regarding early years funding beyond
April. It was confirmed that this will be reviewed by an Early Years Working
Group.
Date of next meeting: 24 February 2016, 3-5pm, Conference Room, Town Hall
Page 5 of 5
M Sheikh/
EY Working
Group