Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 January 2019 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

The Business Advisor (Schools) reported on progress made on “Action” items:

·         Page 3 Virtual School for LAC: As requested, the annual report, written by the Headteacher of the Virtual School (VSH) and presented to the Corporate Parenting Board, relating to 2017-18, is copied as part of the agenda pack. Members were reminded that a question was asked at the last meeting whether schools are permitted to use their Pupil Premium Plus Grant (PPG) to employ additional staffing. A response to this question is as follows:

o   The Conditions of Grant do not discount types of spending. Instead the focus is on “using the funding to meet the child’s needs (which will be described in their PEP)”.

o   The Ofsted inspection framework is also impact focused (can the school demonstrate that how it is using its funding is having sufficient impact).

o   The Conditions state that one of the responsibilities of the VSH is to make sure that schools spend their PPG to help meet the identified needs in their PEPs. So we would advise that it will be for the VSH and the school to discuss how to meets needs in the best way. This should be a dynamic discussion.

o   The Conditions also do permit the pooling of PPG with the main PPG to provide “more complete support”. But demonstration of maximum impact will be critical.

·         Page 3 DfE Letter of 17 December: Members were reminded of the December letter from the DfE, which set out the additional revenue funding for High Needs and which also stated that an additional sum of £100m of high needs capital will be made available with the details of the allocation of this across local authorities to be confirmed early in the new year. When we presented this letter on 9 January we suggested that typically Bradford receives 1.1% of blanket national allocations so we would expect to receive £1.1m of this £100m. Our confirmed allocation from the £100m however, is only £306k, so in total we have been allocated only £1.117m from a national pot of £365m for high needs capital across 2018-2021.

Members discussed the insufficiency of this capital allocation and this is recorded under agenda item 6 (minute 391).

·         Page 5 DSG recommendations: The recommendations on the allocation of the 2019/20 DSG were approved un-amended by Council on 21 February and are now being rolled out. On update on DSG matters is provided under agenda item 7.

Other Matters Arising

·         Request made by Members for assessment of the financial support model for Beckfoot Upper Heaton Academy: Members were referred to the matters arising document presented on page 23. Members welcomed and accepted this report.

·         Stronger Communities Partnership Board – It was reported that the clerk of the Schools Forum has been approached with a request for the Schools Forum to put forward a nomination for a Member to sit on the newly establishing Stronger Communities Partnership Board. It is advised and agreed that we progress this request using the established process for the collection of nominations for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Forum; namely, we send out the nominations information and request for Members to put themselves forward.