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Schools Forum

Get the latest updates on high needs areas in schools, including HI/VI review, panel updates, resource allocation, early years changes, and alternative provision.

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Schools Forum

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  1. Schools Forum 17th January 2015 Agenda item 6 High Needs Alison Shipley Bob Seaman

  2. Overview • This presentation provides an update on a range of high needs areas, including: • HI and VI review, • High needs panel update, • Resource Allocation System update, • Changes from the early years consultation, • Alternative Provision • Exceptional cases submission, • Special school budgets, • Place numbers 2015-16 academic year, and • High needs top up arrangements and high needs funding guidance.

  3. 1 HI and VI review Information on HI / VI to be updated and published by Friday 13th 2015.

  4. 2.1 High needs panel – early years • 109 applications submitted to the 6 panel meetings June 2014 to February 2015. • 90 (86%) were approved, 1 deferred and 18 not approved

  5. 2.2 High needs panel – primary • 216 applications submitted • 146 approved (67%), 4 deferred and 66 not approved • Those not approved are mainly because the application didn’t meet the criteria within the SEN descriptors or the panel felt the needs could be met within the schools high needs element 2 funding (£6k)

  6. 2.3 High needs panel – secondary • 25 applications submitted. • 16 approved (64%), and 9 not approved • Those not approved are mainly because the application didn’t meet the criteria within the SEN descriptors or the panel felt the needs could be met within the schools high needs element 2 funding (£6k)

  7. 3.1 RAS Development - Update Agreement for Continuing Health Care to be included as part of the RAS. Data collection complete across education, social care & health, including 100 education cases. Standard costs/rates collected across all three agencies. IT platform agreed. Next Steps: - Model building. - Test phase. Projected timeframe : Top-up funding for schools Sept 2015* *This maybe delayed further due to plans for a robust test phase and period of consultation.

  8. 3.2 RAS Development /Personal Budgets (PB) Personal budgets for children with EHC Plans is already implemented by law. The RAS is the system to manage it longer term. At the moment if a parent requests a PB we have to provide an indicative budget based on known costings and then an actual budget if it is agreed that they can meet the Outcome specified by using a PB. This may need agreement with the school HT or may not depending on the outcome requirements. The LA has a duty in the new code to try to ensure HT agree to these arrangements when they are requested by parents. At the moment it is the high needs element 3 funding that can be considered for a PB but schools can give up element 2 as well if they wish and it relates directly to an Outcome in a Plan.

  9. 3.3 RAS Development – Update – using RAS to calculate personal budgets Staggered dates for Northamptonshire utilising the RAS to calculate the personal budget Social care: April 2015 Education: June 2015 Health: July 2015

  10. 4.1 High needs changes from the EYSFF review and consultation Funding through the EYSFF (at 53p/hour) children that have additional needs (in the categories specific individual support or higher needs as defined in the high needs descriptors document (approx 450 - £135k p.a. cost). Where applicable taking account of this additional funding when early years submissions are made to the High Needs panel

  11. 4.2 High needs changes from the EYSFF review and consultation Ceasing the current £500 per student notional SEN deduction when early years applications are submitted to the high needs panel. From April 2015 early years pupils in special schools should be included in the early years headcount returns. This will mean special schools will receive comparable funding to currently for these pupils but from both the EYSFF and the high needs block.

  12. 5.Exceptional cases submission to EFA • The EFA sent a letter to the Authority on the 23 January giving information on why the NCC exceptional cases submission for support for additional places in a number of units and special schools was not supported. • The Authority challenged the reasons given for why this request was rejected. • On the 26th February the EFA fed back that they would provide additional funding of £83k. This is on the basis that a total of 14 places (across 5 special schools) were above the 10% threshold they had set for exceptional high needs funding.

  13. 6.1 Alternative Provision (AP) • The proposed increase in permanent exclusion clawbacks from AWPU plus £3k (which has been applied since 2006), to AWPU plus £5k from April 2015 has been challenged by a forum member. • Other  local authorities have a variety of clawback mechanisms for permanent exclusions with some clawing back as much as £27k per pupil. • From reviewing the different mechanisms operating across the country and the rise in the numbers in AP it has become clear that there is a need to develop a robust new clawback/charge system based on best practice and statutory guidance.  We will therefore maintain the current system until 2016-17 to allow this to be completed. • To support the reintegration of pupils Schools admitting a permanently excluded pupil will receive any clawed back funding.

  14. 6.2 Alternative Provision (AP) • The EFA 2015-16 high needs guidance has clarified that the places funded in AP should include those commissioned by schools. • The place numbers with CE are 230. In March 2015 the Authority and school commissioned numbers in CE are likely to go above 230 places. • Given the change in guidance the Authority has agreed with CE as an interim step to pay the equivalent of the place funding (£205/week) for all numbers (both Authority and school commissioned above the 230 places). • The Authority are liaising with CE on the funding arrangements to apply in the 2015-16 academic year

  15. 6.3 Alternative Provision (AP) • The £2k increase in excluded pupil claw back from April 2015 was proposed to fund the estimated £0.4 million increase in the costs of AP provision from increased numbers and provision in 2015-16. • The new requirement to reflect both Authority and school commissioned numbers in the place funding to CE will increase costs by £0.1 million in the period to July 2015. • These increased costs of £0.5 million will be funded by a) £0.1million increased DSG grant from high needs exceptional cases submission b) £0.4 million one off funding from DSG 2014-15 underspend • Work will be undertaken, including with the Forum working group, to identify proposals to bring to Forum regarding how this should be funded in 2016-17 onwards.

  16. 7.1 Special School Budgets • The MFG exemption request has been approved by the secretary of state. • This allowed the 2015-16 protection for Kingsley and Maplefields schools to be reduced from their 2014-15 levels. • The objective of seeking this exemption was to allow this ‘adjustment’ to be recycled into supporting the schools subject to the cap. • The 2015-16 special schools budget (see January forum report) is £25.5 million. • In 2014-15 protection of -1.5% and a cap on increases of 4.5% was applied.

  17. 7.2 Special School Budgets • We have now modelled the special school budgets, including estimates of further increases in numbers and funding in 2015-16. • The impact of applying the -1.5% protection and cap to special school budgets in 2015-16 means that the amounts for protection and capping have significantly reduced. • There are now 6 Schools with protection totalling £236,191. • And importantly there are no Schools that are being capped.

  18. 8. Place Numbers Special Schools • The information on place numbers is shown in Appendix D • In accordance with DfE guidance the 2015-16 academic year numbers principally reflect October 2014 actual occupancy. • The EFA will pay academies (and recoup from the DSG) the 2014-15 place numbers plus the few agreed additional places from the exceptional cases submission and approval. Where these total less than the agreed place numbers (reflecting October 14 actual occupancy) the balance will be paid directly by the Authority. This split is shown in the special schools indicative 2015-16 budgets that are currently on the NCC website.

  19. 9 High Needs Funding Guidance The high needs funding guidance has been updated for 2015-16 to reflect : The intention to implement the RAS The changes from the Early Years Consultation Top Up funding from the High Needs Panel SEN Units and Resources Provision Sensory Impairment Monthly Top Up payments These are reflected in the update to the High Needs Funding Guidance for 2015-6 (see Appendix E)

  20. Any Questions?

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