HEADTEACHER/GOVERNOR CONSULTATION MEETING MONDAY 30 th JANUARY 2012 6.00 pm

1. HEADTEACHER/GOVERNOR CONSULTATION MEETING MONDAY 30th JANUARY 2012 6.00 pm

2. Purpose • Formal consultation – Council budget setting • Overview- strategic direction • Information exchange – Children’s Services • Financial planning information

3. Context • Long term constraints on public sector funding • Focus on schools with LA as ‘mediating layer’ • Worcestershire – Children & Families; Open for Business; the Environment; Health & Well Being • Key priorities- safeguarding & education • Commissioning & localism to enable change • Managing change to achieve outcomes & efficiencies • Collaboration remains key

4. Update on Safeguarding & LAC Improvement Journey from Announced Inspection October 2010: • Judged ‘inadequate’ in safeguarding & ‘adequate’ for LAC • ‘Notice to Improve’ from DfE- Improvement Board Feb 2011 with Head Teacher representation • Unannounced Inspection of Contact, Referral & Assessment July 2011 demonstrated improvements made to satisfactory level in these areas • DfE Intervention visits, external evaluation & Peer Review endorsed progress and concur with areas still to improve & plans to address them

5. Update on Safeguarding & LAC Improvement Progress to date: • Additional permanent qualified social workers in post • Robust Quality Assurance systems in place • Evidence of improved timescales and regular contact with children • Evidence of drift in plans being addressed • Thresholds Guidance clear and being used by more professionals Areas still for improvement: • Still some temp staff in place-variable quality • Management development still to embed • Remains inconsistency in quality of practice • Remains drift for some children-especially looked after children (LAC) - too many still LAC who do not need to be • Early Help still to develop across the County-impacts on effectiveness of Common Assessment Framework and referrals to Social Care

6. Commissioning • Council’s aspiration to be an excellent commissioning authority • Commissioning means making the best use of our resources to deliver the right outcomes • “securing the right service from the right provider at the right price” • Opportunities for Schools as commissioners and as providers

7. Early Help Strategy Focus on reducing number of LAC, number in need of protection, number with statements of SEN The strategic vision is to have services which are: • locally responsive; • targeted on clearly identified need • integrated to ensure a continuum (or pathway) of support for families with children aged 0-19 • empowering families to take responsibility • focused on clearly demonstrating an impact on outcomes. Approach is to commission local services from the Private Voluntary Independent sector

8. Learning and Achievement – core service review Currently five service areas: • Early Years and Childcare • Early Intervention and Targetted Support • Schools Systems • School Improvement 5-19 • Widening Participation It is proposed to focus the work of Learning and Achievement on a core service. This will be statutory functions and those considered to be high political priority or too risky to stop. Other (non-core) functions will be commissioned through the Early Help Strategy, offered as a sold service, or stopped. We are currently defining core and non-core activities, and will be consulting with stakeholders shortly.

9. Budget Presentation 2012/13 Council Position Children’s Services Schools Heather Costello

10. Setting the Context: An update of the Medium Term Financial Plan • Largely unchanged for the 2012/13 financial year from that approved in February 2011. • The 2012/13 indicative funding gap a year ago was £22.4 million, now the indicative gap is £23.5 million. • The focus of last 12 months has been on closing the gap through the BOLD Programme

11. Setting the Context: An update of the Medium Term Financial Plan at Council Level • Provisional settlement for 2012/13 announced in December. No significant change. • This is Year 2 of the 4 year spending review period. Still no figures for 2013/14 onwards. • Further bad news is expected for 2013/14 based on the economic climate.

12. The County Council’s financial starting point • The County Council start from a relatively strong position for the financial challenges ahead due to: • General Balances anticipated to be around £15m by end of 2011/12. • We are on target to deliver the 2011/12 efficiencies and savings plan. • Minor adjustments have been made for inflation, demographic pressures and service demand. • Over £20 million of efficiencies and savings in 2012/13 are at an advanced stage of planning.

13. The County Council’s financial starting point 2011/12 Council Tax for Counties without Fire

14. The County Council’s financial starting point 2012/2013 provisional formula grant per head of population

15. Indicative budget shortfall for 2012/13(Budget Report – paragraph 29)

16. Addressing the indicative budget shortfall - The BOLD Programme (Budget Report - Appendix 4)

17. The County Council’s financial starting point Budget Summary (Budget Report - Appendix 2)

18. Addressing the Indicative budget shortfall Further Measures to deliver the remaining £2.6 million • Options to bridge the gap include: • Council Tax Base buoyancy and taking account of any surplus or deficit arising on District Council collection funds. • Finding further efficiencies and savings. • Funding from General Balances.

19. Key medium term messages • The County Council’s Medium Term plan to date remains largely unchanged, challenging but deliverable. • Future funding streams likely to reduce further – more service reductions will be required. • We have a strong track record – an ability to find savings and minimise the impact on front line service delivery. • We need to plan now for 2013-14 and beyond and be open to new ways of delivering services in the future.

20. Next Steps – Council position • Officers continue to refine figures • Cabinet to develop options to deliver the remaining savings • Consultation meetings January 2012 • Preparing for Cabinet on 9 February • Council on 16 February will set the budget

21. Open for Business • Children and Families • The Environment • Health and Well-being

22. Evaluate - start by involving and listening to customers, researching all available information to identify priorities through the democratic process. Consider the delivery options about how to best meet the outcomes required.Design the service specification giving further consideration to how best to deliver the outcomes required.Source the right provider for the customer at the right price for the tax payer. Review the performance of the provision by checking it is delivering against quality standards and take action when needed.

23. CHILDREN’S SERVICES BUDGETS 2012/13

24. Financial Settlement – Headlines • Expecting WCC funding to reduce by 13.5% • Early Intervention Grant (EIG) increase from £18.8m to £20.5m • DSG Guaranteed Unit of Funding (GUF) remains static at £4,600.77 per pupil • PPG up from £488 to £600 per pupil

25. Early Help Strategy • Continue to develop the use of EIG to support and invest in Early Help • Not ring fenced grant- continue to look for efficiencies and better outcomes • Pressures emerging for use of increase on Free education for 2 year olds. Potential extra 2000 places. Consultation out at the moment. Funding reviewed. DfE indicates included within EIG.

26. Children’s Services 2012/13 Total Estimated LA Budget Total. £’m £’m Starting position 2011/12 76.0 Budget Reallocations -0.7 Revised base 75.3 Inflation Pension Costs 0.2 Prices on Goods and Services 0.2 Growth Early Help Strategy 0.3 Children’s Placements 1.5 2.2 BOLD Savings -5.7 Total Estimated LA Budget 2012/13 71.8 -4.6%

27. [Slideshow Title - edit in Headers & Footers] BOLD (Next Steps) Programme (1)

28. SCHOOL FUNDING 2012/13

29. School Funding for 2012/13 • Guaranteed Unit of funding (GUF) unchanged at £4,600.77 per pupil • Inflationary pressures will need to be met through efficiency savings • Increasing FSM numbers • Pupil numbers in special schools increasing • There will be a national per pupil Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) set to ensure no school has a cut in its budget of more than 1.5% per pupil before any pupil premium is allocated .

30. School Funding for 2012/13 • The 2012/13 GUF will be applied to the January 2012 Annual Census Pupil numbers to calculate the DSG for 2012/13. • Therefore if pupil numbers overall fall in LA then the DSG will be lower . • Any DSG reduction due to falling numbers is subject to a cash floor arrangement at LA level for 2012/13, set at minus 2% • PPG and post 16 funding are outside of DSG • Increase in the Pupil Premium (PP) for disadvantaged pupils from £488 to £600 per pupil

31. School Funding for 2012/13 • The DSG is reduced for academies. • Recoupment for central DSG is based on our S251 budget statement and proposed changes to the calculation are causing pressure in central budgets • At 1 April 2012 we expect there to be 23 academies resulting in a fall in centrally retained DSG of 8.6%. • Academy recoupment replicates our formula allocation for schools, so this will not impact on individual schools’ budgets

32. Children’s Services 2012/13Total Estimated DSG

33. School Funding for 2012/13 Decisions of the Schools Forum • Agreed in principle to replicate the grant allocations for one more year. • Advanced Skills Teachers and Leadership Incentive Grant funding to mainstreamed. • Agreed that the funding for Early Intervention Family Support (£1.5m) be retained centrally for one further year • Agreed that the deprivation factors in the formula would be reviewed as the pupil premium increases to ensure that schools are not being double funded. • Agreed that as the DfE have only provided funding information for 2012/13 that estimated budgets for 2013/14 will not be issued.

34. School Funding for 2012/13 Post -16 Funding (YPLA) • £21.4m in 2011/12. Likely to be less in 2012/13 Capital Funding • 2011/12 Capital was £19.3m. 2012/13 is £14.6m (down 24%) • Funding will be prioritised for LA basic need for all tax payer funded schools, high priority building maintenance for LA maintained and LCVAP for VA schools • Devolved Formula Capital (DfC) for LA maintained and VA schools at a reduced level reflecting Academy conversions

35. School Funding for 2012/13 Summary • Static GUF means that DfE expect schools to meet any inflationary pressures through efficiency savings • Any school funded at the MFG level due to falling rolls could see a reduction of 1.5% per pupil on top of any inflationary pressures • Academy conversions mean centrally retained DSG will be lower putting pressure on central DSG services • Limiting capital expenditure to basic need and high priority building maintenance

36. Other Budget and School Issues for 2012/13 • Budget allocations prepared and planned to be sent to schools by 16th March 2012 • The Budget Planning Booklet will be available electronically on Edulink by early February 2012 with assistance also available via Schools Finance SLA • Information on Service Level Agreements will be sent out shortly in early February • Schools will be required to complete budget plan for return to the LA by 31st May 2012 • Schools which believe they might have financial difficulties are encouraged to speak with HR and Schools Finance about how this can be managed.