Autumn Term - 5 December 2023
 As part of the recent DCC Consultation on the 2024-25 Revenue Funding Arrangements for Schools, the local authority proposed the transfer of up to 0.5% transfer from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block for one year only, to develop an Early Help (Education) Offer for schools as part of the Safety Valve agreement.
The narrative and decision-making around the 0.5% transfer is very complex. At the last meeting (6 November 2023) of the Schools’ Finance Group (SFG), further information was shared with DSLS representatives about the proposed Early Help (Education) Offer which was not available at the time of the Schools Funding Consultation. Local Authority Officers subsequently presented some of this detail to school leaders attending the DSLS Autumn Briefing on 9 November 2023, ahead of a fully costed proposal being presented separately as a standalone paper at Devon Education Forum(DEF) on 22 November 2023. This proposal was not presented at DEF last week and the decision regarding the transfer of up to 0.5% to the High Needs Block has therefore been deferred to the next meeting on 24 January 2024.
Having carefully considered the original consultation responses from schools, where 61% disagreed with Proposal 4 - the Movement between Blocks, headteacher members of DEF feel they cannot vote on such an important decision without establishing further the views of schools with regard to the Early Help (Education) Offer now being presented by DCC.
Please note this is not a formal consultation. However, we are seeking the views of school leader colleagues now to assist your elected DEF members to make an informed decision on behalf of the phase and school type (academy or maintained) they are representing.
The attached papers set out what DCC are proposing in terms of the 0.5% funding to develop an Early Help (Education) Offer for schools within the management plan as part of the Safety Valve negotiations with the DfE. If you have any questions regarding the details of this proposal, please email office@devonsls.co.uk and we will endeavour to obtain a response from the author on your behalf. All questions and responses will be shared on the DSLS website alongside this survey.
Once published, minutes of the following working groups are available at:
Question:
Having considered this proposal, would you be happy to support the transfer of up to 0.5% transfer from the Schools Block to the High Needs Block for one year only, to develop an Early Help (Education) Offer for schools within the management plan as part of the Safety Valve negotiations with the DfE?
Please submit your response here.
NB One form per school please and individual responses should be completed for each school within a Federation or Multi-Academy Trust.
Closing date for responses is 12 Noon Friday 5 January 2024.
The outcome of this survey will be considered by headteacher members of Devon Education Forum alongside the original responses to Proposal 4 within the DCC Consultation on the 2024-25 Revenue Funding Arrangements for Schools.
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