Agenda item

Action

Ian Pearson presented the report on the Engaging Potential budget 2014/15.

Engaging Potential provides education for up to 14 secondary SEN pupils with severe Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties. The changing needs of the pupils means that additional staff are required to increase the pupil to staff ratio and additional training and more competitive teachers’ salaries are required in order to reduce staff turnover. Engaging Potential continues to reduce their costs where possible. However this will still result in an increase of £49k in 2014/15 (pro rata) and £84k increase in 2015/16, which equates to a unit cost per pupil of £37k. This is still considered good value as the cost of a BESD school place is a minimum of £70k. 

DECISION: The Schools Forum agreed that the additional costs from September 2014 will be met from the High Needs Block.

ACTION: £49k to be vired from the High Needs Block contingency.

It was noted that the previous 5 reports all contained additional funding required from the High Needs Block and if funding from this block was all spent this would impact on individual school budgets.

S Coleman-Slaughter