Agenda item

Lisa Potts introduced the report (Agenda Item 12), which provided an overview of the current Early Years Block provision. Lisa Potts reported that historically the block had carried a deficit of around £1m for the past four to five years. Although a deficit management plan had been in place, its implementation had been disrupted by COVID-19 and subsequent changes in funding arrangements.

Lisa Potts explained that the early years grant had increased significantly from approximately £10/£12m to £28m due to new entitlement funding streams. However, forecasting remained challenging because of issues with the Capita/MRI system, which had affected the accuracy of hours data. Despite these challenges, Lisa Potts reported positive progress. At the end of 2024/25, the deficit had stood at £928k but adjustments following the final grant reconciliation reduced this by £492k, bringing the revised deficit down to £436,000. She noted that the improvement was largely due to overestimations in previous forecasts for new entitlement hours. It was hoped that the deficit would be cleared in the next year or so.

Neil Goddard added that, as raised by David Ramsden at the Heads Funding Group, there was potential in future years to consider using Early Years block funding to support pressures in the High Needs block. However, Neil stressed that this could only be explored once the Early Years deficit had been fully addressed. He confirmed that this approach would align with broader strategic objectives for SEND and early intervention.

RESOLVED that no questions or comments were raised by the Schools Forum and the report was noted.