Issue - meetings

To receive an update on progress of the mitigations detailed within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) management plan.

The committee received the report which provided an update on progress of the mitigations detailed within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) management plan, including an overview of the forecasted outturn position in relation to the DSG deficit reserve.

The committee noted the reduced deficit position of the DSG of £79.5m compared to the forecasted deficit of £89.6m resulting in a reduction of £10.1m. The committee were keen to understand the reasons for changes in forecasts and noted that this was the result of planning and mitigations put in place. Officers were working hard to drive forward change and improvements needed.

It was noted that the recruitment of the SEND Transformation Team was well underway with key officers in post. Further discussions were underway with the newly appointed Interim Executive Director of Children’s Services to review resource to ensure sufficient capacity was created for driving forward the improvement needed. Costs were within the agreed MTFS/other grants budget envelope.

The committee discussed transitions of children with an EHCP from primary to secondary school and whether there was a higher proportion of secondary children requiring specialist provision rather than mainstream. It was noted that it was difficult to provide exact figures/percentages as individual cases varied in complexity however transitions were closely monitored by the team and each individual child’s Key Worker. The SEND Sufficiency Statement provided information of the number of EHCP pupils by educational phase and year group.

The committee thanked the officers present and their teams for their continued efforts to tackle to significant pressures facing the service. 

RESOLVED:

That the Audit and Governance Committee note the report and updates provided.