To receive an update on matters discussed at the budget working group in June 2023.

The Chair Invited the SFM to update the forum on the activity of the Budget Working Group (BWG).

It was highlighted the minutes from the BWG meeting held on 16 June were circulated to all members.

Items of significant interest raised were:

• The outturn for 2022/23 was £733,000 overspend which increases the high needs deficit to just over £1 million. It was noted the overspend was less than the previous year.

• Autism resource bases will be coming on stream in September, the local authority is grateful to all the schools who have stepped up to take on these bases.

• A way forward was agreed to support training for the counselling service offered by Orelton Primary School so that it will become self-supporting in the future.

• Changes to the high needs matrix were discussed so that it better reflects the needs of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders and associated challenging disorders.

The chair of the working group thanked members of the group for their contributions and also the SFM for his support and advice. He noted the challenge of keeping children at the heart of what we do while also keeping the budget under control. The chair of the forum echoed these comments and thanked the chair of the working group for their work.

A query was raised in regard to the autism bases. There was concern that parents had yet to receive details on what the settings will look like and what they will provide. In particular one parent had queried what would happen after key stage 1. Concerns were also flagged about autistic pupils in inappropriate settings and the difficulties this created for both the pupils in terms of accessing education and for staff in schools not able to meet the child’s needs.

The Head of Additional Needs explained that a lot of work had taken place in a short time to set up the new bases and that legal processes needed to be completed before information could be widely shared. She acknowledged that this had meant communications had not gone out in the way the local authority would have liked. No formal decisions had been taken on an expansion into key stage 2 but the schools concerned were interested to explore this.

The local authority continues to work on sufficiency plans given the increasing numbers of pupils with SEND. This mirrors the national picture. The new autism units will ease the pressure but will not solve the problem. A clearer provision map would be helpful and is something the local authority will work on. Work has taken place in the background to set up framework agreements to support future development. The Head of Additional Needs noted that Herefordshire was a very inclusive area and praised schools for their willingness to support pupils in mainstream schools.

With regard to the high needs matrix changes, it was highlighted that not all special school heads had been consulted and that there were some concerns about the impact of the changes. It was clarified that discussions had taken place with the schools most likely to be affected and agreed it would be helpful to review the expectations of consultation for significant changes to funding mechanisms at the next Budget Working Group.