Agenda item

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Membership; Maggie Waller reported that Barbara Clark and Paul Adams resigned over the summer and there are vacancies for academy membership. John Constable had agreed to follow this up with academy proprietors later this term, following the October census which will confirm numbers of members required.

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Maggie Waller and John Constable had sent a letter to the Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education, on behalf of Schools Forum, stating concerns about levels of funding. Copies of the letter were circulated.

A recent letter received from the Trades Unions regarding facilities time arrangements was also circulated.

Kathleen Higgins requested that the words ‘in the short term’ be deleted from the paragraph which referred to her comment on PFI.

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Debbie Richards asked for clarification regarding a pensions deficit. Atul Lad confirmed that a sum of £500k had been paid centrally in respect of 2013/14 (on behalf of maintained schools). However, members of the Forum queried this and it was agreed that Atul would bring details back to the next Schools Forum or to the Task and Finish group.

It was noted that St Joseph’s School has balances earmarked. Atul Lad reported that the school thanked Schools Forum for its support and indicated that it was not in a position to repay further sums though they would wish to if they could.

Clarification was requested regarding St Joseph’s current budget position; Atul Lad to bring this to the next meeting.  It was noted that the original support from Schools Forum was not a loan. It was agreed that any future arrangements between Schools Forum and a school, should they arise, should be carefully recorded to ensure clarity.

Some clarification was provided regarding Cambridge Education School Improvement funding. It was stated that, in the main, the funding supports the statutory elements i.e. monitoring, challenge and intervention but that some can be deployed for school development.

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Revised Growth Fund 2014-15: Atul provided clarification and drew members’ attention to the flow chart included in the meeting’s papers about how new schools are funded differently.

Coral Miller reported that Audit is looking at fraud guidance for schools which could be added to the Scheme for Financing Schools.

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It was noted that the Primary Heads’ Association does not have a Chair currently and there may therefore be gaps in communication.

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Key Decisions Log: it was noted that the first Key Decisions Log (September 2012 to July 2014) will be posted on the Slough Borough Council website with a link to the Schools’ Forum papers.