Walsall Children's Services

What is the Schools Forum?

The Schools Forum is a statutory body that advises the Local Authority on financial matters affecting schools. It is made up of representatives from all phases from Nursery to Upper schools. Headteacher's and governors make up the majority of the members but the group includes diocesan and union representatives. Officers from Walsall Children’s Services schools finance team attend meetings as well as the Cabinet Member for Education.

The main function of the Forum is to provide a level of transparency regarding Walsall Children’s Services decisions about schools financing. It has specific functions: to advise on the allocation of the schools budget, on contracts for supplies and services and on the arrangements for spending centrally retained funds. In April 2006 Schools Forums acquired additional statutory responsibilities, formerly held by the Secretary of State, regarding allocation of the new Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). In the three years since the Forum was established it has looked at special needs, transition grant allocation and the Standards Fund grants.

The schools budget is the pot of money available for spending on the education of our children. The vast majority of this is passed on directly to schools but a small percentage is retained by the Local Authority for funding central services such as special needs education, pupil referral units and management of certain targeted funds. A key role of the Forum is to give schools a say in how this retained funding should be spent and on the balance between retained and delegated funding. The Forum also provides input on the formula used for allocating the schools budget.