Cornwall Schools Forum - 17 October 2025

**Governance and administrative matters**

The meeting opened with the election of the Council’s leadership. Valerie Royston moved, and Guy Chappell seconded, that Bill Marshall be elected Chairman; the motion was carried on a show of hands and Marshall thanked members for his re‑election. A second motion, moved by Guy Chappell and seconded by Valerie Royston, elected Rob Gasson as Vice‑Chairman. The Chairman declared an interest in the Music Hub as a member of its Strategic Advisory Group. The minutes of the 13 June 2025 meeting were approved after a motion moved by Bill Marshall and seconded by Craig Bonds. The Democratic Officer reported on membership changes, including a resignation from Paula Blackburn, Victoria Lock’s maternity leave, and the attendance of Rachel Heffer and Jack Horwell on behalf of LA Maintained Primary Schools.

**Special Educational Needs (SEND) update**

The Service Director for Education and Children’s Community Health briefed the forum on the SEND Strategic Plan 2025‑2028 and the Joint SEND Commissioning Strategy. Five priorities—improving EHCP quality, strengthening family communication, using data for impact evaluation, enhancing inclusive education, and reducing health‑service wait times—are being pursued through locality‑based Centres of Excellence, inclusive practice development, and pooled funding models. Recent stakeholder workshops showed consensus across schools, health partners and parents. The update also placed Cornwall’s SEND work in the national context, noting rising EHCP demand, placement shortages, and financial pressures highlighted in the House of Commons Education Committee’s “Solving the SEND Crisis” report.

**Pupil Growth Formula and financial context**

The Head of Education Effectiveness presented an update on the Pupil Growth Formula for 2026/27, indicating that the final figure for exceptional growth funding is expected to be between £400,000 and £500,000, pending census data. A reduced overall budget and declining pupil rolls were noted, but the Authority committed to underwriting places for several projects. The Finance Analyst outlined a forthcoming report that will propose two options for the Forum’s decision. Discussion points included pending DfE operational guidance, consultation feedback on transfers and exceptional‑circumstance factors, and the need for clearer communication to schools about funding impacts.

**Funding approvals – block transfers and dedicated grant use**

Rob Gasson moved, and Valerie Royston seconded, a resolution that the Schools Forum approve the 2026/27 block transfers: £0.134 m to the Music Hub, £0.054 m to the Cornwall Association of Primary Heads, £0.026 m to the Cornwall Association of Secondary Heads, £0.108 m to Inclusion Support, and the remainder of the 0.5 % allocation to the high‑needs protection formula. The Chairman did not vote due to his declared interest in the Music Hub. A second motion, moved by Emma Short and seconded by Tom Richardson, approved the use of £0.373 m from the early‑years Dedicated Schools Grant to cover central running costs. A third motion, moved by Sean Pinhay and seconded by Bill Marshall, approved the continued use of exceptional‑circumstance factors, allocating £0.110 m to five schools with external rent costs and £0.050 m to a small rural secondary school.

**Next steps and work‑plan updates**

The Head of Education Effectiveness confirmed that the work plan had been revised and would be circulated with the minutes, and that the new plan would be incorporated into an induction meeting for new members. A preparatory meeting is to be scheduled before the December session to discuss the consultation on exceptional circumstances and to provide induction for incoming Forum members. The Chairman reiterated that communication to schools regarding funding decisions would be enhanced, and that a yearly report on the Music Hub would be prepared for discussion at the final academic‑year meeting.