Schools forums were set up to give schools greater involvement in the distribution of funding within their local authority. They are now the formal decision making body on all matters relating to the funding of schools. This page explains their role and gives you the opportunity to view or request records of previous forum meetings and decisions.
What schools forums do
Schools forums can make decisions on the following three main areas:
- Our proposed B&NES school funding formula
- How much we can retain of our schools budget for regional issues such as arrangements for pupils with special educational needs or early years education
- Contracts for the provision of services to schools
As a local authority, we have the lead role in making proposals to the forum. The forum itself cannot set proposals or policy, but discusses and makes decisions on the proposals we put forward.
Who is involved
Our schools forum is made up of elected members from schools within B&NES, usually headteachers and governors. As a minimum, there should be 15 members, who represent the composition of schools in the B&NES area, including at least one representative from an academy school. We can also appoint non-schools members, up to a maximum of 20% of the total forum.
Forum meetings
We decide the frequency of meetings, in discussion with forum members. We aim for the forum to meet between three and six times a year. Meetings are organised to take place in time to feed into our annual school budget cycle.
In addition to setting up the forum, we call and record meetings, and inform all local schools of the outcomes. We're also responsible for managing the expenses of forum members.
For further information, see the GOV.UK Schools Forums Guidance and Regulations
Forum records
We have a statutory duty to make the activities of the schools forum available to the public. Use the button below to view and download the agenda and minutes of previous meetings. If you want to view documents and policies mentioned in these in further detail, please email the schools strategic finance team