Services for Children and Young People

1. Services for Children and Young People Summary of the Budget - proposals and outcomes - 2011-2014 Prepared by Susan Fielden, CYP Finance 28 January 2011

2. Services for Children and Young People • Key Points about the CYPD Budget: • Currently the Local Authority budget funds only 14% of the County Council spending on services for children and young people. The remainder is funded from specific government grant, particularly the Dedicated Schools Grant. Total expenditure £518m. • Spending on keeping vulnerable children in the county safe is under sustained pressure. The budget accounts for 41% of the Directorate’s total net LA budget. Budget pressures in this area, particularly due to the assessment and care costs for small babies, are to be reviewed to inform the forward budget. The recent Inspection Report identified many areas of strength and satisfactory practice with some areas for development around capacity to respond to increasing demand and peaks in activity. • Spending on Home to School transport accounts for 17% of the Directorate’s total net budget. This is the subject of both a Procurement Category Plan and the Scrutiny Committee Task and Finish Group. Whilst savings could be achieved through change to policy and entitlement to free transport, these would have some very significant implications for schools and parents. • Action taken within the Service: • A series of meetings and workshops with key partners, especially schools, a two day Strategic Planning Meeting in early August, headteacher and Chairs of Governor meetings and consultation with staff and key partners. • Preparation of a plan to reduce net LA spending by 25% over three years through a concentration on core statutory local authority functions, with an Equality Impact Assessment informing all savings proposals. • A commitment to working with schools through their key representatives to make effective use of residual LA budget and specific grant to mitigate the impact of spending reductions and focus on services that make a real difference to children’s outcomes whilst providing value for money. • Work with union representatives and staff groups to attempt to mitigate the detrimental impact on individual members of staff. Main Savings Proposals: Secure capacity to ensure vulnerable children in Somerset are safe, planning for savings from 2013/14. Reduce LA funding for local preventative services by 75%, whilst making effective use of residual Early Intervention Grant funding. Reduce LA funding for educational services by 40%, working with schools to develop new forms of jointly commissioned support to raise achievement and support the vulnerable. Proportionate reduction in leadership, management, business support and premises Partnership work with schools and the voluntary and community sector to mitigate the impact. Total saving over three years £18.1m, in addition to any reductions to specific grant Total Pressures funded (Social Care related) £5.3m

3. Partnership Services: Local, preventative and multi-professional services A transfer of £13.873m, after savings, will be considered at Cabinet in February reflecting the residual element of the Early Intervention Grant. • Savings description: • Refocusing of provision within Children’s Centres (0 – 5) and rationalisation of management • Reducing/ceasing preventative services (5 – 19) leading to disbanding of local service teams and relocating residual staff appropriately within the new organisational structure • Educational attendance work focussed on statutory responsibilities and prosecution, with limited additional services resourced by schools • Significant reduction in Careers Education/Targeted Information Advice and Guidance, pending the introduction of an All Age Careers Service • Reduced Healthy Schools and Teenage Pregnancy strategy work • Very significant reduction in youth service provision across the county • Impact and risks • Very significant reduction in LA-funded preventative work with children and families which could lead, in the longer term, to more costly intervention • Reduced capacity to intervene early in poor attendance issues • Youth provision will be restricted to support for the most vulnerable young people and communities, with facilitation of provision in the private, voluntary and community sector • Potential increase in numbers of young people Not in Education, Employment and Training • Transitional arrangements for Parent and Family Support Advisers through agreement with schools • Mitigation: • Many aspects of this provision are valued by schools for the positive impact on removing barriers to learning. Discussions with school representatives have considered how some preventative provision could be sustained through residual grant funding • Residual provision will be built around Children’s Social Care area teams, targeted youth support, Children’s Centres and education provision, reducing management, admin and premises costs across the service • Refocus some of residual Youth Work time to support communities in developing local/voluntary provision

4. Education services A significant proportion of education services are funded through specific grants, including the Dedicated Schools Grant – decisions on allocations within the Schools Budget have not yet been finalised. • Savings description:: • Integration of services managed by two Heads of Service currently – Schools and Achievement and Education and Individual Services • A transfer of capacity to assess the special education needs of pupils, particularly in relation to dedicated Educational Psychologist time, towards capacity to support • Very significant reduction in Local Authority capacity to support and intervene in schools to improve levels of achievement • Area based provision to be restricted to support for the most vulnerable children, linked with social care local teams. All remaining educational services will be managed on a county wide basis, deployed according to need • Impact and risks: • Adequate and appropriate SEN assessment, provision and review is essential to managing the risks of expensive independent provision required by SEN tribunal • Capacity to support and intervene may be insufficient to encourage the level of improvement in achievement, at the desired pace, set out in the Business Plan. There will, for example, be no capacity for curriculum support to schools • Legislation in relation to schools is due in 2011 through the Education Bill and this will change statutory requirements. The SEN and Disability Green Paper will also affect duties and responsibilities. • Mitigation: • Work has been undertaken with special schools to develop a vision for “Children Who Need More” and this, together with work with schools on the whole continuum of need, should mitigate the impact for the most vulnerable • Achievement in secondary schools has significantly improved as a result of school/LA collaboration. Discussions are taking place with school representatives about how to build on this success • The establishment of coherent workforce development opportunities for school staff and early years providers will help build a capacity as external support reduces

5. High risk and demand led services: Social Care and Transport Growth of £4.345m has been proposed to rebalance the Social care budget, plus £1m in Year 2 in respect of the increase in the Early Intervention Grant. • Savings description: • The pressures on the residential provision budget for Children Looked After have been taken into account in setting the forward budget. This includes the impact of the Southwark Judgement in respect of homeless young people. With the budget re-based, a programme of rationalisation can begin, with a target to achieve savings by year 3 at the latest • Changes in the provision for disabled children will be taken forward with special schools, linked to the “Children Who Need More” vision and the forthcoming Green Paper • Some aspects of Home Office funding remain unclear at this time (Jan 2011) • Impact and risks • The recent OFSTED inspection identified concerns in capacity to respond to sustained demand and peaks in activity in order to keep vulnerable children safe. Changes in organisation, capacity and practice need to be carefully considered and implemented. • Changes in transport policy could make a very significant difference to families in parts of the county and could affect preferences for particular schools. Recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee Task and Finish Group are being considered by the Cabinet Member but at this stage no savings proposals have been brought forward. • Mitigation: • The Pod working arrangement in Social Care teams has been praised in the recent inspection, helping to manage peaks in demand. This arrangement will be extended to include relevant education and partnership staff working with the most vulnerable children. School partners and Social Care colleagues will develop new ways of working together to help manage demand, improve communication and outcomes for children • Targeted provision for young people will be built around the Youth Offending Team • Any changes to transport policy would need to be phased over a number of years with a full impact assessment in respect of schools, pupils and families.

6. Strategic Services: Leadership, Planning and Business Management • Summary of overall savings and pressures: • 2011/12 £9.085m, offset by growth £4.345m • 2012/13 £4.827m, offset by growth £1m • 2013/14 £4.181m, • Further savings required in 2012/13 of £1.245m to balance indicative budget. • Of the grant transfer relating to the Early Intervention Grant of £16.288m, savings of £2.045m have been identified for 2011/12, with growth of £1m forecast to be required in 2012/13 (included in figures above). Broad shape of the service • Summary of organisational changes: • 25% reduction in the number of Service Directors • Two Service Directors will lead work in the key areas of provision – caring for the most vulnerable children and supporting learning and achievement • A third Service Director will bring together strategic and resource planning across the Directorate, efficient business support, programme management and workforce development, including management of key contracts for services • The number of Group and Service managers will reduce, along with associated reductions in business and administrative support and premises. E.g., Looked After and disabled children, Safeguarding, residential care, fostering etc, targeted youth support E.g., Planning and sufficiency of provision, school organisation, asset management, transport, business support and ICT E.g., Monitoring and intervention, SEN assessment, attendance, exclusions, Children’s Centres and youth provision LA funded activity School admissions, traded service provision, client agent role for all-school service contracts, etc Central Schools Budget and traded support for learning and achievement, including out of school, alternative and family provision Specific grant funded activity jointly commissioned with schools • Mitigation and opportunities: • A new relationship with schools is being developed. A “Compact” will shape services for the future, particularly those funded through the central Schools Budget. • In addition to partnership work with schools, the relationships with Health, particularly with regard to Public Health developments will be important in creating a new service that meets the needs of children, schools and families • The structural and service changes are being managed as a major Change Programme.

7. Schools Budget – 2011/12 (one year settlement only) • Key Points about the Schools Budget: • The total amount of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) forecast for 2011/12 is £319.891m based on £4,667.57 per pupil. As this national settlement includes no provision for inflationary pressures, all aspects of Schools Budget activity will be required to find efficiency and other savings in 2011/12. • Approximately 10.3% of the grant is retained centrally to support agreed services for schools, early years providers, children, young people and their families, wherever possible, mitigating the impact of reductions in specific grant and LA budgets. • The allocation of DSG for 2011/12 includes the transfer of £45.1m specific grant – the Schools Forum has considered the distribution of these grants to schools, Early Years providers and use for centrally managed services as part of the overall consideration of the Schools Budget. The key principle has been to minimise unmanageable turbulence. • Schools and academies are funded for their delegated responsibilities through an Activity Led Funding formula. Similar arrangements exist for Early Years provision across schools and the private, voluntary and community sector. Academies receive additional grant funding to reflect additional responsibilities. • Key Pressures and savings: • Inflationary and demographic pressures in delegated budgets (eg full year impact of teachers’ pay award, School Action Plus increases, etc) are likely to result in a 1-2% efficiency factor across all schools. • Similar pressures in central budgets have been balanced through savings from voluntary redundancies and service rationalisation. • The Minimum Funding Guarantee protects schools from cash losses of greater than 1.5% per pupil, excluding the Pupil Premium. • Investment over recent years in Somerset SEN provision has released savings on out-county placements. • Schools with sixth forms face very significant reductions in funding over the next three years. • A principled approach to managing a transitional year – agreed with Schools Forum: • Seek to promote learning & achievement for all children & young people but with a particular emphasis on the needs of the most vulnerable, seeking to remove barriers to learning • Recognise limited time available for full consultation and development of proposals for change and the need to give certainty over budgets to schools and over employment to staff; • Ensure schools and early years providers are adequately funded for existing responsibilities through the Activity Led Funding approach and aim for fairness and transparency in funding across all providers and between central and delegated budgets • Recognise uncertainty over funding arrangements for 2012 and beyond and explore opportunities to “invest to save” with consideration of a clearly presented business case • Wherever possible, balance the need for delegated funding to individual schools and providers with clear access to appropriate centrally managed support, recognising that different phases may have different requirements, but with delegation as the default option • Ensure all remaining centrally funded services are clearly specified, access to support is transparent and fair and that schools and providers are appropriately involved in planning and quality assurance (joint commissioning)