Southwark schools forum

What is Southwark schools forum?

Southwark schools forum is a statutory body which advises the council on matters relating to the schools budget, including changes to the formula for allocating funds to schools.

The Forum was established by the local authority under the Education Act 2002, has around 21 members and meets about five times a year.

View Southwark schools forum minutes, papers etc.

What is the schools budget?

The schools budget is the government funding available to allocate for our children's education. The majority of this is passed directly to schools. The council retains a small percentage to fund central services such as special needs education and pupil referral units.

One of Southwark schools forum's main roles 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 advises on the formula used for allocating funding to individual schools.

 Southwark Schools Forum Members

There are 21 members of Southwark Schools Forum, who represent different sectors of the education community in Southwark - for example nursery, primary or secondary schools, academies, primary school governors, unions and the Diocesan authorities.

Each member is elected for a two-year term by members of their constituency. For example, primary school governors elect the primary school governors, of which there are two posts on the forum.

Useful guidance

• Schools Forum information and guidance (opens in a new window on education.gov.uk)
• Information about the schools funding settlement 2011/12 and pupil premium (opens in a new window on education.gov.uk)
• Southwark Council's Scheme for Financing Schools (pdf, 0.3mb)

Upcoming meetings

The next meeting is in October 2011.

Dates for the 2011/12 school year will be set at the October meeting.

How often are forum meetings?  

There are approximately five meetings a year, taking place at two-month intervals through the school year.