The West Sussex Schools Forum is a statutory body established as part of the local authority's consultation processes. The local authority consults the Schools Forum on a range of issues including proposed school funding formula changes and the arrangements for a range of issues including:
- central contracts for goods and services
- the education of pupils with special educational needs
- the use of pupil referral units and the education of children otherwise than at school
- early years education
- insurance
- the allocation of central government grants paid to schools via the local authorityÂ
- free school meals.
The Forum also has powers to agree.
- minor changes to the operation of the Minimum Funding Guarantee
- the level of school specific contingency
- arrangements to create a combined Children’s Service budget
- allocations to meet expenditure incurred in borrowing money for the purposes of facilitating the modernisation and rationalisation of schools
- allocations to meet the cost of premature retirement of school staff
- certain other measures in exceptional circumstances.
The Forum meets five times per year. The membership of the West Sussex Schools Forum and further information can be found by visiting the links below: