Agenda item

The report of Jane Ralph (School Strategic Financial Management Adviser) presents the position of revenue balances for Wiltshire maintained schools as at 31 March 2018 and identifies those that are in deficit.

Grant Davis (Schools Strategic Financial Support Manager) referred to the report which presented the position of revenue balances for Wiltshire maintained schools as at 31 March 2018 and identified those that were in deficit.  Grant also explained the appendices in some detail, particularly about the schools with large and/or long-term deficits and those also with significant uncommitted/ringfenced surpluses without explanations such as rising or falling rolls.

Of particular discussion because of its deficit position was Abbeyfield School which had risen from a deficit of £687k in 2014/15 to £2.216m in 2017/18.

The Forum discussed what was put in place to support schools with deficit balances.  Offers of financial recovery planning assistance is made to schools identified as requiring support from the Accounting & Budget Support Team and despite this being part of the LA’s strategic role and not chargeable, the take up was low.

Deficit budgets and recovery plans are approved and are supported by a local authority licenced deficit over an agreed payback period.  If a school was to be placed into special measures from Ofsted then additional funding from the DfE would be applied for in the form of a SIF (School Improvement Fund) bid to support that school and to turn things around. 

Grant reported that previously Schools Forum had considered how best to enable the Local Authority to fulfil its key role in supporting and challenging schools with excessive surplus balances and had agreed that schools would be presented with an annual School Financial Management Information Statement (SFMIS) at year end (example circulated at the meeting) which it had been doing since 2016/17.  The SFMIS was a backward-looking document and was not necessarily indicative of future financial plans within the school.

Grant was proposing that in future a School Strategic Financial Management Statement (SSFMS) and a RAG rated Finance Audit matrix (examples circulated at meeting) be given to schools.  These documents were drawn up because it had become clear that not all schools were having a conversation with their Governors about their surplus balances. 

The question for some schools was “You have a surplus budget but poor performance with regard to your results – what are you going to do about it?”  The documents also presented a forward-looking position for schools which would be beneficial in future financial planning.

The colour coded self-evaluation matrix sheet should guide discussion to ascertain if there was no realistic plan, a spending plan and/or a strategic plan within the school and aid discussions around management of surplus or deficit balances.  The matrix sheet could support discussions between the schools and their CASP (Challenge & Support Partner) and could be provided to the CASP in advance of their meetings at the school.

A forum member asked if the documents would be shared with the CASP and Grant recommended that they should have sight of this information as part of their visits and be involved in their completion.

The differences between the two documents was discussed, with the Chairman also discussing how the SSFMS fitted in with work being performed by the Education Transformation Board (ETB).

The proposal put forward to Schools Forum was that the new SSFMS be introduced and replace the current SFMIS and that the new Statement be distributed to schools as soon as practical.

Resolved:

The Forum agreed that the School Strategic Financial Management statement (and related documents) should replace the previous School Financial Management Information Statement to assist schools with the financial management.