Financial Report to Parents – June 2016

The financial situation facing all schools in London is becoming increasingly challenging as the main grant that comes from government has reduced each year for the past four years. Because of this there will be some difficult decisions that have to be made in the upcoming years as everyone works to protect all of the best things about Halley while ensuring that your children get the education they deserve.

Governors work closely with the head teacher, the school business manager and an external consultant to ensure the finances of the school are properly managed. Because of the difficult decisions that will have to be taken the Governors felt that it was important that parents have the information about the budget so they can understand the decisions that need to be made this year, next year and in the years after that.

Last year the school received income of approximately £1.89 million. Most of this income came from the Government, funding for pupils with special educational needs and other grants and payments. This figure also includes approximately £171,000 in pupil premium, which is money the Government asks the school to allocate tohelp pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve everything they are able to.

What Halley spent it’s money on last year

/ To make sure every pupil got the education they deserved last year the school spent approximately £1.95 million, which is £8,227 per pupil. However, this was (£60,133) more than it received. Halley was able to do this because of careful managing of the finances that had allowed a small amount of money to be saved in previous years.
The majority of the money, as in every school, is spent on the teachers and other staff at the school who support your children to learn and achieve everything they can. Other areas which take up a large part of the budget are the building (maintenance, cleaning and caretaking), making sure that there are enough materials for your children to learn (learning resources), council tax (rates) as well as heating and energy costs (utilities).

Next year, Halley will only get 95% of the money that was previously given to the school by Government. As well as this, costs have gone up to cover increased pension contributions and increased national insurance contributions, which all organisations in the UK have to cover. The school building is also 27 years old and work must continue to be done on it to make sure that it continues to be a safe and secure place for all pupils and staff. It is not only next year, we have been told by London Borough Tower Hamlets that there is likely to be a reduction in the money that Government gives to all schools in the borough, which may mean that from next April the money Halley will receive will reduce by 4.5%, then 5.5% the year after and 6.5 % the year after that.

Each year the school looks at what the money is spent on and ensures that where savings can be made they are. But, as the graph shows below, we will be receiving less money each year than we want to spend on the pupils of the school.

How much Halley will spend and how much it will receive over the next 5 years

Because of this situation, Halley is facing a challenging period over the next few years. This means that the school will have to seek savings and other sources of funding to ensure that it continues to provide the educational experience that every Halley pupil deserves.Because of this there will be many changes as the school moves towards balancing the budgetto ensure that any money received covers everything that needs to be spent.

While changes will have to happen and decisions will have to be made on what the money is spent on,the Governors are committed to ensuring that the unique characteristics of Halley must be protected. Halley is a terrific school which has a special place in the community. Parents are an important part of making this so and because of this the Governors will work to make sure that Parents are informed regularly about the changes that are happening at Halley.

If you have any questions or comments about this information please speak to Karen Little, e-mail Ben Potter or return the comments slip below.

Governors will provide you with a further update about the budget this time next year.

Ben PotterKaren Little

Chair of GovernorsSchool Business Manager