School budgets over the last 5 years

WQ.282/2021

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATION BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 1st JUNE 2021

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 8th JUNE 2021

Question

Will the Minister –

1. provide a table showing, for each of the last 5 years, the year-end finances for each school, including the respective surplus and deficit;
2. explain the reasons for any deficits that occurred and state how any school experiencing a deficit is expected to finance, or deal with, that deficit; and
3. provide a table showing the number and cost of photocopies used by each school under the managed print contract for each year over the last 5 years?

Answer

1. This includes all costs incurred by the schools including Jersey Premium and Additional Resource Centres.

2. The biggest contributing factor to overspend is pressure to increase staff numbers in order to address pressures arising from variations in demographic demand and increasing standards. An example of these combined pressures is the increase in the number of higher needs pupils requiring more specialised support. This results in increased support staffing ratios. Over the last 3 years, schools have been appointing more staff than the funding formula calculates should be required for the number of pupils at the September census. The formula is not recalculated during the year to reflect in-year changes in numbers of pupils or changes in support requirements for those with special needs.

Non-staff budgets are less significant but nonetheless forecast to be under pressure across the Directorate. Cleaning contracts are significantly overspent in schools but also more widely. The move to a living wage is cited as a factor in increasing prices by suppliers.

The Independent School Funding Review, which reported in May 2020, confirmed that schools have been consistently underfunded. The Education Reform project is underway to address this going forward and ensure schools are fairly funded. Generally, across the whole sector an increase in numbers of children with Special Educational Needs and Mental Health needs has been a major factor in increased spend. An Inclusion Review is underway to ensure we understand this and how to address it.

If a government funded school overspends, the deficit must be covered by underspends elsewhere within the CYPES department. If any schools underspend this goes towards offsetting overspends in other schools. Prior to 2018, schools deficits and overspends were carried forward but that rule changed so that the budget has to be managed within year within the department.

For fee-paying schools their deficits / surpluses have been carried forward as it is deemed that they are able to use fee income to bring their spend back into balance, and that is more appropriate than using Tax payers money to cover any deficit.