St Benedict’s C of E VA Junior School, Glastonbury Minutes of the Full Governing Board Meeting th
Held on Thursday 9 May 2019 in Leopard classroom Present: Jo Boughen-Hunt (Vice Chair- VC), Bill Burrow (Foundation Governor), Piers Ranger (Headteacher- HT), Helen Roper (Chair), Natasha Wardle (Foundation Governor) [left at 6:17 pm], Paul Winter (Foundation Governor) and Sue Wootton (Foundation Governor). Also present: Jane Daniels (School Business Manager- SBM) [left at 6:55 pm] and Sarah Hamlet (Clerk). The meeting started at 5:35 pm.
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Agenda Item Welcome and Opening Prayer Apologies for absence
Declaration of Interest in any agenda item Budget Plan 2019/2020
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Action
Chair led governors in prayer. Absence- Mike Derbidge, Louise Fairbrother, David MacGeoch, Ann & Roger Parsons, Rachel Rood. Early departure- Natasha Wardle and Sue Wootton. All apologies accepted. None.
Budget Plan Overall Summary Figures for 2018/19 are final accurate figures, with a £99,267 balance/carry forward. Some extra funding through year. Recruitment of an NQT for maternity cover, switching from Zurich Insurance and photocopier user adjustments have made savings. Information re: Staff Pay Grant should be available at Month 6 and included in the figures. Although the budget has been generally tightened, some cost centres have been allocated more funds this year. 2019/20 figures include County funding, Pupil Premium (PP) at £103,220 and PE Grant. Additional funding of £20k includes estimated Teachers’ Pay Grant (£6.5k). The Teachers’ Pension Grant is due to rise to 7% in September 2019; Government will fund 80% (£13.5k). Expenditure Items- In-year £49k deficit will be carried forward as anticipated £48k for 2020/21. 2020/21 figures do not look positive. Governors discussed possibility of necessary cuts. HT stressed the importance of keeping staff informed in plenty of time. He informed re: teacher salary costs and staff structure. Chair reminded that governors will need to be aware of the situation in September; the July Finance meeting may need to consider options.
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A governor challenged re: 2019/20 curriculum costs (£57,405) being reduced to £40,845 in 2020/21. SBM clarified re: curriculum and resources expenditure planned e.g. ICT equipment, Smartboard and a polytunnel. Some one-off payments made this year will not feature next year. HT and SBM informed re: increased costs of Courtyard project, due to changes in grant access. SBM highlighted comparisons between this Budget and that of 2018/19. Budget Plan Cost Centres Staff- all pay rises and on-costs included. SBM gave details of costs for each area. She clarified That the Teachers’ Pension Grant has been confirmed. Supply Staff- £6k has been budgeted for this area. Sickness Supply- £2k has been allocated to cover supply teacher costs. Support Staff- has been allotted £146,250. Admin/Clerical Staff- SBM confirmed that the £50,158 budget includes Clerk’s salary. Recruitment- No budget has been set aside for this area. Development & Training- increased to £3k. PPA/Management Release Time£52,466 has been allotted to cover salary costs of Year 6 cover staff. Travel- £100 has been budgeted; few staff claim this. CRB (DBS) Checks- Chair challenged why governors (as volunteers) are charged for this. SBM to check. Superannuation- increased budget to £26,445. SBM explained County charge process and informed that this will continue to increase. Governor Training- £300 allotted, but doesn’t include Governor Services Support Package cost. Capital Costs- £12,306 allocated; will nd need to cover 2 part of loan for Courtyard and toilets works. Anticipated £4k will be needed for continuing projects. SBM explained re: St Ben’s banking arrangements as a VA school. A separate capital account contains approx. £15k which will go towards 3 new sink areas needed. May reduce this cost area to £4k in 2020/21 if no further projects anticipated.
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SBM to check CRB/DBS costs.
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Natasha Wardle left at 6:17 pm.
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Buildings maintenance- CCTV office unit needs replacing (not working). SBM is getting 3 quotes; hopefully cost will be within £2k. Grounds Maintenance- Taunton Deane DLO contract due to end; 20% on current price needed to cover replacement. Governors discussed possible alternatives. SBM to investigate Deals for Schools. Tree surgery costs were high due to necessary work following gales. Window and gutter cleaning has been budgeted for at £585. Cleaning equipment and materials have been allocated £1500. Water and Sewerage should be approx. £2k this year. A 30% increase in fuel costs is expected this year. SBM to investigate Deals for Schools. Rates- ‘in & out costs’ are matched. Pest Control- allotted £100. Learning Resources- heavily cut last year. A governor challenged whether staff have enough resources to deliver lessons adequately. SBM explained that cuts had mainly affected excessive use of colour photocopying and stationery items, and had cut waste. ICT- Extra funding for a Smartboard in the Rainbow Room is included. SWGfL has been previous internet provider; a new one is needed. Learning Mentor- this year’s budget is based on 2018/19. School Trips- Pupils unable to pay (not just PP) are subsidised. There has been a trip cancelled due to underpayment. Free/cheaper trip alternatives are being considered. Swimming- Strode Pool still to confirm if St Ben’s can book a one/off slot a week. Governors discussed subsidies and possible pupil contributions. It may be possible to use an alternative venue. English, Maths and Science budgetshave 10% increase; Science also receives £500 for Rainbow Room set up. History- increased funding (£400) as new curriculum in place. Geography, Art and RE- unchanged. DT- allocated new funds for equipment. Music- some funds carried forward. PSHE- unchanged. SEND- as last year’s budget, not last year’s expenditure. PE Sports Grant- SBM awaiting PE Coordinator’s plans for expenditure. French- £50 budgeted to cover small
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SBM to get 3 CCTV quotes.
SBM to investigate Deals 4 Schs.re: grounds maintenance.
SBM to investigate Deals 4 Schs. Re: energy costs.
SBM to contact Strode.
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costs. Assessment- costs of Rising Stars is slightly lower this year. London Trip- £930 carry forward; should be self-funding. School Fund Trips- £593 from Science Week plus £1k. Minibus- Figure includes St John’s contribution of £25/month. Osmington 2020- self-financing. Working with Artists- £1k has been allotted. Awards & Prizes- £750 has been allocated. Courtyard/Playground- £850 polytunnel cost, £2,500 courtyard improvement estimate. Uniform- self-funding. Osmington 2019- £122 carry forward; hopefully self-funding. Admin Supplies- £2k has been allocated as a precaution. Insurance- Supply Mutual Fund has changed from financial to academic year, now at end of 17-month period and only 7 months charges this year. Costs for 2020/21 will be slightly higher. The fund has been used this year. School Trips Insurance- 60p cost per pupil per trip. Free School Meals (FSM)- worst case scenario estimate of £19k needed. Difficult to gauge number of pupils taking their FSMs. Bought-in Professional Services- data still to be presented at next Finance meeting. A governor challenged increase in 2019/20 figures. SBM will check these. Postage- £75 allocated as stamps were bought before last price increase. Telephones- budgeted on high side (£720) due to price increases. nd rd Photocopier- now in 2 /3 part of 4year lease. Usage lower due to less colour printing and adaption of machine to use of staff codes to release printing. Paper costs are increasing; SBM has bought enough to cover this year. She will check paper and admin costs. Lunch Money- covers cutlery/plate hire for Christmas lunch. Subscriptions- SBM has asked staff re: any which can be stopped. Need new website host; current cost is £200. Accelerated Reader subs due in 2020/21 (paid every 3 years). Hookway entry is already included in Premises section; SBM to remove Subs entry.
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SBM to check BI Prof Servs. 2019/20 figs
SBM to check paper & admin costs.
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Finance Policy
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Any other urgent business
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Meeting Review
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Equipment/Furniture/Fittings- includes staffroom flooring (cheaper than quote), plus approx. £2,500 for e.g. Rainbow and Wellbeing Rooms. PFSA- SBM explained process of salary payment/expenses and CLP refunds. Governors queried level of contribution by St Ben’s (£13k). HT will investigate. Text Messaging- used more now; popular with parents. Milk Provision- FSM pupils can have free milk. None taking this up at present; possibly next year. Catering Equipment- £50 allotted to cover e.g. lost cutlery. Breakfast/Booster/SATs Break- £400 allocated. Includes SATs breakfasts. Burns the Bread provides free bread most weeks. Pupil Premium- it was agreed that this had been discussed in depth at last week’s FGB meeting. High Needs Funding- still awaiting decisions on SENDCo applications. The Budget must be submitted to st County by 31 May. Governors agreed with Chair’s proposal to defer formal approval to Sub Committees meeting on st 21 May, once amended by SBM. A governor commented that the October (Month 6) figures will show more detail re: funding capacity. Governors thanked SBM for all her hard work in preparing this Budget. Chair informed governors re: new County policy to be released in June. Governors approved her proposal to defer updating the current policy until this was available. The teaching vacancy has been rest advertised; closing date is Tuesday 21 May 2019. HT invited governors to be st involved in shortlisting (21 May) and th interviews (24 May). He will email all governors with information. th Clerk will be retiring on 30 August. Governors discussed possibilities for recruiting a replacement. Clerk has begun process for this. Chair reminded governors re: difference between Clerk and minute taker roles. Governors expressed their admiration for SBM’s hard work in preparing the Budget, as well as in the rest of her role. They unanimously agreed on the clarity of her data presentation and depth of knowledge. A governor remarked on the similarities of school budgets to those he has
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SBM to remove Hookway entry.
HT to investigate PFSA costs.
SBM left at 6:55 pm.
HT to email govs re: teacher shortlisting & interviews.
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Date and time of next meetings:
worked with in industry, and highlighted the importance of noting trends. Governors spoke of the difficulties of predicting Year 3 intake numbers. A governor enquired re: possibility of extra SENDCo hours (as mentioned in the PP Report last week). This may now not go ahead due to budget restraints, but will be looked at again in a future meeting. st SPA- Tuesday 21 May 2019 at 3:30 pm. st Sub Committees- Tuesday 21 May 2019 at 5:30 pm. th FGB- Thursday 18 July 2019 at 5:30 pm.
The meeting closed at 7:05 pm.
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