I am delighted to report that following an External Audit we have received an excellent report, with only one minor finding relating to a part time teacher’s pension contribution, which was not entirely our responsibility. Great credit must be given to Shirley Taylor, our Bursar, her finance team, the Personnel department and the Governor’s Finance committee. This is a wonderful result and demonstrates that the school is very well managed and follows all procedures. As there is so much talk about public sector budgets at the moment and knowing that many of you work in schools or for the Local Authority, we thought we should communicate something about Simon Balle’s financial state. As the Auditor confirmed, the school has been well managed and has been prudent with its finances, always mindful of best value. Over the past few years when income has increased, the school has not greatly increased its staffing but rather spent its money on improving its buildings and resources. Schools will not get their budgets for 2011-2012 until March 11th, somewhat later than usual. We still are unclear as to what we will get, as all secondary schools will lose over the next few years considerable funds for post 16. This year it looks to be in the region of £90,000. However, we will take into the new year a healthy surplus which will help us to offset this and trust that by looking at natural wastage and managing such areas as energy costs and day to day administration more carefully, we should be in a satisfactory position for the coming months. Obviously we know that the cuts will continue and we will plan as to how we can manage this in future years. Important information There has been publicity about how certain grants are no longer being given to Local Authorities. One of these is the money paid for schools to be connected to broadband and to have the necessary firewalls and securities. In addition, Hertfordshire LEA are no longer supporting RM Easymail, our email provider. Whilst we will for 2010-2011 be buying back our connectivity, we have decided to look for a provider that actually meets our needs, - email, learning platform and other digital tools. We have chosen SMART ASSESS which uses google applications alongside other tools. We believe that it will transform what we do, both in terms of student learning, staff and parent communication. As this is a ‘new’ system, using a ‘smart cloud’ staff need to be familiar with this quickly as the old system will disappear at the end of this term. We are running some training and support sessions but are concerned that with the ‘disrupted’ start to the summer term (3 bank holidays in 6 working days) that this could be an obstacle. Therefore, in order for staff to become familiar and efficient with the new system, the Governing Body have agreed that: • The last day for the Spring Term will now be Thursday 7th April (not Friday) • The school will still be open and available for students to attend. They will be supervised and be involved in learning activities but no formal lessons will take place. KS4 students should bring their own examination work. KS3 students will be with Cover Supervisors. This facility is available if parents request this. • Thursday will be a normal 5 lesson day, but we will be following a Friday Week 2 timetable as we are conscious that students miss a number of Fridays throughout the year. • The school will be open from 8.00am – 2.00pm before it closes for the holiday. We are confident that using this time will make such a difference. Dates for your 15 March 17 March 24 March 26 March 30 March 31 March & 1 April 7 April 11-25 April
diary Spring Concert Broxbourne Yr 13 Parents Evening Yr 12 Parents Evening PSA ‘Auction of Promises’ EPQ Exhibition House Performing Arts Competition End of Term Easter Holidays
26 April
School resumes
29 April – 2 May 3 May
Bank Holiday Weekend School continues