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The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Issue 235 • January 14 2010 Price £1.00
www.sec-ed.com
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Win £5,500
Schools warned again
worth of ICT!
SecEd’s latest ICT giveaway
launches this week, offering
schools the chance to win ICT
about surplus budgets
worth more than £5,000 in
two separate competitions.
We have teamed up with
interactive whiteboard
He told us: “It ill behoves a
by Chris Parr
government that is running such a
manufacturer TeamBoard and
massive deficit to complain when
also Prime Principle Ltd, the
A row has broken out between schools run their own finances
developers of the Classroom headteachers, teachers’ unions and prudently and can remain in the
Monitor interactive markbook
government about how much of black.
Page 11
their budget schools should be “The very suggestion that bal-
allowed to leave unspent. ances should be reduced is to com-
Government figures released pletely misunderstand how schools
last week show that although the are run.”
amount of money being held in The government claims that
reserve by schools has fallen, 1,040 across all schools, including pri-
secondary schools in England were mary schools, around £500 mil-
still deemed to have “excessive” lion was held in excessive balanc-
surpluses at the end of the last es during the 2008/09 academic
school year. year.
Using Restorative An excessive surplus is defined Mr Coaker said that although a
Practice in schools
as more than five per cent of a small surplus was acceptable, the
school’s overall budget, and in the government would take action if
secondary sector these surpluses schools continued to hold excessive
We report on a project
total more than £223 million. amounts.
looking at how the use of
Last year, the government He said: “Last year we made it
Restorative Practice in schools
warned schools and local authorities clear that we expect schools and
can impact on behaviour to reduce the level of their surplus local authorities to work to reduce
Page 12
balances by the end of 2010/11. the level of balances by the end of
Schools minister Vernon Coaker 2010/11.
Nightmare bosses!
this week repeated that warning “If we do not see a substantial
after the publication of the updat- reduction of total revenue balances
Paul Ainsworth offers a
ed figures, saying that the gov- and in particular the excessive bal-
ernment would consider “further ances held by individual schools,
light-hearted look at how to
action” if excessive balances are the government will consider fur-
manage a nightmare boss
not reduced. ther action from 2011/12 to bring
Page 13 Chris Keates, general secre- the total down to ensure the fund-
tary of the NASUWT, said that ing is being spent on improving
SecEd digital
schools holding back funds not ear- outcomes for children and young
marked for particular projects were people.”
“unacceptably stockpiling public At the other end of the spectrum,
and Twitter
money”. the number of secondary schools
She said: “Every day this money operating budget deficits increased
Thousands of teachers are
languishes in a school’s account is from 489 in 2007/08 to 547 in the
reading SecEddigital, a virtual
another day when pupils are being five per cent of its budget “sitting equate to around £300,000. This is “If a school can demonstrate it last school year.
deprived of their full funding enti- untouched” should have that money more than enough to cope with any has proper plans for the money then Mr Coaker added: “Although
edition of SecEd, which is
tlements. redistributed to other schools in the unforeseen circumstances, such as they should be able to keep it to the number of schools with deficit
emailed out every week.
“Local authorities already have local area. staffing issues. Schools consistently spend later. It is only unacceptable balances has risen slightly on the
You can sign up for free by the power to claw back and redis- He told SecEd: “It is prudent at holding this amount year after year if a surplus is being saved for no previous financial year, it remains
emailing
editor@sec-ed.co.uk.
tribute surplus balances. They all times for schools to have a small are either over-funded, or they are purpose as the money is lost to the below the number of schools in
SecEd news and features are
should get on and do it.” balance in their budget, but those being unfair,” he added. system,” she said. deficit a decade ago.
now also available on Twitter.
John Morgan, president of the that have more than five per cent However, Christine Blower, Ray Tarleton, headteacher at “We’ve made it clear that where
Association of School and College need to have a very good reason for general secretary of the National South Dartmoor Community College a school is in deficit, it must agree a
You can follow us at www.
Leaders and headteacher at Conyers doing so. Union of Teachers, said that there in Devon, told SecEd he wanted to recovery plan with the local author-
twitter.com/SecEd_Education
School in Stockton-on-Tees, added “If my school had five per cent should “not be an artificial ceiling issue a “hands off” warning to gov- ity to eliminate the deficit, normally
that any school with more than of its budget left over, this would on planned expenditure”. ernment regarding school budgets. over three years.”
This celebration of innovation, best practice and
achievement in Diploma delivery is open to all consortia
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Sponsored by
Delivering
iplomas
members currently involved in delivering Diplomas.
For more information, visit
www.deliveringdiplomas.com/awards
or email
pete.h@markallengroup.com
Awards 2010
The deadline for entries is January 31, 2010.
UK news
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Psycho babble
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Teach it like Torno!
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NQT diary
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Managing ICT
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Leadership page
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At the chalkface
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