The Federations’ Finance Committee meet regularly to monitor the budget against actual spending, to discuss expenditure on large building projects and repairs, to look at staffing requirements and management structure, to examine health and safety procedures and to make sure that any money allocated for a specific purpose is spent wisely and on the correct resources.
Income
It is the Governor’s responsibility to make sure that the Federation’s income, the majority of which is public money, is spent to the advantage of the children at the schools and that the federation endeavours to provide value for money.
The Federation’s income is obtained from several sources.
- A large proportion is from the Government, through the Local Authority. The amount is based on pupil numbers plus a sum for deprivation and an additional amount depending on the level of special educational and health needs.
- Funds raised through services provided to parents, meals, after school clubs, breakfast club, extra nursery sessions etc. All income from these services is spent on staff and provisions. They are run on a not-for-profit basis.
- Occasionally there is the opportunity to apply for grants from charitable and other organisations which are to fund specific projects. They must be applied for directly and the process can be time consuming with copious paperwork to complete. All Angels’ staff are very adept and practised at applying for extra funds this way and the children have benefitted from many grants obtained from outside organisations. Typically, this income is spent on training or equipment to improve learning or the teaching environment, e.g., grants for books, playground equipment, speech and language training etc.
- Money raised by parents at fetes and other events are called voluntary funds and are kept separate for each school. These funds must be used for the benefit of the children and are usually used to subsidise trips and educational events or buy special equipment to use in school.
It isn’t always easy to balance the books, but with careful management the Federation can continue to provide value for money and quality education for all its pupils.
Expenditure
The financial year for Local Authority maintained schools starts in April. Before this date finance staff, the Headteacher and governors are preparing a budget for the next 3 years to make sure that all the plans we have for the future are sustainable. This budget is sent to the Local Authority for validation and approval.
It is one of the core functions of the Governing Body to make sure that All Angels’ Federation is run efficiently, and all contracts are reviewed frequently for quality and value for money.
Every year, in the Autumn term, governors compare the federation’s finances with other schools of similar size in England in a benchmarking exercise. Governors can check that every part of the budget is being spent in line with other schools unless there is a need for our school to be different, spending extra to implement the improvement plan set up at the beginning of the school year. At every finance meeting Governors check that spending is in line with the budget and that the school is providing value for money, with special attention to:
- Pupil Premium – money provided by the Government for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Special Needs – money provided for children who need extra help and support in school.
- Catch Up funding – money provided by the Government to help support children most affected by the pandemic.
- PE funding – a grant provided to make sure that PE provision in school is of high quality.
In the documents below there is a yearly analysis of expenditure.
