| SPOTLIGHT |
A school has threatened to take legal action against West Berkshire Council, after the authority allegedly removed money from the school’s budgets to be redistributed to support local children.
West Berkshire Council said that schools in West Berkshire recently voted “overwhelmingly in favour” of a proposal which would see excess funds currently held by schools redistributed to benefit pupils.
However, according to the BBC, the Headteacher of The Downs School in Newbury has written to parents outlining plans to take the council to court over the financial issues.
In his letter to parents over the weekend, Headteacher Chris Prosser said £490,000 of £700,000 the school had raised through fundraising activities was “taken” by the council.
According to the BBC, he wrote: “This money is self-generated income, raised by the hard work of the school, staff and parents. […] West Berkshire Council’s actions put in jeopardy the essential maintenance and improvements we had planned."
The council announced on Monday (22 July) that it is “not the intention” of West Berkshire Council or the Schools Forum to take income which has been raised by or on behalf of the school and which should be kept in a separate account to the grant funding.
It said: “Schools will have the opportunity to provide financial information to show the source of accrued funds and which will be considered by the council before any funding is returned for redistribution.”
Olivia Bailey, MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, has written to the leader of the council, Jeff Brooks, requesting the council pause any claw back of budgets and conduct a review of the process.
In her letter, published on Monday (22 July), she wrote: “In the case of the Downs School the headteacher is clear that the money has been raised by the school's own fundraising activities, which is expressly not allowed under the claw back scheme."
Cllr Heather Codling, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Children and Family Services said: "This a decision which was taken collectively by schools themselves to improve the provision of support and services to all children and young people in the district. It will only affect schools with significant and excessive funding which has not been committed to projects - it's money sitting in accounts without appearing to provide any benefit for our young people. This move will allow for a fairer and more productive use of the money - in my view it's the right thing to do for our residents."
The Downs School has been approached for comment.
Lottie Winson
