Meeting information
Meeting: Schools Forum
Date: 7 December 2020
Report of: Head of Health, Adults, Families, Children and Learning Finance
Subject: School Balances 2020/21
Wards Affected: All
1. Purpose of the report
1.1 To update the Schools Forum on the latest forecast school balances position for 2020/21.
2. Recommendations
2.1 To note the forecast for school balances as at the end of 2020/21 of £3.115m. This represents a decrease of £1.232m compared to the balances brought forward from 2019/20 of £4.347m.
3. Overall School Balances 2020/21
3.1 All schools were contacted after half term and asked to submit a copy of their latest Budget Monitoring Report, so that a forecast could be made of the likely position of school balances at the end of the year. The table below summaries the latest position by phase of school. This summary has been compiled from individual school forecasts submitted.
| Nursery schools | Primary schools | Secondary schools | Special schools | Total 2020/2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £k | £k | £k | £k | £k | |
| Actual 2019/20 school balances | 40 | 3,395 | 784 | 128 | 4,347 |
| Predicted 2020/21 school balances | -39 | 1,781 | 1,221 | 152 | 3,115 |
| Movement | -79 | -1,614 | 437 | 24 | -1,232 |
3.2 The table below shows the known additional costs incurred by schools, as a result of COVID 19 as well as any reported loss of external income. Schools were able to make a claim for specific additional costs in July, not all of which have been settled at this point. Claims for loss of external income were not allowed as part of the process.
| Nursery schools | Primary schools | Secondary schools | Special schools | Total 2020/2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £k | £k | £k | £k | £k | |
| Additional COVID-19 Costs | 5 | 840 | 500 | 160 | 1,505 |
| Loss of income | 299 | 1,159 | 492 | 2 | 1,952 |
| Financial Impact | 304 | 1,999 | 992 | 162 | 3,457 |
| COVID --19 claims paid | 0 | 308 | 282 | 20 | 610 |
| COVID-19 claims outstanding | 0 | 225 | 33 | 0 | 258 |
| Total claims to date | 0 | 533 | 315 | 20 | 868 |
3.3 School balances are still subject to change during the year. At this time last year, schools were only predicting balances to be £1.968m compared to the final position of £4.347m.