Schools 'under pressure' over 'clawed back' money

West Berkshire Council has agreed to remove about £2.85m from eight local schools' budgets

Head teachers are "feeling the pressure" in an area where schools have said a council is "clawing back" money from their budgets, the Association of School and College Leaders has said.

The Downs School, in Newbury, has accused West Berkshire Council of taking funds out of its budgets and is now preparing to take legal action.

The council said it had agreed to remove about £2.85m from eight local schools, partly so it could reduce a £9m debt in its special educational needs (SEN) budget.

The council told the BBC the move would "allow for a fairer and more productive use of the money".

The Downs School in Newbury said it planned to take legal action against the council

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Pepe Di'lasio, said he had not seen "anything quite like this before" and that "head teachers will be feeling the pressure".

"This particular situation where school accounts are being raided by the local authority is a unique situation to me at the moment," he said.

"Although the situation that we're hearing about with schools being desperately in need of money is not uncommon at all."

In his letter to parents over the weekend, The Downs Schools' head teacher Chris Prosser said £490,000 of £700,000 the school had raised through fundraising activities was taken by the council.

“This money is self-generated income, raised by the hard work of the school, staff and parents," he wrote.

'Right thing to do'

Other school and parents in west Berkshire have since told BBC Radio Berkshire that they were in the same situation.

Springfield Primary School said it had £137,000 taken from its budget despite claiming the money had been held back for flood defence work.

Vice chair of governors, Zoe Willows, said: "I'm angry because it comes after we set out a budget.

"We've worked hard to set and agree the budget for the next three years and we'd taken into account that next year they would be clawing back money."

Councillor Heather Codling, executive member for children and family Services at West Berkshire Council, said: "It will only affect schools with significant and excessive funding which has not been committed to projects.

"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."