School's overspend approved by local council

Godstone Village School had to seek permission to go £100,000 into the red

A Surrey school had to seek permission to overspend by £100,000 to cover legal costs relating to an employment issue.

Godstone Village School was given the go-ahead to go over its budget by Surrey County Council's cabinet member for education.

According to council papers, the deficit “began following an employment process which resulted in additional legal costs being incurred by the school”.

Schools that are five per cent over budget need approval from their local education authority.

Godstone Village School was 12% in the red in March and is expected to be 7.4% over the limit in 2024.

The school fell £127,581 in deficit in March and, while that is projected to fall, it is still forecast to be £76,982 over budget at the end of the financial year.

The county council said the school’s financial position had been “weakened” due to the legal and “other associated costs”.

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