Southampton: 14 schools facing £3.7m deficit

Compass Alternative Provision is said to be working on deficit recovery plans

New data has revealed that 14 schools in a city are facing a deficit of £3.7m.

But Southampton City Council cabinet papers showed that, as of the end of December, the forecast was down from £4.5m at the end of 2022/23.

Compass Alternative Provision and Townhill Junior are said to be working on deficit recovery plans.

The council's executive director for children and learning and finance team are providing assistance.

Compass Alternative Provision, in Green Lane, received advice during September from a school resource management adviser, provided free of charge by the Department for Education.

The results are expected to be incorporated into a recovery plan.

Townhill Junior in Townhill has produced a plan that must be approved by its board of governors.

Require improvement

The council said that, if necessary, the three-year deficit recovery timetable, which helps schools in deficit to get back to a balanced budget, may be extended to five years for those that have experienced "significant" Covid-19 pressures.

Also, two schools which have been told by school inspectorate Ofsted that they require improvement have a combined deficit of £800,000.

Twenty-eight schools in the city are projecting a surplus balance of £6.7m, compared to surpluses totalling £9.5m last year, resulting in a net surplus of £3m.

National statistics show a significant rise in the number of schools running a negative budget.

Some 13.1% of local authority-run schools in England had a deficit in 2022/23, an almost 50% rise on the year before.

Financial difficulties were especially problematic for nurseries, with almost a third in a deficit across England in 2022/23.