Therfield School Governors' News

Many of the items reported on have already been mentioned in the Newsletter. The Governors were particularly delighted to learn of the excellent NCT results and of recent sporting successes.

News that the new Modern Foreign Languages facility will be in full use for all years in September was welcomed and governors hope soon to have some 'hands on' experience of what it is on offer.

The proposed appointment of a Relational Youth Worker for four days a week in school was also welcomed, as was the report that the new School Counsellor, Helen Riseborough, had integrated well into the system.

More information about the Therfield School Trust Fund, outlined in a letter to parents last month, will be sent home in September.

The school has been approached by Mole Valley Council as to the possibility of building a covered six court tennis facility here for use by the school and the general public. This is early days for any such application and the governors await further information.

The Annual Meeting for Governors and Parents of the school will take place on Wednesday, 4th October. Reports from the various committees will be given and we seek to make this an informative as well as a pleasant social evening in combination with the Friends of the School.

Update on Finance
From Professor Mark Cross, Chairman of Finance, and Mr John Hickey, Chairman of Governors.

Parents will recall the concern expressed by Governors a few months ago with regard to the school budget.

Various national and local government decisions over a period of a couple of years had placed Therfield (and many other secondary schools) in a precarious budgetary position. Our initial budget proposal - simply to maintain the level of service Therfield has enjoyed over many years - would have seen us with a deficit of £150,000 in a total budget of £3.4 million.

As you might imagine, there has been a sustained campaign by Headteachers and Governors both locally, in Surrey and at a national level to address the imminent budget crises in many secondary schools.

We are able to report that in the last few months the following have occurred:-

• Surrey has made its most generous Education settlement for some years
• The DfEE has awarded a £50,000 lump sum to the school
• Surrey officers have become more flexible in the spending of 'standards' funds

The combination of these three contributions has (just) eliminated our projected budget deficit, and we are pleased to be able to report that Therfield will operate with a budget of £3.4 million next year without any deficit issue.

However, we cannot be complacent. The award from the DfEE is by no means guaranteed for future years - this means that we could be facing precisely the same budget problem next year.

Also, although we have a non-deficit budget this year, we are not in a position to pursue any new initiatives beyond the present margins to help drive the school forward.

Therfield really needs to generate about £50,000 a year more than it currently commits to mandated expenditure (e.g. salaries) to continue to develop and maintain what many of us believe (and Ofsted has confirmed to be an excellent school).

We must move beyond this hand-to-mouth existence if our school - Therfield - is to survive and thrive!

After much thought and consideration the Governors have resolved to approach parents to ask them to commit to provide some additional regular financial support for the school. Governors will work with senior staff and the Friends to develop an appropriate scheme, and we shall write to you personally about this issue later this Year.

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2. 72% of the current Year 11 pupils have opted to return to Therfield in the Sixth Form in September.

3. The Governors have agreed that girls will be allowed to wear trousers as part of the school uniform. A final decision as to style will be made when more information re tenders has been received. The School Council had voted overwhelmingly in favour of one style of black trouser and the Governors agreed that this should be adhered to as nearly as possible.

4. The next main meeting will be held on 17th May.

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This apparently excellent news masks a real situation which, in Surrey, is much less advantageous.

The real increase is less than 1 %.

Unfortunately, because the County Council was unable to fund the teachers' pay settlement in full last year, then even this 1 % is wiped out and, in fact, we are in a potentially serious deficit budget position for the next financial year.

Of course, we are not alone - all secondary schools have serious budget problems looming and we are currently pursuing parallel routes through the Head Teachers' Association and in concert with other school governors, to put significant pressure on both members and officers at the County Council.

This pressure is to persuade them to provide a budget that is adequate for Therfield to continue to offer its high quality education for all families.

Please be aware, we may need to call a Parents Meeting to ask for your help with budget problems.

This meeting is likely to be called at very short notice in the next few weeks. It will be one of the most important we will ask you to attend and it is vital that we get a representative and strong attendance.

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Therfield's intake is likely to be limited to 254, so appeals are inevitable.

Many Surrey secondary schools are oversubscribed and Therfield could be asked to take more pupils. The Governors are very aware of accommodation and staffing needs if this is the case. Mr Reddin is to attend a meeting with County on this question and will report back.

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While the school was eager to provide more and more ICT facilities, the consequence of occupying older premises was that many classrooms are now too small to take the number of computers necessary for modem day teaching. The Governors are attempting to solve this problem.

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The Governors agreed, in principle, that a uniform trouser for girls should be introduced. Firms will be asked to tender for the provision of such trousers. Style and colour will be decided by the Headteacher, in consultation with senior staff and, most likely, student representatives from the School Council.

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The Governors feel that the consequences of this would be far-reaching and are pleased to hear that a research group has been set up to investigate the proposal thoroughly.

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To this end we plan to publish a termly summary of our meetings, action taken and views expressed.

Any important decisions or initiatives are communicated to parents immediately and we seek to keep you aware of our day-to-day involvement in the school by publishing a summary of minutes from the Main Meeting.

Any parent who wishes a fuller insight into what goes on at Governors' meetings can consult the full Minutes which are available from the Clerk in the School Office.

Our Parent Governors are happy and willing to put forward parents' views and can be reached, in complete confidentiality, through the school.

Parents who are interested in becoming governors can put their names forward to the Chairman of Governors and vacancies on the Governing Body are always publicised.

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Chairman of the Governors is:
Mr John Hickey

Parent Governors are:

Mrs Yvonne Marshall
Mrs Lynn Pendlebury
Mrs Pat Williams
Mr Arnold Rosen
Mr Eric Skyte
Mrs Paula Scriven

Mr JM Hickey (Buildings & Maintenance, Health & Safety)
Mrs Y Marshall (Curriculum)
Professor M Cross (Finance)
Mrs J Abbott (Staffing)

The Clerk, Mrs Marianne Powles, can be contacted via the school.