Memorandum submitted by Burnham Upper
School
INTRODUCTION-GENERAL
SITUATION
1. Buckinghamshire maintains a fully selective
system, with 13 grammar schools and 21 upper schools. 70% of pupils
aged 11-16 in Bucks attend Upper Schools, the remaining 30% attending
Grammar Schools.
2. For the last 18 months, the Upper Schools
have been working together as the Upper Schools Forum to try to
improve funding for Upper Schools. 12 of the Upper Schools currently
have deficit budgets, some quite large. A number, particularly
those serving areas of disadvantage, have seen their deficit rise
to crisis level. The DfES is aware of the difficulties.
SPECIFIC SITUATION
3. Burnham Upper school sits on the border
with Slough. Slough is an Education Action Zone. The school draws
over 50% of its intake from Slough, in particular the Britwell
Estate, which is an Urban Priority Area.
4. The school is funded at 18% less than
Slough schools.
5. The school also takes pupils from Burnham,
including two wards, Church and Lent Rise, which are deprived
areas.
6. 34% of Burnham Upper's intake is SEN,
with 3% fully statemented. We have 13+% Free School Meals.
7. Since 1996, our average Age Weighted
Pupil Unit income has risen on average by 3.8%. In the same period,
our staffing costs have risen on average 7.8%. The school has
maintained pupil and staff numbers and has reduced in real terms
expenditure on resources year on year.
8. Nevertheless, our current deficit will
be £350,000 at the end of this financial year.
SPECIFIC EFFECTS
8. In 2001, Ofsted inspected the school.
We were classed as good. Our SEN support was rated very good and
included a Pre-Vocational Course aimed at youngsters who had challenging
behaviour and/or special needs. This course led pupils otherwise
destined to exclusion and community crime to complete their education,
gain qualifications and become productive citizens.
9. In 2002, we featured among top 100 most
improved schools in the country over three years.
10. This year, our GCSE results have fallen
from 2001 at 47% 5+ A*-C grades to 34%.
11. We are currently in a redundancy situation,
and will have to make 2.67 teachers redundant in September 2003.
This will take our pupil/teacher ratio from its current 18 to
1 to 19 to 1. Our two low ability groups in each year will rise
to 25 pupils in each group. These groups contain all our SEN pupils.
12. We are cutting money for Heads of Department
by 25%.
13. We will be unable to allow staff to
attend in-service training if there is any cost to the school
at all.
14. We will certainly be unable to increase
staff by the addition of Learning Support Assistants, and so will
be unable to comply with the recent Workload Agreement.
15. The P.V.E course mentioned in paragraph
eight will have to be cut back.
LEA HELP AND
ADVICE
15. Bucks wanted to make six staff redundant,
cancel the P.V.E course altogether, increase all classes to 35.
16. Bucks currently funds AWPU's for all
KS3 and KS4 pupils at exactly the same level and makes no distinction
between types of school.
17. Bucks currently offers staff 10% as
part of the recent Home Start Initiative, while all surrounding
Counties offer 30%. A one bedroom starter home in Burnham is currently
£120,000.
February 2003
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