The school takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that all public money is spent wisely, openly and with regard to the needs of the children currently attending the school. When managing the budget, the goal is to provide excellent value for money, making sure that a balanced budget can be maintained whilst striving to offer the best possible learning experiences for the children, supported by well-trained staff and a positive, well-equipped and comfortable learning environment.
The Headteacher is responsible for managing the school budget and utilising it to meet everyone's needs. Our Finance Officer, Mrs. Donna Harrington, deals with issues related to finance, staffing and pay.
There are no members of staff in the school whose annual salary exceeds £100,000 per annum
The Governors have a designated Resources Sub-Committee, chaired by Mr. Alec Ross, which meets regularly to ensure there is financial transparency and regularity, and to scrutinise the on-going budget expenditure. There is a termly meeting held with the Local Authority's Finance Officer to ensure that the budget is on track and any adjustments are accounted for. Through these checks and balances, we can be sure that we meet all financial requirements and operate with integrity and a constant focus on what is best for the children.
As a Voluntary Aided Church of England School, Knightlow is also supported by the Coventry Diocesan Board of Education when it comes to capital projects, usually those involving building work. This means that the school does not have its own delegated pot of money to spend on such projects, but that it contributes 10% towards capital works which have been agreed with the DBE.
The school is further supported by our Knightlow School Association, which provides much-needed money for extra items that really benefit the children, and enrich our learning environment. We are very fortunate to also have the support of the Stretton charities, who are always open to hearing about ways they can assist the school in additional projects which we could otherwise not afford to complete. Examples of this are recent projects to upgrade technology, increasing the number of iPads in the school and ensuring that all children have been able to access weekly specialist music lessons that have also supported staff development. In addition, Stretton Parish Council generously support the school in one-off community projects which have recently focused on creating and developing reading opportunities, improving outdoor learning and the installation of a new audio-visual system in the hall.
The following link to the finance dashboard will allow you to compare our expenditure with similar schools: