One of Wales’ top-performing schools has been given an emergency payout to stay afloat and is making staff redundant to cut costs as it faces a deficit of almost £600,000. A damning auditor’s report into spending at Stanwell School in Penarth reveals a £283,000 overspend on a new wellbeing centre, poor governance, and budgeting.
Vale of Glamorgan Council has confirmed it has given Stanwell School an undisclosed emergency pay out. In total the foundation school's deficit amounts to £588,165 and 17 jobs are going including teachers and support staff.
The auditor’s report showed “significant weaknesses in aspects of financial management” and “unrealistic” budgeting, the council said. As a foundation school Stanwell gets public money but runs its own budget and decides its own admissions processes.
The school has now confirmed it will consult on coming back under council control. It has written to parents telling them a consultation on this will be held in the autumn term.
Governors run school budgets but the audit report for 2022-23 shows Stanwell’s full governing body was not updated on the financial situation. The new wellbeing centre was estimated to cost £784,783 but this rose to £1,068,630. There was no formal contract to show who had been awarded the work on the centre, the Fair Funding Scheme for Funding Schools’ advertising and tendering process wasn’t followed, and the selected contractor’s director’s previous company had gone into liquidation.
