Birmingham Bursars’ Group
Spring Conference 2013
Wednesday 26th June at Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Sutton Coldfield
Exhibitors at the conference – please see the details on the website.
Meeting opened at 9.00am
1. Welcome
Jane Taylor welcomed members to the meeting, with a warm welcome to new members and visitors.
Members were also encouraged to visit exhibitors at break times, as there was a range of services available and prize draws.
Members were also reminded to upload their photos to the website. As this is used for networking, avatars should not be used. Photos could be taken at the conference, or uploaded by members.
Matters arising from Spring conference – minutes of the meeting 28/02/13 agreed as a true and correct record (proposed: Philippa Cole, seconded: Barbara Crozer
2. “Funding Reform: Impact on Strategic Financial Planning in Schools” – Sam Ellis – Financial Consultant ASCL
See presentation on website
3. “Current Financial Issues for Schools” – Martyn Scott – Birmingham Schools’ Education Finance
See presentation on website
Changes for 2014-15 would be minor, with the aim of limiting turbulence in the system. Schools were encouraged to feedback to the LEA on the changes directly, or through the Schools Forum.
Questions:
In a school where the budget had been capped last year because it was above the 1% increase: how could they work out what the percentage cap would be for this year – is it calculated as an increase on 12-13, or back to 11-12?
The percentage has not been worked out yet, as it will be calculated as the percentage loss to the LEA as a whole, and then this will be applied to the gainers. The MFG percentage is based on loss per pupil, and this is adjusted by the removal of certain factors. Schools should assume there will only be a slight movement year on year. The percentage cap will be calculated once all budgets have been completed and then applied. It is hoped that this will result in minimal movement between years.
The indicative budget last year for a school was £180,000 less than the actual budget turned out to be – are we expecting big drops like this again, or minor turbulence?
Schools should expect minor reductions, if all the factors have stayed the same over the year.
Would the “special circumstances” relating to falling rolls come into effect if a school’s pupil numbers are cut because of the opening of a Free School in the area?
Probably not. Special circumstances are intended to be introduced for schools where pupil numbers are reducing, but are expected to increase in the medium term. They will only be given to schools who rank as good or outstanding. If population is declining or competition increasing, this may not count. The criteria are being developed by the LEA over the summer and will be taken to Schools’ Forum.
Sponsor Slot
Frontier Software – Sales Manager, Lisa Claber
COFFEE
5. “Managing and Developing High Quality Learning Environments” Emma Leaman – Head of Education and Skills Infrastructure, Birmingham City Council
See presentation on website.
6. “Planning and Developing Capital Projects” – Paul Adam – Academies and BSF Team
See presentation on website.
Will there be a change in approach for the Academies’ Capital Maintenance Fund once the estate surveys are completed?
Once all the data from the survey is done, this should provide a strong indicator of priorities to inform the bidding process. As more and more schools convert, it is expected that the surveys will show that there are more D1 (urgent) cases than can be funded, and the challenge will be how to equitably apportion funding.
Given that the data survey was quite limited in scope, should there be reservations about using it to apportion funding?
It is recognised that there are lots of factors not covered by the survey, so the data won’t be used alone to make funding decisions, but to support decision making.
The last round for applications only applied to academies who converted in a certain timeframe. When will the next round be open?
This has not been timetabled yet, but will be soon. Expected to be a closing date of December or January.However, due to the work being done on the Property Data Surveys it may be more practical in the future for this funding to become part of the funding formula
LUNCH
Raffle winners drawn by sponsors.
7. “Complete Guide to Planning your next Development” – John Squires – Squires and Brown
See presentation on website.
8. “The Killer Bid” – Rachel Gordon – Account Manager – Pebble
See presentation on website.
9. Annual General Meeting
Apologies – Sarah Haarhof, Matthew Wheeler, Martyn Alcott, Fran Ridge, Flavia Highfield
Chair’s Report – see posted report.
Jane Taylor had recently spoken at the Gloucester group meeting, who have adopted the BBG website and adapted it for their use. It was proving especially useful as they are a more rural region. Mike Jameson was working with the Shropshire group, and the committee would be attending a Regional Group, set up to share experiences across the region.
The chair would like to thank the group for their continued support and enthusiastic sharing of knowledge and experience.
Treasurer’s report – see posted report.
Thanks to Jo Tyler for auditing the accounts – the committee is very grateful for her work.
The group is in a strong financial position. 71% of the revenue comes from sponsors and exhibitors which is a huge benefit to members. The committee would welcome suggestions from members about potential sponsors.
Conference costs continue to increase and new venues are being explored. Again, suggestions from members would be welcomed by the committee.
The group is also looking at the best way to deal with our surplus account to capitalise on it without affecting cashflow.
Accounts accepted as an accurate representation – Proposed: Jill Blower, seconded: Philippa Cole
Any other business
There are no changes necessary to the constitution of the group, or any vacancies on the committee until next year.
Meeting closed at 3.50pm