Education, Sport and Culture Department SMT Report |
Subject: | Victoria College and Preparatory School, Jersey College for Girls and Preparatory School – Revenue to Capital transfer of funds. |
Exempt Clause: | | Date: | 2nd November 2009 |
| |
Author: | Peter Robinson. Assistant Director – Finance Keith Posner. Business Change Manager |
- Introduction
The Fee-Paying Provided Schools: Victoria College and the Preparatory School and Jersey College for Girls and the Preparatory School have requested a transfer of revenue funds to capital Heads of Expenditure held by Jersey Property Holdings. This paper summarises the proposals from the schools, in respect of which Ministerial approval is required prior to formalising a request to the Minister for Treasury and Resources in accordance with Financial Directions.
- Background
2.1 SMT will recall that the Fee-Paying Provided Schools had accumulated funds from fee income to meet the anticipated cost of pension increases following changes to the Teachers Pension Scheme introduced in 2007. All of the funds were not required and the Schools subsequently transferred a residue, supplemented in some cases by unspent revenue funds, into a capital reserve for the purpose of completing various capital projects.
The funds were transferred from Victoria College and the Preparatory school to support the Victoria College Foundation appeal which had been founded in 2002 to raise and donate funds for the benefit of the schools. Jersey College for Girls had transferred the funds for the creation of a Drama Studio.
2.2 Table A below, provides a summary of the balance of the Pension commitment monies and the sum previously transferred to capital:-
Table A | Balance of Pension monies £ | 2007 Transfer to Capital £ |
Victoria College | 250,896 | 250,896 |
Victoria College Prep’ | 176,729 | 176,729 |
JCG | 257,315 | 375,000 |
JCG Prep’ | 148,212 | - |
Total | 783,152 | 802,625 |
The balance of the capital funds remaining following expenditure incurred on planning and fees amounts to £329,956 for Jersey College for Girls and £424,673 for Victoria College and the Preparatory School.
2.3 Table B, below, summarises the amounts that the schools wish to transfer to capital and a forecast of the year end out-turn following the transfer:-
Table B |
notes | 2008 carry forward £ | 2009 Request to Transfer to Capital £ | 2009 forecast out-turn £ |
Victoria College | 1 | 131,305 | 100,000 | 30,000 |
Victoria College Prep’ | 4 | 54,825 | 35,000 | 31,000 |
JCG | 2 | 198,023 | 166,000 | 107,000 |
JCG Prep’ | 3 | 205,848 | 102,000 | 75,000 |
Total | | 590,001 | 403,000 | 243,000 |
All of the proposed transfers have been approved by the respective Governing bodies.
3. Progress to Date
3.1 Victoria College Preparatory School
The School and Foundation has decided to spend approximately £85,000 on an extension of the staff room and redevelopment of the courtyard garden.
The School is in need of redevelopment work and the area next to the staff room would provide an opportunity to extend the staff room and enable the improvement of the external courtyard area.
The current staff room at the preparatory school is small, and the 22 staff struggle to fit into the room when required. The room is also used as a meeting space, which is inadequate. The extension to this room would enable staff to better utilise this space.
This courtyard area would be redeveloped as a ‘sensitive garden’ for the benefit of both pupils and staff. Property Holdings will be leading on this project.
3.2 Victoria College
The School and Foundation has decided to construct a new building, containing a drama studio, ICT area and sixth form area. The budget for the project is approximately £1.8m.
The reason for replacing the current drama studio is that it is currently located in a derelict temporary building. It is passed its shelf-life. Members of staff have complained that it is damp in the winter and extremely hot in the summer.
Media Studies is currently taught in the old Scout Hut which is a wooden building erected in 1902. It is totally inadequate and the structure is rotting.
The Sixth Form area is located in a temporary class room which leaks when it rains and requires the flat roof to be patched regularly.
There is no spare accommodation anywhere in the College to relocate these provisions. This is why the School and the Foundation wish to develop modern accommodation. The School population is increasing and the proposed development reflects the need to improve the drama, ICT and sixth form areas.
The College considers that with additional fund raising it will expect to have raised approximately £800,000 available for the project so are seeking a phased approach to this development, concentrating on the sixth form area and ICT phase first, followed by the Drama block in phase 2.
Property Holdings is already in discussion with the School and the Foundation and will project manage the development.
3.3 Jersey College for Girls Preparatory School
The School wishes to extend the school hall, which is too small to meet the demands of the school. By extending the hall and using partition walls, a much needed new room will also be created.
The current hall is too small to fit parents and school children together and the space is restricting the amount of special productions/assemblies which can take place. Furthermore the School also does not have sufficient space for team meetings or governors meetings. The music room is currently used for this purpose, which impacts on after-school lessons (which are then required to take place in the corridor). The new room will also be used for other school activities, such as drama.
The head teacher has identified the extension of the hall as the greatest need of the school and a very good investment. The extra space will be fully utilised by both pupils and staff.
The cost of the project is £101,800. A preferred contractor has been identified guaranteeing no additional costs to this project.
3.4 Jersey College for Girls
The School wishes to build an extension to the JCG Drama studio. The proposed design has been developed in conjunction with the school to meet increased demands being placed on the existing drama space/facilities for a variety of functions. The School’s Board of Governors is seeking to enhance a growing and important aspect of both the curricular and extra curricular life of the School.
Jersey College for Girls currently does not have a standalone/separate Drama teaching area and the Main Hall has been adapted to accommodate the Drama curriculum.
There has been a problem with the lack of space in the College due to the increasing pressure placed on the Hall for public events and examinations. There are now long periods of time, which mount to over three months, when the hall is out of use. There is, therefore, a significant knock-on effect for the rest of the life of the school, for example assemblies, house meetings and community usage are either cancelled or re-accommodated elsewhere.
At present the only purpose built area available to the school is an outside amphitheatre area, which is unused because of the weather, lack of equipment and noise from the traffic. The increase usage and pressure on the Main Hall is having a detrimental effect on the students and staff teaching and learning experience and the new Drama centre is essential for curriculum planning and future development.
The project was initially tendered for £548,041; however a re-tendered price is expected to be lower.
Full Planning and Building approval has already been granted.
3.5 In accordance with Financial Direction No.3.6 ‘Variations to Heads of Expenditure’ approval of transfers from revenue to capital, unless they are non-contentious transfers of up to £100,000, require the approval of the Minister for Treasury and Resources. Transfers to new capital heads of expenditure require the approval of the Council of Ministers and the Minister for Treasury and Resources.
3.6 Property Holdings has commented: ‘Property Holdings will act as the 'intelligent client' for the delivery of the proposed works and will ensure that the procurement process follows relevant Financial Directions; that the resulting building works are fit for purpose and do not leave legacy problems such as unacceptably high maintenance costs.
Property Holdings also has a requirement to advise the Minister for Treasury and Resources with regard to any amendments or additions to public buildings in accordance with Standing Order 168 and in project managing the delivery of these works Property Holdings will discharge this responsibility.’
- Recommendation
To request approval from the Treasury and Resources Minister for the transfer of the following sums to capital Heads of Expenditure held by Property Holdings maintained at the Treasury: Victoria College, £100,000; Victoria College Preparatory School, £35,000; Jersey College for Girls, £166,000; and Jersey College for Girls Preparatory, £102,000.
It is further recommended that approval of the transfer will be conditional on receipt of written confirmation from the respective schools that any proposal for an increase in fees will be within the indicative sums already confirmed to the Department, and that account has been taken within those increases of reduced funding to the Schools following the approval of the 2010 States Business Plan.
gov.je