Join the mailing list - keep the discussion going! Click HERE.

The minutes of the meeting on 10 December 2008 of the Slough Schools Forum show that St Joseph's is in Phase 1 of Slough Council’s recently submitted application for funds from the government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme - but only if the Academy proposal doesn't go ahead.

According to the minutes, Slough last put in an expression of interest in 2003 and recently resubmitted its proposals prior to the 1 December 2008 deadline.  The minutes explain that in 2003, Slough was judged by the government to be in the last wave of this funding with a likely start date after 2017.  However, now the government is allowing all Local Authorities to start on their programmes with a first phase of £80 million per Authority as soon as they show "readiness".  The new expression of interest presumably indicates readiness.

Using the government's criteria, St Joseph's is deemed to be one of four Slough schools in phase 1 that will receive the £80m (£20m each).  St Bernard's is in phase 2 along with all the other Slough grammar schools.

However, the minutes point out that St Joseph's funding is put in jeopardy by the proposal to create a new Catholic Academy - if the Catholic Academy project should proceed and is not considered part of this phasing by the DCSF then Westgate and/or Haybrook could be moved up to phase 1.  Note that Langley Academy is not included in the Building Schools for the Future application for funding so it's highly unlikely that the proposed Catholic Academy would be either.