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It appears as though funding for St Joseph's is on track. The latest Minutes of the Slough School's Forum on 16 September 2009 reveal that the DSG (Dedicated Schools Grant) for 2009/10 was £589,000 more than antcipated. Other income streams resulted in £723,000 being available. The Slough Schools Forum agreed that the extra funds would be used to fund three projects of which the RtD (Readiness to Deliver) stage of the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme was the most costly at £250,000. Even after the three projects had been funded, £385,000 was available to carry forward. This tranche of advanced BSF funding for Slough amounts to £80m and it will be split evenly between four schools of which St Joseph's is one. If the Academy goes ahead, another school will take the place of St Joseph's. See this article from January 2009 for more details. It was noted in the meeting that the £80m might be reduced because of spending cuts but clearly, Slough Borough Council still believes it is worth spending £250,000 on the RtD. So, good news for St Joseph's. As things stand, the £20m for St Joseph's looks considerably more definite than the funding for an Academy. Let's hope the funding becomes available quickly enough to sow real doubts in the minds of the Diocese and governors about the feasibility of the Academy. To discuss this article, join our mailing list.
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