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Politicians have called for more transparency from private schools that receive Government grants after it emerged that Beaulieu forecast spending over £200,000 on severance pay last year while it was on course to become insolvent.
Deputy Inna Gardiner, former Education Minister and current head of the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises how taxpayers' funds are spent, said that private schools should be "open and transparent".
And Deputy Catherine Curtis, the Chair of the panel of politicians responsible for scrutinising education policy and practice in Jersey, said that her panel's review of funding for secondary schools across the island will also be exploring the theme of transparency.
Made public for the first time by Express last week, financial documents showed that Beaulieu recorded a loss of more than £379,000 in 2022, and had forecast a loss of £1.2m for 2023.
Pictured: Beaulieu's 2022 financial statements were published last week after repeated queries from Express.
Express also uncovered that the situation at the convent school had become so difficult that the Government had to step in to guarantee a £2.5 million overdraft and take on the lease for its buildings over summer.
But an internal ‘Finance Update’ document published in June 2023 and seen by Express revealed that the school had spent an estimated £56,000 on compensation payments in the spring term of 2023 – and was estimating another £160,000 before the end of the year.
It comes after former Beaulieu headteacher Chris Beirne retired in September 2023 – just nine months after stepping down into the "less visible" role of executive director amid criticism of senior leadership at the school.
Beaulieu also forecast spending over £80,000 on employment law and compromise agreement advice last year.
The document showed how much the school's legal fees had already risen from 2021 to 2022.
Pictured: An internal ‘Finance Update’ document published in June 2023 showed a significant increase in costs from 2021 to 2022.
A breakdown of expenditure revealed that 'legal and professional' expenses rose from £36,815 in 2021 to £179,390 in 2022 – a whopping 387% rise.
The 'Finance Update' also predicted a £200,000 spend on legal fees in 2023, and forecast that a total of £300,000 was due to be spent that year on "employment termination, including advice".
Organisations receiving grants from taxpayers over £75,000 are required to submit annual accounts each year – but there is no formal deadline for this.
Express was only able to obtain Beaulieu's 2019-2021 accounts following a request under the Freedom of Law, while the latest financial statements for the year ending August 2022 were only made available last week – despite the school saying in February that they were near to completion.
Another request made under the Freedom of Information law recently revealed that Beaulieu's accounts for 2023 are not yet held by the Government.
Pictured: Beaulieu School's new sports complex Beau Sports & Activities Centre was opened last year.
Despite being a private school, Beaulieu has had varying levels of Government support over the years.
In 2019, the school received a £7.3million from the Government to build new classrooms, a sports centre, cafe and sixth form centre.
The loan came with the condition that the money has to be repaid within 20 years, at a fixed interest rate of 4.25%.
In 2021, the school also received a £1.5m grant from the Government's post-pandemic recovery Fiscal Stimulus Fund towards the cost of the of its new Sports Hall.
Like other private schools, Beaulieu also receives a weighted annual grant from Government to support curriculum delivery.
Pictured: The annual Government grant is Beaulieu's second largest source of income each year.
The amount provided is calculated each year as it is dependent on the number of pupils within the school on 15 January each year.
For Beaulieu, this amounted to over £2.3m in both 2022 and 2023 – which the school recently deemed "not fit for purpose".
The school claimed that that the "upkeep of the buildings too high and not included" in the grant, and said that staffing is "misaligned".
Beaulieu also criticised the "paltry" 1.8% allocation increase from 2022 to 2023, in comparison to the 7.9% increase in teachers' pay.
Pictured: Education Minister Rob Ward recently revealed that the Government funding allocation for fee-paying schools is under review.
Education Minister Rob Ward recently revealed that this funding is set to be reviewed.
“To ensure that it continues to reflect the needs of the Government, the Department and the school, the funding formula for fee-charging schools is under review,” he said.
But other politicians have raised concerns about the level of openness and transparency from private schools in reporting their finances.
Former Education Minister Inna Gardiner said: “I do believe that private schools – especially ones that receive Government grants to support students – should be open and transparent in their reporting.
“I recognise their independence to make financial decisions, saying this they should be responsible for their overspending including compromise agreements.”
Deputy Lucy Stephenson echoed these concerns in a post on social media.
Seems to me there’s questions that need to be asked about the due diligence undertaken by the Le Fondre Government when the sports centre loan was agreed (incidentally the sports centre itself is a very good addition to the local facility offering) https://t.co/i7UvJmsUDy
— Lucy Stephenson (@LucyStevoJSY) October 21, 2024
“Seems to me there’s questions that need to be asked about the due diligence undertaken by the Le Fondre Government when the sports centre loan was agreed,” she wrote.
Chair of the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel Catherine Curtis confirmed to Express that she would raise this matter.
She confirmed that the panel's Secondary Education Funding review – which is set to be published within a few weeks – would also feature a section on transparency.
Pictured: Former Beaulieu headteacher Chris Beirne left in September 2023 after 17 years in the role.
Regarding Beaulieu, Deputy Curtis said: “We have been kept informed by the department since January this year.
“It does seem that recent actions taken were to protect the best interests of the island's children. There are 780 pupils at Beaulieu.
“There is a new headteacher and the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel will be receiving a further update in early January.”
She confirmed that the Panel also intended to meet new headteacher Matthew Burke – who took on the role in September – at the start of next year.
“By then he will have had enough time to settle in and make any necessary changes,” said Deputy Curtis.
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