'Change school funding' demands

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Calls are made to change how schools in Wales are funded after more than one in 10 were found to be in debt while others have reserves totalling £70m.

In Bridgend, more than a third of schools are in deficit, while in Conwy, Merthyr Tydfil and Pembrokeshire schools are in the black.

The Conservative education spokesman said the figures were a "concern".

But the Welsh Assembly Government said local authorities had a duty to ensure schools manage their finances properly.

Teaching union the NASUWT said the system was not working properly and children's education was suffering.

The union's Tim Cox told BBC Wales The Politics Show that local authorities often do not challenge schools who keep excessive reserves.

These kids are competing in the real world with children, let's say in England, who have massively more money spent on them and fantastically better facilities in many schools Head teacher Phil Witcombe

"NASUWT's view is that the money is given for the pupils that are in the school in that academic year - it should be spent on them, it should be spent on their education," he said.

"There's always got to be some kind of contingency held back because you don't know what problems they might face but when you see schools with hundreds of thousands of pounds in a surplus, in reserve, that's just not acceptable."

Conservative education spokesman Paul Davies said the assembly government must take action to remedy the situation.

"It doesn't make any sense whatsoever that 11% of schools in Wales are in deficit and at the same time we have an overall surplus of £70m."

Head teacher at St Cyres Comprehensive in Penarth, Brian Lightman, said he was "frustrated" at being forced to make cuts.

Second class things

The school is in deficit and have had to borrow £150,000 for new computer facilities.

"Our top priority is teaching and learning, so we've tried really hard to maintain our staffing levels as much as we possibly can because we believe there's nothing more important than having teachers in front of the classrooms," he said.

"We would like to see better resources, we'd like to see new furniture, because a lot of our furniture is very old - you're giving a message to the children that they should accept second class things and we don't want to do that."

Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School in Barry has a small budget surplus, but head teacher Phil Witcombe says the funding is "inadequate".

"These kids are competing in the real world with children, let's say in England, who have massively more money spent on them and fantastically better facilities in many schools," he said.

Good governance

"Clearly it costs a similar amount of money to educate a child in Barry as it does in Manchester - there is no difference, what we have is less resources and therefore we're giving our children fewer opportunities."

Both head teachers said funding restrictions had radically altered the way the schools are run.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said: "Local authorities have a duty to ensure that schools manage their finances properly.

"There may be legitimate reasons for a school to be in deficit provided it has a clear plan for moving back into balance.

"There can also be legitimate reasons for schools to build up a surplus, for example if they are saving money to refurbish or extend accommodation.

The spokesperson added: "Once budgets are delegated it would be contrary to the principles of good governance to remove a part of that budget to pay another school's deficit."