Sandwell school is almost £19,000 in debt

Kevin Morgan, chief executive head teacher of Sandwell Community School, said the sudden revelation came months after local education bosses said the pupil referral unit had a £66,000 surplus.

The shocking error came to light at a meeting of Sandwell Schools Forum as he explained he had only learnt of the mistake in a devastating email.

Saying on Tuesday, September 22, the school’s budget was on track, he explained: “On Wednesday it was reported as £189,000 deficit. That was the first time I picked that message up.

“The budget was balanced way back in April and strategies were put in place in line with that budget. Clearly we now have to work hard to identify the issues.”

The massive deficit was reported by Sandwell Inspired Partnerships – a company which provides support services to local schools – adding it was ‘unclear’ how it hadn’t been spotted earlier.

Mr Morgan added: “When as a headteacher you had reported a £66,000 surplus, and all the documentary evidence to say that, it is a little bit surprising to find yourself in this situation.

“So I haven’t had much sleep since Wednesday and I am intending to work hard to address this issue.”

Sandwell Community School teaches around 140 teenagers excluded from mainstream education and operates on five different sites in the borough and is classified as good by Ofsted.

Asked how the error could happen, a Sandwell Council spokesman said: “A difference between financial information supplied by the school and records held by the council was raised in a discussion at the Schools Forum.

“The matter is being looked into jointly by the school, its third party financial services provider and the council.”