Head teacher Jan ShadickA SWINDON secondary school is heading for a half million pound overspend

Headlands School currently has a budget deficit of £250,000 and education officers predict that by the end of this year this could go up to £500,000.

The figures were revealed at a meeting of the Education Partnership Board in which director of education Hilary Pitts admitted she was very concerned about the situation: "It's the school's responsibility to balance its budget.

"We have got to work with the school to get this down. This is not a sustainable situation. It's causing us considerable concern."

Phil Baker, Swindon branch secretary of the ATL teaching union and former Headlands teacher, said he feared that staff cuts would be the only way for the school to tackle the situation.

"I'm concerned about the impact this could have on the ability of the school to provide sufficient staff for all the pupils," he said.

But Headlands headteacher Jan Shadick denied this: "We do not intend to cut any staffing at all.

"We've got good, loyal and hard working staff here."

She blames the unique challenges that the school faces for its financial problems.

"The budget is tight, yes,'' she said. "This is because of the challenges we face at the school.

"We have a lot of students with special educational needs. And we need to make sure that the students are supported in smaller groups, especially those with challenging needs.

"We also need enough teaching assistants to deliver a differentiated curriculum."

She said that rebuilding parts of the school was also costing a lot.

"The building is quite dilapidated in places. We have received a lot of support from the Local Education Authority but it is not a bottomless pit. The Department For Education and Skills has also contributed.

"We are exploring a range of future possible funding routes.

The situation looks tough now but it's something that will get better.

"We will find in two or three years that the challenges we face will not be as great, so the funding we have put in place for them can be released."

Dick Millard is a governor at Headlands. He said: "The key thing for us is to maintain an improving standard of education to the students.

"It looks as though there is a substantial difficulty for us to face.

"But we are not clear about the options yet."

A Swindon Council spokesman said: "Obviously the financial position is a concern but officers are working hard to ensure that it does not get to the projected deficit of £500,000 and that the school has a stable financial future."

Diana Milne