Queen's Crescent School

Chippenham Borough Lands Charity

Chippenham Borough Lands is a Charity Trust, who own land and buildings within the Parish of Chippenham. Formed through the discovery of this land which was left by Queen Mary in 1554 and rediscovered in 1990, it now supports many organisations, individuals, charities and schools in Chippenham. The money that is available is generated from the interest made on the investments.

There are around 12 trustees who meet every month to finalise the recommendations of the Sub Committee meetings. There are three Committee meetings each month:

Education and Arts – applications from schools, arts organisations, individuals seeking sponsorship for course costs etc
Welfare – Mobility scooter hire, childcare vouchers, funding for charities, grants for white goods, food vouchers etc
Administration – Procedure, land, staffing, administration, policy of the organisation etc

The Main Trustee meeting is held on the third Monday of the month and is when everybody meets to hear about the recommendations of the Sub Committee meetings. The decisions are then ratified or changed.

The total budget allocated for 17-18 is £326,500

Education

We give around £140,000 to the Chippenham Schools every year and support anyone who has lived in Chippenham for over 2 years with the cost of course that advance their education, although we cannot support First Degrees.

Schools Allocation

This is worked out as £7 per child in secondary schools and £14 per head for primary children.

Schools Social Fund

The Social fund is worked out by finding the percentage of Free School Meal children at each school and converting this in to pounds. When the social fund amount and the allocation are added together they generate the total income allocated to that school. The school then has to put together ‘bids’ for how they would like to spend that money, which has to be agreed by the Trustees at a meeting.

Education budget – an explanation.

50% of the budget must be spent on direct activities and experiences which enhance the curriculum in an imaginative and engaging way.
40% can be spent on resources which aid the learning of the children.

10% of their money is given as a ‘social fund’ cheque in April – This is to be used for those who need financial help with school uniform or trip subsidies and is up to the school to use at their discretion. A report is requested in April of every year to say how the money was spent.

The Education Officer will visit the schools often to see how the money will be spent or to ask any questions to support an application. They may also see anything which the charity has funded and attend many events which celebrate achievement.

Welfare

Anyone who has a financial need, whether they are on benefits or not, can apply to have help with something that they need, providing that they live within the parish of Chippenham.

Many people will be put in touch with the appropriate agency first and helped to find solutions from the Council or other organisations. A visit will be made to everyone who applies and their application form will be discussed thoroughly. Sometimes the charity will help with things that aren’t mentioned in the application because a shortfall has been discovered and sometimes the applicant will be turned down. Every application is considered on it’s own merits.

Community Organisations

We help support many different charity and non-profit organisations in Chippenham who provide a service that benefits the residents. Examples of organisations who have had help from us are:

Chippenham Museum & Heritage Centre
Chippenham library – Booksters and Thrillseekers groups.
Relate – Schools mentoring and counselling service
SPLASH – holiday enrichment club for young people
Chippfest – Rockin in the Park event in John Coles Park
Chippenham Folk Festival
Rotary Club of Wiltshire Vale
Kandu Arts CIC – Kandu Kicks Project
Rag and Bone Arts CIC – venue hire for Youth Theatre.

Land and Buildings owned by CBLC

Jubilee Building – we have two rooms for hire at an affordable cost, for local community groups
Westmead Playing Field and Pavilion (leased to Chippenham Town Council)
The land by Pewsham Way and Mortimore’s Wood on which part of the cycle track runs
The land at the top of Westmead Playing Field where St John’s Ambulance and the 10th Chippenham Scouts have their buildings
Pewsham Community Centre – run by a committee and available for hire
Kingsley Road Community Centre - run by a committee and available for hire.