Introduction
According to an article by The Guardian, school leaders describe the struggle to make budgets stretch to cover soaring energy costs, growing wage bills and inflation. With school purse strings tighter than ever before, every aspect of a school budget requires careful consideration and planning as it's vital for schools to make the most of the funds available to them.
In this blog post, written by one of our expert education finance consultants, Kim Cannon, we'll explore 10 top tips for maximising your school budget. These tips will help you make the most of your school finances and achieve optimal school outcomes.
Who sets the school budget?
Headteachers play a key role in the budget-setting process, assessing expenditures to date, identifying areas for school development, and allocating funds accordingly. With most of the budget allocated to staffing costs, effective deployment of resources is essential for achieving equitable workload distribution and maximising efficiency.
The timeline and process of school budgeting
School budgeting is crucial as it involves intricate planning and resource allocation. The timing and process of school budget planning vary between maintained schools (directly funded by local authorities) and academies (independent state-funded schools).
Maintained schools operate on a financial year aligned with the calendar year, running from April to March, whereas Academies' financial year corresponds to the academic year.
Consequently, the timing for headteachers to start planning for the next year's budget varies, with some beginning to consider budget details at the end of the autumn term. Budget allocation typically sees staffing costs, including salaries, pension contributions, and national insurance, comprising a significant portion, around 70-80%, of school budgets. Additionally, funds are allocated to areas such as buildings and maintenance, learning resources, catering supplies, and cleaning.
Once the overall budget is set, it is broken down into cost centres, with different leaders within the school responsible for specific areas. For instance, the office manager may oversee cost centres related to cleaning, repairs, and maintenance, while curriculum leaders manage those associated with teaching and learning. Leaders make decisions on fund allocation within their cost centres, ensuring practical spending and effective resource utilisation.
10 top tips
To make the most of your school's budget and improve financial efficiency, here are the top 10 tips Kim recommends all schools should consider:
1. Review staffing structure
Staff are your most valuable but most expensive resource; the emphasis should be on effective deployment in order to share the workload more evenly.
2. Utilise a bid-led process for curriculum spending
Encourages your budget holders to really think in advance about what resources they need to deliver the curriculum for the next academic year.
3. Review contracts annually
Have an Annual Contracts Listing containing all relevant contract information including end date, review date that gives time for new quotes to be obtained, and final ‘give notice’ date.
Time is money, so use nationally negotiated deals through DfE approved framework agreements. Find a DfE approved framework for your school
4. Benchmark costs locally
Use the DfE new benchmarking website:
Financial-benchmarking-and-insights-tool
For realistic comparison charts, you need to use your DfE login to select your own comparator schools/academies within your local area, review the results and act on the information shown.
5. Switch energy suppliers regularly
Using an energy consultant, such as zenergi.co.uk, can help to reduce costs as they constantly monitor price changes and search for your best deal, but this will incur a charge, either as a clear fee or an additional cost per KWh is added to your energy bill. Alternatively look at the latest information regarding energy on Gov.Uk as part of their buying for schools guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools-things-to-consider-before-you-start/energy
6. A realistic rolling programme of premises maintenance built into Asset Management Plan
Use your condition survey to diarise a programme of necessary works, add a rolling programme of re-decoration/renewal; use estimated costings in your annual budget and forward financial plan.
7. Generate income from lettings
Think carefully about what your school hall, playground or field could be used for.
Outside spaces - netball court or football pitch, could these be used by local clubs?
Inside space - is the hall suitable for a badminton court, keep fit class, yoga or dance classes?
Compare local provision prices to ensure your hourly charge covers your costs plus makes a profit.
8. Breakfast & After School clubs
If currently running these, review pricing structure, extend opening times to make it more attractive for working parents/carers following the government’s current wraparound care initiative. Ensure these are advertised on your website, especially if you are part of the governments ‘free breakfast clubs’ programme, as this helps to market your school for prospective new pupils.
9. Monitor staff absences
Look for regular occurrences and include in your performance management meetings with staff, this may help to cut down on supply costs. Negotiate costs with supply agencies or use Gov.uk deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-worker
10. Advertise jobs using free websites
Gov.UK - since June 2018 provide a free website for schools to advertise for teaching staff, register using this link teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk
Essex - Essexschoolsjobs.co.uk is free to place adverts online for all school/academy staff. Make use of similar free job sites provided by other Local Authorities too.
Conclusion
Effectively managing a school budget requires careful planning, strategic resource allocation, and a commitment to maximising efficiency. By implementing the 10 top tips outlined in this blog post, schools can optimise their financial resources, enhance operational effectiveness, and ultimately improve educational outcomes for pupils.
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With over 30 years of education finance experience, we're here to help your money go further.
Download our 10 top tips so they are always on hand to refer to.
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