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      • Effective use of resources: case studies

Effective use of resources: case studies

Over the last 12 months during a period of global economic constraint, the effective and efficient use of resources in schools has become an increasingly high profile issue.  We know that school budgets will be much tighter and, when coupled with falling rolls, school leaders will be faced with some difficult budget decisions. For many headteachers, a period of limited growth or even budget reductions will be a relatively new experience. At the same time, it is reasonable that government and the public should expect that schools make the most effective and efficient use of the funding made available to them.

The National College is working with school leaders and national partners to promote the effective and efficient use of resources by raising awareness and understanding; changing culture to give greater value to cost-effectiveness; enhancing professional skills; and ensuring schools have access to appropriate tools and resources. The developing support for school leaders can be found in this topic area.

As part of this support the College has been working with a group of case study schools to understand ways in which they can use their resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. All the schools have developed an approach that is tailored to their context and needs – there is no single blueprint for efficiency – but all have been driven by clear values focussed on wanting the very best outcomes for children. Beyond this, some of the themes common to all the schools include:

Be strategic

Heads of the schools had clear structures and systems in place that allowed them to be strategic while others in the school were operational. This freed up time for the head to be outward facing and through new partnerships and networks, identify ways to save money.

In one school, £164k was saved by operating a single leadership structure across three schools in an education village.

Be entrepreneurial

All the schools generated additional income through using their premises; supporting other schools; bidding for additional money and through other innovative and creative ways. This entrepreneurial culture was generally cultivated by a leadership structure that recognised the importance of working beyond the school and freeing up people to take risks.

In one school £280k was generated through providing information and communications technology support to local primary schools.

Develop knowledge and expertise

In all of the schools there was a deep understanding of financial processes and robust monitoring processes in place. All the schools had either an in-house expert, usually the school business manager, or sought expertise externally to help with budget-making decisions.

In one school, budget managers are responsible for the management of budgets, meeting monthly with the vice principal of business strategy to review the current status of spending, and to discuss progress and future proposals. This enables them to identify potential over and under spends and ensures that informed decisions are made.

Full details of this work will be published in June including the impact of working in different ways and strategies for achieving greater efficiency.

Further reading: Investing for the future, protecting the front line: school funding 2010-13