Questions
Special
| Question | What general advice would you give me as a new headteacher coming into a school with a budget deficit? |
| Answer | Get to know the whole situation thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Tell the LEA, don’t assume that they know the position from their own monitoring information – it may not be accurate. Make sure your governors are aware of the full extent of the problem and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Form a team to help you deal with the situation. Make use of the DCSF A brief guide to the financial competencies of school staff to help identify relevant competencies amongst your staff. This is available in the reference library in the preparing and delivering to a budget section of this website. Similarly, the DCSF A brief guide to the financial competencies of a school governing body will help identify relevant competencies on your board. This is available in the governance and accountability section of this website in the reference library. This website has a range of resources that you may find useful including good practice guides in the workshop materials section. The check-lists set out the questions to consider under each of the headings used in consistent financial reporting and help you to evaluate and review your expenditure and optimise your income. It can be helpful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community intalk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues. |
| Question | I recently joined a school with a deficit budget and am about to start planning the budget for the new year. Where do I start? |
| Answer | Start by looking very carefully at the school development plan, making sure it is prioritised and that the priorities are fully costed. It’s important, when funds are tight, that you go right back to basics and focus your spending on the agreed priorities of the school and do not simply follow historic spending patterns. This website has a range of resources that you may find useful including good practice guides in the workshop materials section. The check-lists set out the questions to consider under each of the headings used in consistent financial reporting and help you to evaluate and review your expenditure and optimise your income. It can be helpful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community intalk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues. |
| Question | I’ve recently taken over as headteacher in a school that has a large deficit. There are a number of reasons for this, one being poor financial management in recent years. I’m very aware that staff have a great deal of loyalty to the previous head, so how much do I tell them about the present situation? |
| Answer | It’s important not to allow a blame culture to develop. The future is more important than the past. Involve the staff in the recovery process and give them as much information as is helpful. Be open and honest with them about the situation and make sure they have the overall picture, but don’t baffle them with too much information. |
| Question | Where can I get help in putting together a financial recovery plan? |
| Answer | Most LAs have finance support teams who can provide this sort of assistance. Alternatively, there are a number of accountancy firms and other organisations specialising in providing financial services to schools. You may find that you have the relevant skills amongst your staff or on your board of governors. Make use of the DCSF A guide to the financial competencies of school staff to help identify relevant competencies amongst your staff. This is available in the reference library in the preparing and delivering to a budget section of this website. Similarly, the DCSF A guide to the financial competencies of a school governing body will help identify relevant competencies on your board. This is available in the governance and accountability section of this website in the reference library. In the long term, you should think about employing a bursar. If you are a small school you may be able to get together with other schools in your area to share the services of a bursar. This website has a range of resources that you may find useful including good practice guides in the workshop materials section. It can be helpful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community intalk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues. |
| Question | Once a recovery plan is in place, how do you ensure it stays on track? |
| Answer | Monitor the situation very closely and make sure that anyone else with delegated budgetary responsibility does the same. Set aside some dedicated time on a regular basis and involve your bursar, finance officer, finance governor and/or anyone else with responsibilities in finance. Keep governors and staff informed so that you can take action as appropriate if things are going off track. Make it clear that there are no little pots of money hidden away and that requests for additional unplanned expenditure will not be entertained. |
| Question | What are the most common pitfalls in recovery planning? |
| Answer | Taking a short-term view. Wherever possible, recovery planning should extend beyond the current year and schools in receipt of transitional funding will be expected to show three years of a recovery plan. It’s generally not possible to recover in one year without making far harder cuts than are necessary or desirable. Thought also needs to be given to the longer-term implications of any proposed actions. |
| Question | What other advice can you give me? |
| Answer | Don’t become so obsessed with figures that you forget that you are a school. You do need to get back to a balanced budget situation but, at the same time, you should be focusing on what is required to maintain or improve standards and ensuring that spending reflects the priorities in the school development plan. |
| Question | Having once again achieved a balanced budget, what can be done to prevent a deficit recurring in the future? |
| Answer | The two- or three-year plan, which was drawn up to enable the school to recover from a deficit, is a good starting point for medium-term planning on a regular basis. It’s not only schools in financial difficulty that should plan for the future, it’s good practice to do this as a matter of course as it will provide an early indication, not only of potential problems, but also of opportunities for development. Identify the cause of the original problem and take action to prevent or manage any future occurrence. This website has a number of resources that you may find useful including good practice guides in the workshop materials section. It can be helpful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community intalk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues. |
| Question | As a special school, our budget position is made all the more difficult by the nature and complexity of the children’s needs. This has implications for staffing requirements. How can this be managed? |
| Answer | By and large, special schools are better placed than mainstream schools to project pupil numbers. Try to project where children will come from and what their needs are, then staff accordingly. When appointing staff, be aware of the type and quality of teaching assistants as well as staff flexibility. It can be helpful to talk to another headteacher in a similar situation: the Financial Management in Schools community in talk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues. |