FAQs

Think long term: two or three years ahead rather than simply the current year. Examine existing spending patterns and ask what impact they’ve had on teaching and learning. Don’t assume that you have to spend money in the same way each time. Be creative.

Be pro-active. If you anticipate a problem in the future try to plan for it now. Remedial action taken early on may prevent redundancies in the future.

Consider appointing a bursar, either full or part time, if you don’t already have one. This will enable you to concentrate on planning while an appropriately qualified person deals with the detailed figure work.

This website has a range of resources that you may find useful including materials on strategy and planning in the reference library and income and expenditure check-lists and good practice guides in the workshop materials section.

You may find it useful to talk to another headteacher: the Financial Management in Schools community in talk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues.

Make sure your school development plan (SDP) or school improvement plan is a working document and up to date. It should include priorities for the whole school, not just the curriculum. It should cover a minimum of three years and the current year – at least – should be fully costed. Make sure your SDP takes external policies and initiatives into account, as well as the things you want to do in school.

When you start preparing your annual budget, the SDP should be your starting point. This will ensure that even if money is tight you will be focusing on the agreed priorities of the school. It will also make it easier to track spending on SDP priorities.

This website has a number of resources that you may find useful including materials on strategy and planning in the reference library.

You may find it useful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community in talk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues.

Don’t always assume that you need more of something to improve. Sometimes, it’s about examining the use of existing resources and being more creative with them.

This website has a number of resources that you may find useful, in particular the income and expenditure check-lists in the workshop materials section. These are designed to help you evaluate and review your expenditure and optimise your income. They set out the questions to consider under each of the headings used in consistent financial reporting.

The workshop materials section also contains a number of tools to help you engage with others in finding solutions: problem-solving, team-building and the five whys all feature in the workshop presentation slides.

You may find it useful to talk to another headteacher who has faced similar issues: the Financial Management in Schools community in talk2learn has been set up as a specific forum to discuss financial management issues with colleagues.

It’s true that your precise budget figures may not be known until just before the start of the financial year. Nevertheless, there are a number of assumptions you can make. If you assume that income and expense levels will remain fundamentally the same and base your calculations on projected pupil numbers, this provides a good starting point. You can then adjust for any known changes, such as staff increments, any one-off payments or receipts and, of course, the priorities identified in the school development plan. By projecting this forward for a three-year period you will have a good indication of trends. Do this systematically and on a regular basis, as the details of your future financial situation become apparent.

In order to model your projected finances, you can either use Microsoft Excel – although you will need to programme it yourself – or software such as that endorsed by the National Bursars Association. This is very user friendly, comes pre-loaded with your LEA’s funding formula and is available for just £250 (updates are £100 annually).

Try to anticipate events and prepare for them in as flexible a way as possible so that your plan can be amended, if necessary.

To help you anticipate external factors and their impact on the school, you should set up a spreadsheet of your school’s finances projected over the next 3-5 years. By adjusting different factors, such as pupil or staff numbers, grants and salary levels, you will be able to see what impact changes have on your school’s finances. Do this systematically and regularly, at least on an annual basis.

In order to model your projected finances, you can either use Microsoft Excel – although you will need to programme it yourself – or software such as that endorsed by the National Bursars Association. This is very user friendly, comes pre-loaded with your LEA’s funding formula and is available for just £250 (updates are £100 annually).

Be creative and try to turn anticipated problems into opportunities. For example, as a result of projecting numbers on roll-falling you are likely to have some spare accommodation. Are there any income-generating opportunities such as adult education classes, early years provision, breakfast or after-school clubs etc?

Keep an eye on national developments through the press and the DfES websites. Try to understand their likely implications by discussing them with your LEA and colleagues: the Financial Management in Schools community in talk2learnQuestion