The Government is developing their promise of providing schools with certainty and stability with their budgets through the introduction of multi year budgets, minimum guaranteed increases and a single count date for pupil numbers. But as identified in their plans for the
school funding April 2006 this is going to be an area which will continue to change and develop over the next five years.
Long term, they plan for the Dedicated Schools Grant to provide a fairer distribution of funding. The School Development Grant will combine and reduce the number of standards funds and the School Standard Grant will be distributed via a fairer formula.
These changes run alongside the development of The
Financial Management Standards and Toolkit, which are aimed at improving the ability and expertise to manage resources effectively and efficiently within schools. Secondary schools will be expected to comply with these standards in 2007 and primary schools will need to comply at a later date.
With all the new information regarding the budget and the other government initiatives do schools have the time to work through the toolkit? It could be argued that the Governors should take a lead role in this assessment as they and the Headteacher are ultimately responsible for the management of the school resources –do they have the time and expertise?
Another issue is that of making the best use of the budget and resources. In my opinion schools’ budgets cannot continue to grow as they have over recent years. Increasingly we will be expected to provide more opportunities without extra resourcing. This will require a whole school approach to managing resources effectively and efficiently. Yet we expect staff with no financial training to manage their budgets.
There is a need to keep all staff informed about how the budgets have been allocated (in-line with the school development plan, I hope!), and how they can resource their faculties and departments in-line with their development plans and evaluate if their spending has effectively support the student’s achievements.
My experience in managing finance in schools enables me to offer expert advice on all aspects of budgets, including:
