Few school leaders are looking forward to the budget this week. It is clear that there is no additional money coming.
And with some unfunded pay rises possibly on their way, even the leanest of schools are going to struggle.
This is compounded by additional costs the most inclusive schools face. Inclusion may be the new Ofsted Toolkit buzzword, but it is expensive to support all young people that need it regardless of diagnosis.
Our most ethical and inclusive schools, long penalised through performance tables, will also find themselves considerably poorer.
No one wishes to be patronised by another offer to help us find savings (those around long enough will still remember former academies minister Lord Agnew challenging us to win champagne).
Given the myriad of pressures piling onto schools now, I can’t imagine anyone has the time to emulate “a pig out hunting for truffles when it comes to finding waste in schools”.
But if there is to be no more money – and we have to make do with less (again) – then there are some real expenditures the Department for Education could actively work on reducing that would help hugely.
1. Tackle costly contracts …
Schools must be warm, welcoming and in good repair for the young people we educate and the adults that work alongside us. But our schools’ household bills are astronomical, whether this is energy, water or making improvements and repairs.
Surely something can be done to cap the profits utilities can make from education?
For schools subject to Private Finance Initiatives, there seems to be no limit on the profits external investors make for our most vulnerable citizens and no end to the excessive additional costs there is no alternative to pay.
We need strong legal support to challenge these disadvantageous contracts.
2. … and rip-off agencies
There are few industries that do not occasionally require agency staff to help them keep themselves running. And for some colleagues, the flexibility to work when and where they like can help to keep them in the classroom.
However, too many agencies serving schools are charging eye-watering sums of schools, very little of which makes it into the pockets of those doing the work.
There has to be a sensible limit, especially for the many schools who simply cannot afford to over staff or employ cover supervisors.
3. Bring down exam fees
I have never truly understood why exam fees are so high given there is a steady and captive market.
Additionally, knowing that there is a yearly scrabble to obtain examiners (and that they are paid very little for doing this extra work in their own time), the money is clearly not being directed to these colleagues.
Add to this the number of times schools need to recall exam papers and seek remarks, we are paying through the nose for a shoddy service.
It is not so long ago that one of our wonderful sixth form students did not obtain the result in history he needed to access his preferred university course. Disheartened, he accepted an alternative place whilst his head of department demanded to see the paper.
Someone had “forgotten” to mark the final seven pages of his exam. The revised grade was an A; he could have accessed his preferred course after all but it was too late.
Fees must be lower and the provision much better.
4. Deliver cost-effective AP
Occasionally a young person needs slightly different provision to meet their needs, whether part-time or temporarily. There are some incredible alternative provisions in many communities, but not all.
However, you don’t always get what you pay for; the daily cost at our trust’s alternative provision was £65 last year. For others, the cost could be £200-300 per day without any guarantee of quality.
Surely local authorities, trusts and federations could be supported to provide cost-effective, strong alternative provision in every area to also support with keeping young people safe before reintegration to mainstream when appropriate?
At the risk of repeating myself, local authorities, trusts and federations should also be supported to provide strong special education needs schools and colleges. With some private provision costing six figures a year, this investment will pay for itself.
5. CEO pay cap
Despite being a trust executive myself, it simply does not make sense that some of the academy freedoms we value have also facilitated excessive pay for a small minority.
I’m yet to speak with a trust leader who does not support a cap on the top end of salaries, to align them with their peers.
We are public servants and our children deserve more.
And one simple ask …
However, there is something we urgently need to rethink and invest more money into: the maternity pay available to those working in education.
The profession haemorrhages women in their thirties, often as they discover just how shocking the maternity leave and pay is (let alone trying to find a way to combine both family and career).
My ask is simple: for every person working in nurseries, schools and colleges to have exactly the same maternity entitlement and pay as those working for the Department for Education have.
Your thoughts