Cost-cutters’ advice could be released in written form

Advice from government cost-cutters could soon be offered to school business leaders in written form, Schools Week understands.

Introduced by a Conservative government, school resource management advisers (SRMAs) are accredited experts sent into schools and academy trusts to advise them on how to use their money and resources efficiently.

The cost-cutters visited about 450 schools in 2023-24.

But the DfE is now understood to be exploring SRMA-style advice being made available to school business leaders (SBLs) in a written “advisory” format.

Schools Week understands this would not be intended to replace the SRMA role, but would be aimed at giving less experienced business leaders advice to complement financial benchmarking data that is already available.

It is not clear whether the new-style advice would lead to a higher number of schools receiving support.

Schools Week has approached the DfE for further information, but it did not respond to repeated requests.

Diverse backgrounds

Amanda Goldthorpe-Hall, business leader at Philip Southcote School in Surrey, part of Bourne Education Trust, welcomed the idea in principle.

SBLs came from different backgrounds… “from an HR background, from a general business background, from a finance professional background.

“To have a centralised information base that is from the DfE, that is in real world, practical terms, [would be] tremendous for all school business leaders.

“Even for finance professionals, you come in with your real-world business sense, and then…suddenly discover that there’s a convoluted education special way of doing things.”

She said it could mean some schools saving “thousands” by avoiding seeking help from private, third-party services.

Natalie Highfield, a senior policy officer at the school leaders’ union NAHT, said practical support was “always welcome, particularly for those newer to the role”.

But she stressed the strength of the SRMA programme was in its “tailored, one-to-one support” and that any written guidance “should complement that offer, not replace it, and should remain optional”.

Kickstart

Bethan Cullen, the deputy chief executive of The Centre for Education Operational Excellence, which previously held the SRMA contract, said written advice could help kickstart schools’ “conversations about where resources are being deployed”.

“It’s opening up…dialogue and conversations around the why – why are we deploying resources in this way? Is it in line with other schools of our size?

“It could definitely help every school in the sector reconsider and assess their use of resources.”

Helen Wilson, the managing director of SBM Services, which provides business and accountancy service to schools and academies, agreed it could help schools “identify areas for further consideration, ask informed questions, and make better use of the information already available to them.

“Personalised advice, tailored to each school/trust’s individual settings, can still be accessed via the SRMA programme or other external sector specialists.

“The more we can make financial and operational information accessible, understandable and actionable for school leaders, the better.”