Letting your school spaces to generate income: 12 tips to get started From halls to classrooms, schools have many spaces that could be hired out to generate additional income. Vicki Atkin offers 12 tips to get you started
School funding: Teaching assistants in the firing line… Despite the £2bn funding injection, schools still face tough decisions when balancing the books – and teaching assistants are prime targets. Suzanne O’Connell on why we might regret letting our TAs go...
School funding: What does the Autumn Statement mean in 2023 and beyond? An additional £2bn is to be added to the core school budgets in each of the next two years – but what does this mean for your financial planning now? Specialist Julia Harnden offers her analysis to help you prepare for 2023 and beyond
Seven ways to maximise your CPD spend With huge cost pressures facing schools, making the most of every pound spent on, and every second of staff time dedicated to, CPD is crucial. David Weston offers seven ways you can think about maximising the impact of this enormous investment
Five alternative and inclusive school fundraising ideas Schools must avoid piling too much fundraising pressure onto families living in poverty and struggling with the cost of living. Craig Watson offers five alternative fundraising ideas
Top 10 tips for... Energy saving in your school Schools can play their part in responding to the climate emergency while also reducing their energy costs at a time of rising prices. Suzanne Gibbon from the Let’s Go Zero campaign offers 10 energy-saving tips and examples from schools
School leadership: Starting afresh in 2022/23? With summer over and batteries hopefully recharged after a gruelling two years, how are schools and their leaders approaching the academic year ahead? Suzanne O’Connell spoke to four headteachers to find out
The Pupil Premium strategy statement The DfE’s new Pupil Premium strategy statement is aimed at helping schools to explain how they are using this crucial funding. Suzanne O’Connell looks at what it entails and what’s involved
Free school meals uptake: Removing the barriers There are still a number of barriers that put children and families off applying for and taking up free school meals. Georgina Burt advises on how schools can remove some of these barriers
PFI: Challenging overly expensive contracts As an academy trust CEO, Andrew Chubb successfully challenged aspects of his school’s PFI contract, leading to substantial savings. He looks here at why PFI often proves unfairly expensive for schools – and what can be done about it
Why you should renegotiate your school’s contracts now How will the Covid-19 pandemic affect your purchasing power? Procurement consultant Naomi Clews says it makes sense to revisit your existing contracts now to secure best value for money for your school
Spending the £650m Covid 'catch-up' funding: Some things to consider The government’s £650m so-called catch-up premium amounts to £80 per-pupil. Matt Bromley looks at how the funding is being delivered, how we might spend it, and Ofsted’s role in the coming months
Saving money on your school's rateable value What is your school’s rateable value? Are you overpaying? Mark Paterson looks at how schools might be able to make substantial savings
Ed-tech in 2020 and beyond Ahead of Bett 2020, Caroline Wright looks at BESA’s latest research findings on the state of ed-tech in UK schools and the challenges faced by the sector, not least when it comes to teacher training
The procurement process: Best practice for schools Are your school’s procurement processes up-to-scratch and compliant? Imogen Rowley offers a quick checklist to help you evaluate your practices 1 comment
Fundraising: Using your school site Raising income by using your buildings and grounds can be one way of boosting your school’s finances. Brin Best advises
Avoiding financial scams Financial scams, including bank mandate fraud, often target schools and staff need to be aware of what to look out for. Dave Verma advises
Securing funds from businesses Continuing his recent series of fundraising advice articles, Brin Best looks at how schools should engage with business – both locally and further afield – in order to raise funds and attract other support
Are you aware of fraud? Figures suggest that discovered fraud in the schools sector was in the region of £1 million last year. Expert Dave Verma offers eight easy steps schools can take to lower the risks
Effective fundraising applications The secret to fundraising success can often come down to writing and compiling effective applications. Brin Best offers nine steps to planning and writing successful funding applications
Fundraising: Grant-making trusts Many schools do not consider applying to grant-making trusts for funding, even though they are well-placed to make successful bids. Brin Best explains more and lists some of his top trusts to apply to
School business leadership (not management) Debbie Beazer discusses her path to becoming a school business leader and the changing role of this vital position within the school team
Seven good sources for school fundraising With school budgets under huge pressure and little respite on the horizon, fundraising has never been more important. Brin Best gives us an overview of some external funding sources available to schools
Three major challenges for 2018 As the new year begins, what changes do you need to prepare for? Richard Skipper discusses three major challenges waiting for us in 2018
Devising an effective fundraising strategy A carefully thought-out fundraising strategy that links closely with your school improvement plan could be considered an essential for modern schools. Expert Brin Best discusses how to devise an effective fundraising strategy for your school
