Schools budget planning

April marks the beginning and end of the government’s financial year. Although the school year starts in September, maintained schools are having to prepare budgets now.

Budget planning in April - what should schools do?

According to the National College for Teaching and Leadership’s Managing School Finance’s programme:

“Maintained schools are required to run their budgets in line with the local authority financial year of April to March. This can be problematic as the financial year does not run parallel to the academic year of September to August. This means that for the first 5/12ths of the financial year, the school is operating with the previous year's curriculum and staffing plan. Although the budget will have been set using informed projections for the new academic year, it may be that in September there is a considerable change to the school's number on roll (NOR) and the cost of staffing. These changes can impact on income or expenditure, or both.”

Prepare for change

In their beginner's guide to planning and managing school budgets, The Guardian advises not to be thrown by planning in April, but to be prepared to change in September as pupil and staff numbers change.

Think: ‘What would you do if next year the school’s roll rose or fell by 10%?’

EduCare can help

As budgets continue to be reduced across all schools and educational settings, EduCare remains committed to provide the best value for money online learning service possible.

Because it offers unlimited access, the annual subscription price for our online learning service is based on pupil roll numbers and not per-learner. This unique pricing model means that you should never have to pay more than £2 per-learner, per-course. And definitely less than a Flat White!

Challenge us today and see how much you can save!

Return to news