BESA
Schools are
not recession
proof, despite
the new Budget
announcements, says Ray
Barker
CONOMIC DOOM and gloom
E
seems to be all we read about these
days. Given Alistair Darling’s
Budget announcement of an
increase of income tax for high
Coping with
income earners, breaking Labour’s
own election commitment not to
raise rates, it seems that the recession has really
begun to take hold.
BESA has conducted annual research into school
procurement to get a clearer picture on the issues that
are affecting their budgets. With plenty of economic
the downturn
turmoil in the 12 months since the last research
was released, the newly issued findings were highly
anticipated, particularly as they were announced just
before the Budget.
Are secondary schools feeling the pinch from the that it is now losing £17,000 a year due to a reduction in increasing rolls, where classes with more than 30 In January, Jim Knight announced that the DCSF
recession? According to the secondary respondents that earnings from bank interest. students need to take on additional teachers. However, and local authorities may look to claw back school
BESA interviewed, the majority (77 per cent) do not any additional funding obtained as a result of the extra budgets that are in surplus of more than the five per cent
feel as though the wider economic climate is having
Decline in parental contributions
student numbers is usually insufficient to cover the maximum for secondary schools.
an impact on resource budgets. However, as I am sure One way in which the downturn of the economy is costs of the new teacher. While 69 per cent of secondary respondents stated
many of you are aware, we should not be breaking out being felt in schools is through the diminishing number On the other hand, those schools with falling rolls their budgets were in surplus, only 15 per cent intended
the proverbial champagne yet. of parental contributions. Many schools, particularly will have a reduction in the amount of funding they to spend up prior to the end of the financial year.
The bigger issues for secondary schools at present small, rural secondaries, use monetary donations by receive. However, these schools still need to pay the While it is still only a threat at present, with the
are varied, including falling pupil rolls, increasing fuel parents to fund specific projects. same amount of fixed costs such as wages, fuel, and DCSF already looking at efficiency savings and local
and lighting costs, and current funding arrangements As many families feel the crunch through insurance, which then cuts into any money set aside for authorities themselves experiencing difficult times as
playing havoc with the purchase of resources. redundancy, wage freezes or a drop in business, normal new projects or resource budgets. a result of the economic situation, it is advisable for
charitable donations are being rethought. Many of the schools to keep this in mind when allocating funding
Affected by the boom, not the gloom
heads that responded to us advised that discretionary
Looking on the bright side
over the next year.
After rising fuel and lighting costs from the last resource purchases are being placed on hold for now. The Budget did hold some hope for those in the Now more than ever it is vital that schools get best
few years, these major concerns have more to do education sector. It has confirmed that school budgets value for their money, and when making procurement
with previous economic expansion, rather than the
The rollercoaster ride of school rolls
and money allocated to key programmes will not be decisions in the future, spend more time researching
current recession. However, while a number of schools Nearly 62 per cent of secondary schools stated current cut, and the Department for Children, Schools and options to find an affordable alternative that will equate
identified the impact that lower interest rates are having funding arrangements are having an impact, mostly Families (DCSF) will continue to increase school to a quality investment. SecEd
on interest payments, the lack of bank interest earned relating to the large portion of funding which is allocations by 4.3 per cent each year, while the
on money set aside in savings accounts has reduced calculated on a per-pupil basis. department itself will be expected to review processes • Ray Barker is director of the British Educational
resource budgets for some. In fact, one school estimated On one hand, we have some schools experiencing to make additional “efficiency savings”. Suppliers Association. Visit www.besa.org.uk
14 SecEd • May 7 2009
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