Income generation


ways, which we will come onto later. Don’t forget to look at what is currently provided locally. It may not be cost effective to compete, but you won’t know this unless you do some research.


Get over hurdles You will come across many barriers on your way to income generation.


These will include: Time Money Staff reluctance Governors Leadership team Ability The ‘fear factor’.


The list could go on, but let us


try and break down some of these barriers. We cannot gain any more time, but what we can do is use our time more shrewdly. By this I mean that if we are working more collaboratively, we can share the workload, or consider that


replicating work does not necessarily mean working twice as long. When considering funding, are there funding streams that you can tap into to help? This will be easier if there is a community element. Can you initially utilise the skills of volunteers, saving both time and money? The majority of the barriers can be broken down by the inclusion of a well-thought-out and succinct business plan. This is what will denitely get the approval of the governors and leadership team, although there will be less resistance from these groups in the current climate. Job security will aid getting staff buy-in. Ability and ‘fear factor’ sometimes go hand in hand and all I will say is that you won’t know what you can do until you try – and the feeling you get from achieving something challenging is immense.


Exploit your assets Once you’ve done your analysis and you are starting to break down the barriers, it’s time to look at ways that you can successfully generate income by using the resources and facilities you have more cleverly. Firstly, there are the fantastic


facilities that we are all blessed with. I have been into many schools where I have been confronted with the statement ‘our school is too small and we have nothing to offer that anyone would want’, yet I have not found a school where this comment is true. For example, if a school has a grassed area big enough to play football on then there will be a team that will want to utilise it. A bit of money spent getting the ground staff to put some lines down will sufce, as junior teams will even bring their own goals!


‘With the reduction of resources at Local Authority level there’s an opportunity not to be missed! I’ve introduced service level agreements for our local schools to provide IT support, careers guidance, caretaking provision, marketing support, etc.’


16 AUTUMN 2017 FundEd


Then there is your


indoor space. We all have some space that will be big enough to hold meetings (even if it is on small chairs!). Find out what other venues charge for this and see if you can be competitive. There are a multitude of


Letting Better Read the summer


2017 issue of FundEd Magazine for advice on facilities hire. Go to funded.org.uk/ magazine.


clubs and associations that struggle to nd venues: auction houses, Scouting groups, martial arts clubs, tness instructors, church groups, the list goes on and on. However, probably the most untapped resource is the specialist areas that schools have. Why not contact your local college about them using your facilities as an ‘outreach’ or as an extension of the college for night school, or summer school sessions? This is a no-brainer as all you have to do is provide the facility, while the college nds the tutors and recruits the students, oh, and pays you for the privilege! I appreciate that to some extent


this may only be lucrative for larger schools, however, all schools can offer their facilities for some functions outside of the school day. We must remember that the school is used for its main purpose on 195 days of the year and probably for a maximum of nine hours a day, so what about the other 170 days and additional hours each day? If you are privileged enough to


have school kitchens then you may want to venture into taking the


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