CONTRIBUTORS
From farms to classrooms: how the education sector can use diversification to fund its future
Managing Director of Class People, NAOMI HOWELLS, discusses how diversification could be the key to maintaining high-quality education in the face of static financing, rising costs, and ever-increasing demands on staff
Community collaborations can help students and their families by giving local nurseries, social enterprises, or start-ups access to facilities that aren’t being used as often. Renting out property for eco-friendly uses, such solar panels, community gardens, or cost-cutting sustainability programs, can be seen as green money. Working with universities, trusts, and social investors might assist pay for teacher training in the same way that investors in other fields support results instead of inputs. Schools would only have to pay when trainees pass their tests and keep their certifications.
The model that has been used for education for a long time is no longer good enough. In fact, it needs a big change and now is a good time to start thinking in a more innovative and entrepreneurial way. If schools and other places wish to get through the current economic storm, they need to learn from farming.
For a long time, farmers could only make money from their crops and cows. But they didn’t give up on their goals as prices went up and the global market became less stable. Instead, they diversified, using their skills and resources to open up opportunities for growth.
Farmers learnt that creativity is the key to getting through tough times, opening cafes, farm stores, glamping sites, and informative tours. They grew their income streams without giving up their dedication to being environmentally friendly, helping others, and being responsible. Schools can and must do this too.
This ‘pay-for-success’ idea could help create a steady pipeline of local talent. Instead of always paying for emergency insurance, schools could use that money to train their own teachers and administrators, much like farmers use their money to improve soil quality instead of buying quick fixes. At Class People, we believe in ‘restorative
business’, which means that helping people and the community is at the heart of what we do, not just something we do on the side. The goal of making education more diverse shouldn’t be to make money, but to bring back a balance between short-term pressures and long-term resilience, as well as between social purpose and financial stability.
Just like the land, school systems depend on one other. When one portion isn’t working as it should be, all the other parts suffer. But when we promote creativity, collaboration, and shared ownership, we plant the seeds of rebirth.
Farms not only made it through tough times, but they also found their place in the community as they diversified their revenue streams. The same kind of benefits may be accomplished through education, which not only helps to cultivate and exponentially create more deviations of what our future could be, but also helps to create a world that is more sustainable for future generations.
People often think of schools as places where money is wasted, not as community resources that may create and reinvest value. Think of schools in your area that are not only places to learn but also engines of social entrepreneurship, making money via projects that help them reach their goals instead of getting in the way of them. You might rent out the school grounds, auditoriums, and other spaces for events like weddings, conferences, and field excursions. Create venues where people can learn; make classrooms available for adult education, digital skills, or wellness classes.
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www.education-today.co.uk November 2025
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