How 3 schools achieved efficiency in their staffing budgets

Last reviewed on 13 January 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 30695

The largest proportion of any school’s budget is spent on staffing. Learn how 3 schools achieved optimum value for money by re-evaluating their hiring processes, contracts and staffing structures.

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Contents

  1. Increasing efficiency: case studies
  2. Begin by reviewing your recruitment processes
  3. Succession planning and evaluation of roles
  4. Consider the type of contracts you’re using
  5. Restructuring administrative support
  6. Use trainee teachers, early career teachers (ECTs) and graduate interns
  7. Address staff absence as part of your review

Increasing efficiency: case studies

In the sections below, you'll see how 3 schools – St Bart’s Multi-Academy Trust, Moor End Secondary Academy and Preston Manor School – changed the way they organised their staffing budget to improve efficiency and save money – with 1 school achieving sustainable savings of £500,000 a year, on a budget of around £14m.

For more guidance on how the DfE defines efficiency, including the data used to calculate efficiency in schools, see the financial efficiency metric tool here.

Begin by reviewing your recruitment processes

Questioning your school’s norms is an important part of increasing budget efficiency. Moor End Academy saves time and money during the recruitment process by:

The school has found online recruitment services and web-based advertising of vacancies to be less time-consuming and more cost-effective than paying for printed

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