Allocating departmental budgets

Understand the different ways you can allocate curriculum budgets. Download our curriculum budget formula calculator and see case studies from different types of school.

Last reviewed on 7 February 2024
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Contents
  1. Method 1: use a formula
  2. Method 2: negotiation or bidding
  3. Method 3: manage the budget centrally
  4. Look at the whole-school budget
  5. Consider a curriculum-led budget
  6. Prepare for curriculum changes

Explore different ways you can allocate funding to curriculum budget holders and consider which would best suit your school.

Many schools use a combination of methods to allocate their curriculum budget.

Combining formula and bidding methods, for example, can help to make sure there's money available to address extra expenses or issues. For instance, you could use a system whereby 60% of curriculum funding is allocated through a formula, with the remaining 40% open to bids.

Method 1: use a formula

You can use a weighting to account for these differences. For example, science, technology and physical education might be given a higher weighting score than maths or English because they need