Maximise your funding
Start by making the most of the funding available to you. Have a good marketing plan in place, to attract more pupils and fill your published attendance number (PAN). Having higher pupil numbers means your school will receive more funding.
Make sure that as many eligible pupils as possible apply for free school meals (FSM). This will boost the amount of pupil premium funding your school receives. Think about what you offer for eligible pupils, such as discounted trip costs, to incentivise registration.
Use our template letter to encourage parents/carers to register their children for FSM.
Use benchmarking to identify priorities
See how your school's spending compares to similar schools by using the DfE's financial benchmarking and insights tool.
You can use this to find out if your school is spending more or less than other schools, on things like staffing and utilities. This will help you identify how you can use funding more effectively.
Read more in our financial benchmarking: how-to guide.
Get value for money when buying goods and services
Follow our step-by-step procurement guide to make sure you're buying in the right way. For example, using a DfE-approved framework agreement might save you time and money.
Use our template contracts register to keep track of upcoming contract end dates and for guidance on avoiding issues like costly auto-renewals. This will give you the chance to work out if it's better value for money to switch to another supplier instead of renewing with your existing provider.
You can also get free expert procurement advice as part of the DfE's get help buying for schools service.
Keep an eye out for our new introduction to procurement eLearning course – coming soon.
Be resourceful with staffing
Staffing is where you’ll find you spend most of your budget. To generate and save funds through staffing, you can:
- Work with other schools to share services, such as site, finance and HR teams
- Outsource staff with specialist skills to schools that need the support but can't afford, or don’t need, full-time staff
- Employ expert contractors to support with specific tasks, such as a procurement consultant and/or a timetabling consultant who will maximise the efficiency of staff and room timetables
- Discuss supply contracts with staff who are retiring and open to occasional work to avoid agency fees – where you need supply staff, consider the DfE’s framework which caps fees
- Recruit volunteers
Find out how you can organise a cost-effective staffing structure.
Use Integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP)
ICFP is a budget management process that helps you plan the best curriculum for your pupils with the funding you have available.
You can get started by following our checklist and guidance.
Use your school site to make extra money
Consider letting out your school premises to generate additional income after the school day, in school holidays, and at weekends. You could provide space for:
- Local sports clubs and exercise classes
- Events, e.g. business conferences, live entertainment
- Religious and other community groups
- Other local support groups (e.g. health and wellbeing)
- Evening and weekend adult education classes
- Children’s groups, such as Brownies and Scouts
To maximise efficiency:
- Create a marketing document of the facilities available for hire and send it to local organisations
- Make sure school staff dealing with lettings respond quickly to enquiries
- Review your lettings terms and conditions and monitor payments closely to promptly follow up on any outstanding invoices
- Include staffing costs, e.g. for locking up and cleaning, in your hire charges
Read more guidance on letting school premises and download our template lettings policy.
Parking
You could use your school’s car park to provide:
- Additional parking facilities for nearby events, such as concerts and fayres
- Space for car boot sales, where the organiser would pay your school a percentage from each car's entry fee
School example: discounted rates for the community
Paddington Academy, Westminster, is a secondary school with over 1000 pupils. The academy remains open in the evenings to host local sports activities. It also provides facilities and grounds for various groups and occasions at competitive rates in the evenings, on Saturdays and during the school holidays.
The academy also develops a feeling of community spirit by offering competitive rates for local community groups.
Provide school clubs open to the community
Expand your before and after-school club offering, as well as holiday club provision, to meet growing community demand for childcare and raise additional revenue for your school.
Clubs can cover a range of activities, such as sports, arts, music, and tutoring. You can also offer themed holiday clubs, e.g. performing arts, science, nature, over the summer.
Read more in our guidance on setting up clubs and rules around charging.
Develop relationships with local businesses
Approach local businesses about sponsoring activities or facilities, such as:
- Sports events and clothing
- Prize-giving events
- Open days
- Community events
Look into developing relationships with companies under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes. This could give you access to free services such as mentoring, or assistance with small capital building works.
You could also work with retailers and restaurants to earn cashback on purchases of certain products or services. These businesses may participate in this in exchange for promotion to the school community. For example, local restaurants may give your school a percentage of the profits from certain meal purchases.
Look for match funding opportunities
Some companies have a scheme where they match the amount of money raised through fundraising by their employees. For example, Experian will match raised funds up to £250 per person per year
Encourage parents/carers to check whether their employer offers this. While some schemes only support registered charities, many employers have broader criteria. If your school has a parent-teacher association (PTA) registered as a charity, it can benefit from these schemes.
Encourage parents/carers to contribute if they can
Raise funds and make savings by working with parents/carers in your school.
Parents/carers might be able to contribute to fundraising through school fairs or other fundraising events.
Another way to generate revenue is to sell items directly to parents/carers and pupils, if it's appropriate in your school community at the moment. This might be:
- Annual school photos
- Personalised jumpers with pupil names on the back
- School merchandise such as stationery, water bottles and hats
Parents/carers can also help in practical ways
If you know your school community is particularly struggling with cost-of-living challenges, an alternative might be to ask parents/carers to donate their time.
For example, you could ask parents/carers to volunteer their help with projects like tidying the school garden, reducing the need to employ contractors or additional members of staff.
Support the creation of a PTA
PTAs offer many benefits for schools, in particular through fundraising activities. If your PTA registers as a charity it can also access additional grants and support such as Gift Aid.
Read more about how to set up a PTA.
Apply for grants
Take a look at the funding opportunities available from grant-awarding bodies.
Some are unrestricted, while others are aimed at funding a specific project or purchase, such as new equipment.
You can also look into local businesses and charities that may offer grants to support schools and/or pupils.
Review your banking arrangements
Make sure your school or trust is maximising returns on its money by accessing the best possible interest rates on reserves and balances, as well as getting an effective service. Small improvements in interest rates can add up to meaningful amounts over time.
The DfE has further guidance, including a banking comparison tool, for savings options for schools.