How to create a cost-effective staffing structure

Make sure your staffing structure is providing value for money. Take a look at our tips and strategies for finding what cost-saving structure will work best for your school.

Last reviewed on 17 January 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
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Contents
  1. Audit your staffing needs 
  2. Review TLR payments 
  3. Consider a flexible SLT
  4. Limit middle leadership roles 

Audit your staffing needs 

Your staffing structure needs to match up with the needs of your school. To do this, start with a blank sheet of paper and ask yourself: 'What are the essential things the school needs to run effectively?’

This approach will help you think purely about the roles needed, rather than trying to fit staff members into a structure which might include non-essential roles. 

Future-proof decisions with 5-year projections 

Look at your projected pupil numbers for the next 5 years, to future-proof your staffing decisions.

It won't be cost-effective to make redundancies now if you're expecting a rapid increase in numbers on roll over the next few years. 

Don't view teaching staff in isolation

Your deployment of support staff and teaching assistants can hugely influence the teaching staff structure. So, read this article in conjunction with our article on organising a cost-effective support staff structure.

Consider what jobs should merit a teaching and