Why is Value For Money important?

Over the next 3 years schools will be faced with a number of key challenges. For some this may mean joining up with other schools and organisations in new ways to deliver personalised learning and extended services, others may face falling school rolls or a changing pupil population and for many schools these changes will be ongoing through a period of lower levels of increase in funding than seen in recent years and continued emphasis on raising standards.

Value for money is not a separate initiative to add to this list of demands but something that is core to everything else that schools do; to deliver any, and indeed all of these schools need to make most effective use of the resources available.

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What do you mean by Value For Money?

Value for Money means delivering the best outcomes from the resources available, be that teaching staff, learning resources, premises up keep or other day to day running requirements. A value for money school will consider how they can get the most out of these resources through:

• Economy - securing goods, services and personnel at the best price for a given level of quality and at the lowest cost (e.g. procurement, recruitment, use of premises)
• Efficiency - allocation of resources to priorities and best use of those resources to deliver teaching and learning (e.g. use of business managers/bursars)
• Effectiveness - best mix of teaching and learning/community activities to deliver pupil outcomes (e.g. use of specialist teachers, extended services)

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Where can I get help?

There are many existing support services which aim to assist schools in improving their strategic management and making the best use of their resources. Local authorities will offer you support and may be the first port of call for schools. Unions and professional organisations may also offer assistance in addition to specific tailored services lead by the TDA on remodelling and EPC on procurement. 

The Department is offering all schools one day of free consultancy support to help them identify opportunities to make better use of existing resources and generate the right support and challenge to build a culture of continuous improvement. This will also assist schools in identifying where the might go for further help.

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