Budgets: Continuing pressures mean careful forecasting is required - SBS in Schools Week
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Budgets: Continuing pressures mean careful forecasting is required - SBS in Schools Week
Posted 27th February 2023
Pressures on budgets are unlikely to relent and school and trust leaders will need to keep their eyes on the horizon to weather the storm, writes Leyla Tovey
To say that the past 12 months have been a turbulent time for education finance is something of an understatement. The new reality for schools is energy cost hikes of around 400 per cent in many cases and a cluster of other inflationary pressures hitting budgets which continue to cause serious concerns for financial sustainability.
Understanding exactly what school leaders feel about those pressures led us in late 2022 to carry out a survey with Supporting Education Group to gauge the views of schools and academies. We received 428 responses from headteachers, chief operating and finance officers and school business leaders in schools and academies. The majority are concerned about financial sustainability, with the vast majority digging into their reserves to cover costs.
Just 2 per cent of academies and 1 per cent of local authority schools told us that they will get to breakeven, and even those using reserves to help balance the books will be heading into serious problems during the 2022/23 budget year. This will be despite the £2.3 billion cash injection announced in the chancellor’s autumn statement, forcing schools to make agonising decisions that impact on their staff and pupils.
Read more in Schools Week.
