£35 million success for ESFA Schools Resource Management Adviser pilot

ESFA is extending its School Resource Management Advisers pilot, which found £35 million of savings and revenue generation opportunities, to August 2020.

We are rolling out the deployment of independent School Resource Management Advisers (SRMAs), after the pilot successfully found over £35 million of savings and revenue generation opportunities in schools and academy trusts.

We have contracted, following a fair and open procurement competition, 9 supplier organisations who will recruit and manage a cohort of at least 160 accredited SRMAs until August 2020.

Over the course of the 2017/18 academic year, we piloted the use of independent SRMAs to work with schools and trusts to help them make best use of their available resources to provide the best possible education for their pupils.

SRMAs are sector experts, who have demonstrable experience of helping schools and trusts make the best use of their capital and revenue resources.

All SRMAs go through an induction and accreditation process, run by the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL). This ensures they have the expertise and confidence to help schools and trusts make best use of their resources including in the tools and techniques of integrated curriculum and financial planning.

The ESFA is continuing to work with the trusts involved in this pilot to ensure they are able to realise as much of the identified saving and revenue opportunities as possible.

Lord Agnew, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System, said:

“Excellent school resource management is vital in ensuring pupils receive the very best education possible.

“It is clear from the success of the pilot that SRMAs will be valued partners for schools and trusts as they work to ensure they make the most of the resources available to them and are maximising investment in the classroom. I am therefore delighted to announce that this expansion in capacity will help and support significantly more schools and trusts.’’

Eileen Milner, ESFA Chief Executive, said:

“The SRMA programme (LINK) is part of the Department for Education’s wider work to help schools achieve excellent school resource management.

“The programme has already been pivotal in helping schools reduce cost pressures – reviewing approaches to staff deployment as well as identifying opportunities for savings on agency supply staff and procurement of goods and services.

“The extensive support SRMAs have and will continue to provide will help schools to ensure they are directing their resources in the areas that will make the biggest difference to their pupils’ education.”

The 9 supplier organisations who will recruit and manage the cohort of SRMAs are:

• Avec Partnership Ltd
• Babcock Learning and Development Partnership LLP
• Cotswold Beacon Academy Trust
• Education Performance Improvement Ltd
• Herts for Learning
• Institute of School Business Leadership
• MLG Education Services Ltd• North Yorkshire County Council
• Schools’ Choice

You can read more about information, tools, training and guidance schools and academy trusts with financial planning and resource management.