Potential savings of £303m identified from SRMA programme

A recent National Audit Office report has confirmed that school resource management adviser (SRMAs) had identified total potential savings of £303 million. What's more, stakeholders were broadly positive about the school resource management adviser programme.

A further 979 establishments, including 79 local authorities, have taken up the offer to work with a school resource management adviser (SRMA) in the period up to March 2021, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has revealed.

A follow up survey received 257 responses from academy trusts and local authorities schools, of which 84% rated the experience of the visit as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

The SRMA programme aims to embed financial excellence across the sector and promote the effective use of school resources for the benefit of pupils. Due to the positive impact of the programme in supporting schools to make the best spending decisions, ESFA has extended the SRMA programme for another 3 years, to August 2024.

During the deployment at Minerva Learning Trust, the SRMA identified a range of cost savings. This highlighted specific areas of development and improvement resulting in expected savings of around £5.2 million over a 3-year period.

SRMAs are practising sector experts, such as school business professionals, that work collaboratively with schools and trusts. They provide independent, expert advice and tailored support to address current or future forecast deficits where these exist. In all cases they help trusts and schools identify opportunities to make better use of their funding, enabling them to target resources where they will have the most impact on outcomes for children.

All deployments include a review of data with school or trust leaders. The SRMA then produces a report which summarises the historical, current and projected state of the budget, as well as an overview of how financial matters are managed at a high level.