Member Article

Nine in ten schools concerned about financial future

The vast majority of schools and academies are worried about their future finances in the face of decreasing funding, new research reveals.

Nine in ten school leaders reported being ‘concerned’ about the financial future of their organisations in a study of 265 school leaders* by HCSS Education, a leading education finance specialist. On the flip side, just 3% reported feeling ‘positive’.

Eight in ten schools and academies stated funding pressures as the main reason they are struggling to balance the books, while half said their funding had ‘decreased significantly’.

The report also revealed that almost half of schools and academies (48%) are being forced to dip into reserves to stay afloat.

The survey was conducted as part of HCSS Education’s Balancing the Books report, which highlights the budgeting issues faced by schools and the effect of a funding drop. It explores whether school leaders are effectively forecasting, the risk of going into the red and how they can protect against financial crisis.

It comes just days after the new Education Secretary, Justine Greening, announced a year-long delay to the implementation of the new national funding formula, prompting schools to warn of potential redundancies due to further uncertainty.

The report also reveals that over three quarters of schools and academies (78%) said balancing the budget is becoming ‘significantly more difficult’ and many stated that they are expected to deliver more with less which has a worrying knock on effect on staff morale.

Howard Jackson, head of education and founder of HCSS Education, said: “Unfortunately the results of our research weren’t entirely surprising with schools facing increasing uncertainty about their future funding.

“The number one priority for school leaders is to protect their pupils and teachers, which in many cases means they are forced to make difficult decisions and plan for further cuts.

“At this time of insecurity, long term financial planning is key to ensuring future cuts are factored in so that schools aren’t left in financial crisis. Now is the time to invest in an financial management solution tailored to the education sector.”

HCSS Education has released the report to mark the launch of its innovative new accounting software which is currently being piloted in more than 40 educational establishments in the UK.

HCSS Accounting will officially launch in September and it will be the first completely online accounting package designed solely for the education sector. The cloud-based software allows users to access it from anywhere, at anytime, and it’s been developed to be extremely easy to use, so no prior accounting training is needed.

For more information, please visit http://www.hcsseducation.co.uk/software/hcss-accounting

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