The school resource management adviser (SRMA) programme
Following a successful pilot phase in 2017/18, a further 979 establishments, including 79 local authorities, took up the offer to work with a SRMA in the period up to March 2021.
The recent National Audit Office report into the financial sustainability of schools in England reviewed the overall cost-effectiveness of the programme. This confirmed that SRMAs had identified total potential savings of £303 million and that stakeholders were broadly positive about the school resource management adviser programme.
Our 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 head of schools finance at Hackney Council said:
"I would highly recommend the process as both a remedial and preventive measure to help secure the financial health of schools, particularly in authorities carrying surplus pupil places. The SRMA was professional, approachable, flexible and extremely knowledgeable. We would happily have all schools reviewed using this methodology."
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.
