Funding for SBMs

Released 08/03/2010

£5m fund to see 1000 new SBMs in primary schools

One thousand new school business managers will be appointed in primary schools over the next four years, as part of the drive to save £500m in education budgets by 2013.

The managers will work over several schools, and it is hoped they will save up to £30,000 a year for each school.
The government and the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services will provide £5 million to fund 250 school bursars next year, with 250 more in each of the following three years.

The funding was announced as Secretary of Sate Ed Balls revealed plans to make the first £300m of savings needed from education budgets. These plans included cutting funds to support the set up of after school clubs, though funding to run these clubs will still be available.

Mr Balls said: ''Schools bursars make a real difference, helping primary schools save up to £30,000 a year in some cases. They help heads save money and allow them to maintain the record numbers of teachers and teaching assistants in classrooms across the country.

''We have seen sustained increases in spending in education in the last 12 years and school funding is at the highest levels ever. In the Pre-Budget Report in December the Chancellor guaranteed real-terms increases for schools for the next three years.

''It was a tough but fair settlement and now more than ever we need to ensure we are getting real value for money from our investment. We will only achieve efficiency savings while at the same time continuing to improve school standards and raising levels of achievement by working together.

''If we prepare now we can protect our frontline priorities such as the additional 41,000 teachers and 120,000 teaching assistants that are working in schools and our one-to-one tuition and school-building programme.''

Other cuts include £135m savings from quangos including a £40m cut in funding for technology agency Becta and £55m for the TDA.

There will also be a £50m reduction in bursaries for trainee teachers, and £8m from administration costs by cutting staff and consultants.

Source: Daily Telegraph

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