School budgets still rising above inflation

Good news for IT suppliers as British Educational Suppliers Association research reveals 6.6 per cent jump in IT budgets

Schools are set to splash the cash as budgets continue to increase, according to figures from the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA).

The organisation’s annual Resources in English Maintained Schools survey of 900 schools – split into 597 primary and 303 secondary – reveals that actual budgets and budget forecasts continue to show an increase in almost all areas of expenditure and that budgets continue to rise significantly above the level of inflation.

Importantly, IT budgets are rising by an average of 6.6 per cent, the figures revealed, as the government steps up its efforts to address the growing IT skills gap.

According to the research, primary school budgets have increased by 4.1 per cent to £1.02m and secondary budgets are up by 2.2 per cent to £4.5m. BESA forecasts predict a further increase of 2.3 per cent across all schools for 2015/16, resulting in a typical primary school seeing an additional £28,000 per annum and secondary schools expecting an extra £70,000.

In terms of the implications for resource expenditure, the sector has also seen an increase of 4.2 per cent in primary schools (£40,270 per school) and 4.4 per cent in secondary schools to an average of £171,520 per school.

Caroline Wright, director of BESA, said: "Our research shows schools have a positive outlook for school funding. However, we must be mindful that this research was carried out before the prime minister’s announcement earlier this week that a Conservative government would provide an extra £7bn for extra places for rising numbers of pupils at a 'flat cash' rate that would reduce with inflation."