What is the ‘curriculum’ element of Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning?

The idea of ICFP is that it generates metrics which act as ‘question starters’ for the school. For instance, if the school is spending above the metric average on staffing the school needs to address these questions:

• Why is our spending higher than other schools?
• Is this additional spending having a positive impact for pupils?
• Is the positive impact in line with the additional spend?
• Can the school balance it’s budget with this spend?

If the school can afford this spend and it is having a positive impact in line with the additional spend then all is good. But if the school needs to reduce costs this may highlight an area to explore.

What ICFP does not provide is answers.

This is the same with the ICFP curriculum metrics. If, for example, we find that the teacher contact ratio is below the expected range of 0.78 to 0.8 this makes us ask the following questions:

• Are teachers being deployed to tasks other than teaching?
• If they are, then is this activity having a positive impact on pupils?
• Is the positive impact in line with the additional spend?
• Can the school balance it’s budget with this spend?

The detail of staff deployment has traditionally been a matter for the school timetable, but the increasing use of ICFP in schools has increased the general awareness of how crucial an issue this is for ensuring school efficiency.

To help schools with ensuring staff are efficiently deployed we have developed CURRICULUM. school which will complement school’s use of ICFP.school. We are currently in the testing phase of CURRICULUM. school and will release the product in time for schools to work on next year’s staffing.