Why is ICFP important for setting the budget?

The starting point for budgeting really should be asking the following question: how can I use my finite financial resources so that it has the greatest possible impact on pupil outcomes?

Unfortunately, it is very rare that we can start from this question as the majority of schools’ budgets are committed before the executive in the school get a chance to consider whether or not this is the best use of the finances. The challenge often becomes how to fit the finances available to the commitments already made to staff costs and, to a lesser extent, the contracts the school has already entered into. By the time these are assigned to the budget there is nothing left for the school’s executive to make strategic decisions about.

In a school which is financially healthy you often see the following division in the school budget:

Staffing commitments: 75%
Non-staffing commitments: 20%
Available for strategic developments: 5%

The 5% of the budget available for the school’s executive to use strategically might seem small as a starting point, but can be very easily squeezed to 0% (or, even, become a negative in a deficit budget.)

So how can integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP) help?

Firstly, it is worth clarifying that ICFP is not a process for levelling all schools out by offering an ‘ideal’ structure. It is an analytical tool to allow you to explore how effectively you are using your budget: is the investment of financial resources in a particular area leading to the impact that you desire for your pupils? As an example, you may explore whether you are spending more on curriculum support staff than other schools and, if you are, how much more you are spending. It is then possible to consider whether that additional impact is leading to an appropriate impact for pupils or whether spending that money on another initiative might have a greater impact.

Secondly, once the school’s executive has looked at the impact of your spending decisions it is possible to explore where the financial resources can be most effectively used. This may not have a massive impact on year one of your budget, but you can put in place a plan that takes the school forward over the next three to five years leading to the school focussing its financial resources on those areas where the school is confident the greatest educational impact can be achieved.