by Jo Peters
The landscape for providing services to schools is in a state of flux, as the relationship between local authorities and schools is changing. Nationally, conversion to academies is causing increasing fragmentation of the market. In many areas this is happening in conjunction with increasing commercialisation and development of competitive offers targeted at schools.
Here at C.Co, we are finding that this is a good time to revisit the local schools traded services strategy. In our recent work we have seen there are hidden subsidies as typically the cost of delivery is not fully understood. These can easily reach up to £100k per service. As authorities are under significant financial pressure, a change of approach can release funds or capacity to focus on corporate priorities as well as better supporting local schools.
Questions you should ask about local schools traded services strategy
Some challenging questions you should ask yourself now are whether you fully understand the commercial position of your services to schools? Do budgeted or unplanned subsidies need re-evaluating? Are the services indeed providing value to schools? Have you tested alternative delivery models?
We are experts in supporting local authorities and offer a package of services for public sector reform, improvement and efficiency. If you would like to find out more about how we can help you review your traded services strategy, please get in touch.
