In June the Audit Commission published a report about value for money in schools. One of the conclusions of the Commission was that insufficient attention was paid to economy and efficiency in schools and that as a result the Commission could not be sure that the taxpayer was receiving value for money. Following the report the Audit Commission issued separate guidance for local authorities, headteachers and school governors. The guidance for governors, Valuable lessons improving economy and efficiency in schools, was published in July 2009 and is available to download from the Audit Commission’s website via this link: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/NationalStudies/valuablelessonsgovernorsguide30jun2009.pdf
Managing School Resources is a online self-assessment tool. The action plan from the tool provides schools with a structure for value for money discussions, and sign-posts some useful value for money resources. http://www.schoolresources.audit-commission.gov.uk/
The Audit Commission has also developed a workforce tool for secondary schools. This tool supports schools in breaking down expenditure by subject and comparing expenditure with outcomes, to support assessments of the efficiency of workforce deployment.