As one of the biggest schools in the country with 2500 students and 500 members of staff, Stantonbury Campus in Milton Keynes has one of the largest budgets for a school operating within the state system.

Nick Higgins is the school’s business manager and is responsible for its finances and ensuring that they meet with the Financial Management Standard in Schools – a benchmark introduced by the government two years ago to ensure best practice across the sector.

“We are spending public money which has been allocated to us to spend on educating young people,” says Higgins. He continues: “We need to see the maximum amount possible invested directly into education rather than on overheads and we have very strict procurement rules which aim to ensure this happens. As part of this approach Stantonbury Campus teamed up with Expense Reduction Analysts, the UK’s largest cost and purchase management consultancy, to undertaken a review its operating costs.

Added Higgins: “We wanted to identify where we could make savings without compromising on quality. The review led us to replacing 14 photocopiers with newer models and securing an improved level of service. We achieved both and have made a saving of £15,855 in the first year. This money is then available to invest elsewhere and helps us to raise the standard of education provided by the school.”

Andrew Lees, consultant at Expense Reduction Analysts, said: “Cost savings are often hidden within organisations but by forensically analysing each cost area they can be identified and the savings can be invested in helping to further the organisation’s goals, rather than paying for overheads.”