A change that usuallyÌýresults in schools notÌýpaying staff for six weeks a year has been held up by the Department for Education as a way for schools to extractÌý"maximum value for money" from their funds.
The move is highlighted in aÌýÌýsetting out ways that academy trustsÌýhaveÌýsavedÌýmoney afterÌývisits byÌýcontroversial cost-cutting experts, known as School Resource Management AdvisersÌý(SRMAs).
One trust moved its entireÌýadministration team on to term-time-only contracts – an approachÌýlabelled "shocking" by the Unison union, which said staff should not be made to bear the brunt of cuts.
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The DfE documentÌýcontains findings from an evaluation ofÌýan initialÌýSRMA pilot,ÌýincludingÌýcase studies of four academy trusts thatÌýreported positive experiences of the SMRAs, who visited 72 trusts in total.
One of these case studies details howÌýChapeltown Academy,Ìýa free school sixth form in Sheffield, was encouraged toÌýrestructureÌýits administration team –Ìýand subsequentlyÌýput them on to term-time only contracts.
The DfEÌýdocumentÌýstates: "All members of the administration team are now working term-time only, which has resulted in a reduction to 0.87 of the previous salary spend."
Tes understands such a move would usually mean a schoolÌýemployee would receive six weeks' less pay a year.ÌýÌý
Jon Richards, head of education and local government at Unison, said the DfE was wrong to hold up this "shocking"Ìýapproach as an example to others.
He added:Ìý"It's very poor practice toÌýseek to pay staff less and save money off the backs of the lowest paid in the workforce.
"I believe that staff in schools want to be treated equitably. Where teachers are on a full-time contract, support staff should be, too.Ìý
"Doing it [cutting their working weeks]Ìýto save money, that's a shocking indictment – doing it at the expense of staff."
Chapeltown did not respond when approached by Tes.Ìý
The SRMAsÌýhave generated significant controversy at a time when many schools are struggling with stretched budgets.
ButÌýinÌýa statement accompanying the SRMA evaluation findings, academies minister Lord Agnew said: "As consumers, we are all regularly advised to look at our household bills, such as energy, who we bank with and our internet providers – so it’s only right that we help schools ask the same questions and get the maximum value possible for their money."
According to theÌýevaluation,Ìýadvisers wereÌýable to identify savings worth just over £35 millionÌýin the first stage of the pilot.
ButÌýless than half of the recommendations were able to be implemented by schools, the document revealed.
The pilot was laterÌýextended, and £137 millionÌýof potential savings were identified across 357 schools, but it is not yet known how many of the SMRAs' suggestions from this phase were implemented.
In relation to Chapeltown's decision to move staff to term-time-only contracts, aÌýDfE spokesperson said:Ìý“We trust schools to manage their budgets in order to invest as much money as possible in the classroom, ensuring that every pound is used to have maximum impact for the education of pupils.
“SRMAsÌýmake recommendations on all areas of school spend, including the optimal use of admin and clerical staff, and it is the responsibility of trusts to decide which recommendations to implement."
