New findings from a recent survey of 84 trust leaders, conducted by The Key and Forum Strategy, shed light on the challenges trusts are facing as the cost-of-living crisis continues. The survey reveals the impact of the crisis on trust operations and leaders’ efforts to mitigate the challenges, while also highlighting trusts’ unwavering support for pupils, families, and staff in their schools.
A survey of 84 trust leaders, conducted by The Key and Forum Strategy has found that only 1 in 3 respondents (32%)[1] is confident that their trust will be able to weather the cost-of-living crisis while delivering an offer that aligns with their trust’s vision. A significant proportion of respondents also reported that the overall effects of the crisis have so far been worse than they had anticipated. The poll comes ahead of Forum Strategy’s second annual National #TrustLeaders Symposium, to be held in Nottingham on 15 June, where trust leaders from across the country will come together to discuss their challenges, learn from one another, and plan ahead.
The vast majority of respondents (96%)[2], reported that the cost-of-living crisis has affected their trust’s work in this academic year. When asked to rank 5 known cost-of-living challenges according to the significance of their impact on their trust, half (51%)[3] cited “staffing costs, including supply” as the highest-impact so far, with some mentioning the unknowns of pay increments and lack of investment to pay for increments as an added challenge.” “Rising energy costs” followed closely behind, with 42% saying this was the highest-impact cost-of-living challenge their trust has had to deal with.
To address these challenges, trust leaders have proactively implemented a broad range of measures to help their schools. While also grappling with the sector’s staff retention issues, nearly three-quarters (74%)[4] of respondents reported that they have shared teaching and leadership staff across their trust to tackle increasing costs. One respondent in a trust governance role commented that “shared leadership arrangements have supported schools cost-effectively and avoided the need for any redundancies”.
The majority of respondents (71%)[5] have brought certain supplier contracts into the central team to take advantage of economies of scale. And over half (56%) have made sure their integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP) process is the driving force behind staffing decisions at both school and trust level.
When asked in which areas, if any, they have needed to reduce investment to mitigate the effects of the crisis, trust leaders most commonly cited “buildings and estates” (64%), “curriculum and resources” (45%) and “specialist central staff” (38%)[6].
In addition to helping schools shoulder costs, trusts have stepped in to help schools support their staff with rising costs. The 3 most-commonly cited initiatives were “cycle to work schemes” (63%)[7], “employee assistance programmes” (which typically include advice on financial issues, as part of a suite of wider external support) (58%), and “support with childcare costs” (24%).
Some respondents commented that their trust has been offering free lunches for school staff, with one saying they had implemented food banks for their employees. In a sector already operating in lean conditions, there is not much opportunity for schools to provide over-and-above assistance to staff, but it’s clear that trusts are doing all they can to help their staff at a time of financial crisis.
The survey also found that trusts have been playing a vital role in supporting their communities through the cost-of-living crisis. As measures to support pupils’ families with rising costs, 56% of respondents said their trust has “invested in pupil wellbeing strategies” and the same proportion (56%) has “reviewed pupil premium spending strategies across the trust to maximise the impact of spend”[8]. More than half (54%) said their trust has “supported food banks” and the same proportion (54%) has “invested in or subsidised breakfast clubs” – no doubt complementing the efforts already underway in the community to reach more families struggling with food insecurity.
Despite the challenges, 45%[9] of respondents acknowledged that there had been some positive outcomes from the crisis, including the aforementioned renewed focus on their communities and progress in their sustainability agendas. 67%[10] of respondents said their trust had put measures in place to minimise electricity usage. Some have sought more sustainable alternatives, such as helping their schools to invest in renewable energy (e.g. solar panels) and supporting the use of energy-efficient products and tools (e.g. LED lights). These actions may have accelerated trusts’ moves towards becoming more sustainable organisations, with one respondent in a governance role commenting that the crisis has brought “greater recognition for environment and sustainability measures”.
Michael McGarvey, Managing Director of The Key, said: “These findings illustrate that, while trusts face significant challenges due to the cost-of-living crisis, their commitment to investing in their communities, sustainability, and staff and pupil wellbeing remains strong. Trusts continue to adapt and implement innovative solutions to ensure the provision of quality education and support to pupils, families, and staff members.”
Forum Strategy’s Executive Director, Alice Gregson, said: “What is heartening and unsurprising is how trusts have responded with ingenuity and creativity to support their staff and pupils across their schools. We are looking forward to welcoming many trust leaders from across the country to our annual National #TrustLeaders Symposium next week, where they will work with leading social policy thinker and former adviser to Gordon Brown, James Plunkett, and leading educationalist Sir Steve Lancashire, to share practice and consider how they can work together to continue to help their schools and communities overcome the key challenges they currently face.”
About the research:
The research quoted in this release was gathered via a survey, which was sent to central trust team contacts in England in The Key’s and Forum Strategy’s databases. 84 people who identified as having a role in a trust central team responded to the survey between 9 and 30 May 2023.
It’s important to note that the data collected through this survey reflects a relatively small sample and has not been weighted, so should not be taken to be representative of all trusts across the sector. The sample size also doesn’t allow for meaningful segmentation, for example by role, size of trust or location.
However, a breakdown of the sample, shows:
- 84 respondents from trust central teams started the survey, with 58 completing it in full. Each data point links to a footnote that says how many respondents answered that specific question
- Around half (49%) of respondents are in C-suite or board-level roles (20% CEO, 17% CFO, 12% COO)
- The remaining 51% have central team roles in a wide variety of core functions, such as HR, finance or governance
- The majority (79%) of respondents are from trusts with 5,000 or fewer pupils, and we received responses from every region of England
Please note that The Key are part of a paid partnership with Forum Strategy. As well as being commercial partners, also choose our partnerships based on their ethos and expertise in their respective fields.
[1] There were 74 responses to this question
[2] There were 74 responses to this question
[3] There were 74 responses to this question
[4] There were 70 responses to this question
[5] There were 70 responses to this question
[6] There were 58 responses to this question, with respondents selecting from a list of more than 10 options
[7] There were 67 responses to this question, with respondents selecting from a list of more than 5 options
[8] There were 61 responses to this question, with respondents selecting from a list of more than 5 options
[9] There were 58 responses to this question
[10] There were 66 responses to this question, with respondents selecting from a list of more than 5 options