Primary schools to get money-minding help

Each of the “school business managers” will cover four or five schools, giving advice on effective management of budgets, maximisation of resources and securing additional income.

The announcement came as Mr Balls, MP for Normanton, announced the first 300m of a total 500m in savings in the education budget to be implemented by 2013 as part of the Government’s plan to halve Britain’s record deficit.

Among the savings are 135m from quangos, 100m on setting up after-school clubs, 50m in teacher training and 5m from communications.

The Government and National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services will provide 5m to fund 250 school bursars next year, with 250 more in each of the following three years.

This will allow every local authority to offer advice from money-saving experts. At present, only a third of primaries have business managers.

Mr Balls said: “Schools bursars make a real difference, helping primary schools save up to 30,000 a year in some cases. They help heads save money and allow them to maintain the record numbers of teachers and teaching assistants in classrooms across the country.”