Guide
How much should a school spend on ICT per pupil?
There is no responsible figure for every school. Phase, pupil profile, estate, strategy, support model and one-off investment all affect expenditure.
01
Use comparable peers
Compare the same period and reporting regime, retain phase, and show peer count and confidence. Special/SEND settings require explicit specialist-context review.
02
Investigate the difference
Reconcile a high result with recurring and one-off costs, pupil data, specialist provision, licences, devices, support and infrastructure.
03
Describe it carefully
Say the school is above or below a comparable benchmark and identify a potential review opportunity. Do not label the entire difference waste or guaranteed savings.
Questions
Questions this page should answer
Is the cheapest peer automatically best?
No. Cost efficiency must be considered with service quality, safeguarding and resilience.
Why use per-pupil expenditure?
It provides a common scale but does not remove school-context or fixed-cost differences.
Accountability
Sources and evidence
- Financial Benchmarking and Insights ToolDepartment for Education. Public-sector precedent for comparing school and trust spending with similar organisations.
- Consistent financial reporting frameworkDepartment for Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency. Definitions and reporting context for maintained-school financial returns.
- Academies accounts returnDepartment for Education. Reporting context for academy trusts and their auditors.