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Government set up educational equivalent of Go Compare - Simples

Interested in what your school spends on salaries, supply teachers, catering, energy and back office costs - Michael Gove says you should Go Compare.

From Wednesday, parents will be able to find out for the first time how much their local school spends on staff salaries, supply teachers, catering, energy and back office costs.

They will be able to measure state primaries and secondaries against other schools in the area that get better exam results with less money. The tables will show how some comprehensives are spending up to £1million more than similar schools every year without a corresponding rise in GCSE scores. 

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said the data – contained in a Government website – would be the “educational equivalent of Go Compare”, which enables families to compare prices on insurance, travel, utilities and mortgages.

He said it would lead to “tough questions” being fired at the most wasteful schools.

Last year, primary and secondary schools spent around £2.6bn on administration alone, it was revealed.

Some schools have been paying up to £200,000 over five years for photocopying, the Government said. On average, heads across England are paying four times the average market price for colour print-outs.

Mr Gove said: “This actually effects what happens in your sons’ or daughters’ schools.

“If you can click on a website – if you can click on the educational equivalent of Go Compare – and you can discover that the school down the road is doing twice as well with half the cash then you will ask some tough questions.

“Even if you don’t, there will be some people in that school – within the governing body or amongst the parents – who will be asking tough questions on your behalf.”

Read more about this story at The Telegraph  

Or go compare your school at the official website