Impact of Rising Energy Costs on Education

The sharp rise in energy costs is putting a huge strain on school budgets and has the potential to directly impact the education of children and young people.

Barker conducted some research for The Trust Network on the financial impact of rising energy costs.

• The sample group of 120 of the UKs largest Trusts (representing 2,037 schools) collectively consume around 1.3billion kWh of energy annually (900 million gas and 400million electricity)
• For this group, a 1pence increase in the cost of electricity would add £4.1million to energy bills which equates to 124 newly qualified teachers.
• For this group, a 1pence increase in the cost of gas would add £9million to energy bills which equates to 274 newly qualified teachers.
• For a typical secondary school using 600,000 kWh of electricity and 800,000 kWh of gas, every 1pence increase on each utility would cost £14,000 per year, almost half an NQT.

The energy crisis in schools has been widely reported in the media and sector;

Schools seeing their energy bills rise by more than 100 per cent warn they will have to cut back on teacher recruitment – TES Magazine

Leora Cruddas, CEO of the Confederation of School Trusts, said that the plan demonstrated how the “scale and collaborative structure” of trusts can solve problems like this when they arise – but acknowledged that the sheer scale of the energy price rises means that no school or group is immune to the threat.

“Rising energy costs will affect all of us – and will have a significant impact on public sector budgets, including schools and trusts,” she added.

Hayley Dunn, Business Leadership Specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders added;

“Business leaders will inevitably be concerned by the continuing uncertainty regarding energy pricing and the alarming forecasts from industry experts warning of inflated prices for a lengthy period to come. The government needs to recognise the potential impact on budgets for schools and colleges caused by the uncertain state of the energy marketplace and provide them with practical help to reduce their energy consumption and bills,”