How can you save your school more money?

It’s important to try and save money for your school, especially in these tough times – here are seven tips to cut the spending and make those pennies stretch a little further

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Hope Education

There are many ways that teachers can save money for their school that can often be overlooked or not thought of. It’s important for teachers to be able to make savings in any way they can to help the school.

However, this isn’t the easiest task, so here are seven ways to save your school money which will help you to buy more, save more!

Bulk buying

The best way to buy more and save more for your school is by buying in bulk. If you need to purchase anything for your classroom it is more cost effective to bulk buy products so that you have plenty in stock.

Doing this means that you don’t have to keep stocking up on items which amounts to more money being spent. Even with the little items that aren’t needed as often, it’s better to buy in bulk so that you have them in stock ready for when you need to replenish the items.

Go to car boot sales

You can get some great classroom items without spending a ton of money by frequenting car boot sales and discount stores. A great thing to get is books. Parents sell or donate books after their children read them one time, so the books are often in great shape. Plus, you can bargain to buy books in bulk for a cheap price.

You may also find other key classroom items at car boot sales and discount stores such as stationery, notebooks and craft supplies. Make sure to select the ones that are in good condition so that these supplies last longer to save even more.

Be more digital

There is no doubt that teachers come across using paper during their working week but cutting down on paper usage is a great way to save your school money. Be aware of when you use paper and think to yourself do I need to use it, or is there a digital way?

A huge cost to your school is through printing and funding paper for printers. There are plenty of resources for your lessons that you can do online with your class. You can also ask your class to write any answers down to resources in their notebooks whilst you share them on your class screen.

As for any information for parents or staff, it is very easy to send an email instead or set up a contact number through free messaging apps like WhatsApp. You can even use your school’s portal to update as parents can access this for any information they may need.

Be more sustainable

The key to saving your school money in the long run, is to be more sustainable in everything you do. Simple routines to get into the habit of within your classroom makes a huge saving.

These routines can be switching off appliances after using them and turning off lights if they aren’t sensor ones. You can also allow natural daylight in to reduce how long you need to use the lights in your classroom and to help warm your classroom up so the heating doesn’t kick in as often.

Another way you can be more sustainable is by using recycling as material for your lessons. Upcycle any recycling you have from your classroom and use them in some way. Arts and crafts are the best subjects to use recycled materials with as you can use various items such as plastic, cardboard and tinfoil.

Ask for donations

A great way to get essential supplies for your classroom is to ask for donations from your pupil’s parents, guardians and family members.

Most of the time parents will be happy to help with providing supplies for their children to use in the classroom. Make sure to let them know it can be supplied that they haven’t used or used supplies that are in perfect condition.

Books are a great supply to have second hand from the parents as everyone has different books that can expand your pupil’s reading skills. Ensuring they are in good condition makes sure that they will last longer too.

A handy way to ask parents for help is during parent’s evening. You can write a list of supplies needed on your board and ask parents if they could donate something from that list. If you’re running low before a parent’s evening is due, you can put an update on the school system that parents can see too.

If you need to buy, buy ahead

Sometimes it is best to buy items ahead of time. This works for specific lessons you know you are going to do with your class. This is particularly useful for key dates such as valentines and Easter.

At the end of the school season, there are many sales that you can get great discounts on school supplies. These include amazing craft supplies and other materials you may need for big key dates to cover in lessons.

Shopping in these sales is the perfect way to reduce the cost of supplies for your school. However, the downside to this is that you can have supplies and materials a year ahead of time. So, these need to be stored for a long period of time which can be difficult if your storage space is limited.

Make use of free resources

For teachers, a difficult part of the job is to think of fresh new ideas for lessons to help prepare your weeks out. This leads many teachers to turn to resources with lesson plans, but these can come at a cost.

There are a lot of resources out there that are available for free, though. Make use of these accessible free resources and do your research to find them. Use these within your lessons and stray away from resources you need to purchase.

Making use of free lesson resources cuts down your spending and in the long run will save your school money.