SCHOOLS are hiring out halls for weddings, sharing staff and setting up nurseries in attempts to raise cash, it has been suggested.
A new survey also indicates that some schools are expecting to restrict equipment, such as stationery, and cut trips in the future, in an attempt to save money.
The findings, based on a poll by The Key of more 1,000 school leaders, show that around a fifth believe they will need to make savings of between 2 and 5 per cent of their expected costs in order to balance the budget in 2017/18.
A further 18.7 per cent said their school would need to make savings of more than 8 and 17.6 per cent said savings would need to be between up to 8 per cent.
The poll found that more than two fifths said that they were letting buildings and facilities to generate income, while around one in four said that they were sharing contracts for services with other schools and a similar proportion were offering staff services to other schools and groups.
Other schools in England were also taking measures such as building partnerships with businesses and sharing curriculum resources with other schools, while 9.5 per cent said they were setting up an on-site nursery and 4.4 per cent were seeking donations from former pupils.
One primary school headteacher in Kent told the survey: "Schools have to look at themselves as businesses, the leaders as entrepreneurs who think creatively about what opportunities they can capitalise on.
"As well as setting up day-care provision and paid-for breakfast and after-school clubs, we also rent out our school hall most nights of the week for anything from church groups to weddings, birthday parties or language schools.
"All in all, our initiatives bring in between £200,000 and £300,000 a year and this gives us choices - choices that aren't made for us by government."
