For schools and Multi-Academy Trusts, financial scrutiny has never been higher. Leaders are expected to demonstrate value, control costs, and ensure every pound spent supports outcomes for pupils.
Yet when budgets tighten, the instinct is often to look for areas to cut.
But what if the real issue isn’t cost – it’s visibility?
The challenge: managing what you can’t truly see
Across catering, cleaning and other soft FM services, many Multi-Academy Trusts believe they have strong cost control in place. Contracts are monitored, renewals are negotiated, and procurement processes are followed.
Yet uncertainty often remains:
- Are we paying the right market rate?
- Are our contracts structured efficiently?
- Are services delivering the performance we expect?
Without reliable external comparison, these questions are difficult to answer with confidence.
The risk of relying on history instead of evidence
Many service contracts evolve over time rather than being actively optimised. Rates are inherited, specifications drift, and supplier relationships become familiar. This isn’t a failure of management – it’s a natural outcome of busy operational environments where leadership attention must remain focused on education delivery.
But over time, this lack of external reference points can create hidden inefficiencies:
- Legacy pricing structures that no longer reflect the market
- Service models that have not adapted to changing needs
- Performance measures that are difficult to benchmark objectively
The result isn’t always overspending. Often, it’s uncertainty. And uncertainty makes confident decision-making harder.
From cost control to performance insight
This is where benchmarking shifts the conversation. Rather than asking ‘where can we cut?’, benchmarking asks: How well are our services performing? How does our spend compare to similar organisations? Are we structured for efficiency, value and resilience?
By providing objective market data and sector insight, benchmarking moves the discussion away from assumptions and toward evidence, enabling schools and Trusts to understand whether costs are genuinely high, or simply unsupported by context.
Why benchmarking matters now more than ever
In today’s climate, financial strategy in education is no longer just about reducing spend. It’s about ensuring resources are used in the most effective way possible.
Benchmarking supports this by helping schools and Trusts to identify areas where spend is already competitive, highlight opportunities for efficiency without reducing service quality, strengthen supplier negotiations with evidence and support more informed procurement decisions.
Most importantly, it helps leaders move from reactive cost management to proactive financial strategy.
Turning insight into impact
Here at Litmus, benchmarking is not simply about identifying savings. It’s about helping schools and Trusts understand their position in the market so they can make informed, confident decisions. Instead of questioning whether costs are justified, they can focus on whether services are delivering the value and performance their organisations need.
If you’d like support in knowing how your school or Trust’s services perform against others, get in touch with us here
The Litmus team
