The theory of marginal gains championed by Dave Brailsford, former performance director of British Cycling, is built on the idea of if you broke down every detail of performance and improved them by 1 per cent, the aggregation of these improvements would be something significant.

As budgets are being squeezed tighter than ever, school business professionals are now having develop their own method of marginal gains.

Budgets are now having to be broken down and savings found to ensure money is being put where it has most impact.

A major cost for all schools is energy bills and, if they are not watched carefully, a cost which can easily escalate.

The Carbon Trust, who have worked with 1,500 schools to introduce energy savings, says schools across the UK could reduce their energy costs by around £44m annually.

The sustainability consultants’ senior manager for cities and regions Helen Andrews Tipper, says there is easy savings available for many schools with better use of their current systems.

 “In most cases, plenty of savings can be delivered simply through better management of energy and engagement with facilities staff, with minimal capital outlay,” Andrews Tipper says.

“Although larger invest-to-save opportunities can offer attractive payback periods and are well worth considering.”

Easy fixes

While larger-scale changes are where the big savings can be made, the easy fixes can make sure your school is energy efficient this winter.

Hilary Goldsmith, director of finance and operations at Varndean School in Brighton, recommends student heating monitors and turning heat off before the end of the school day as ways to curb costs.

“Have student class heating monitors to make sure windows are shut at the end of the last lesson each day - don’t wait till the caretakers lock up several hours later while you’ve been heating up the local atmosphere,” Goldsmith says.

“Turn your heating off an hour earlier than usual - it will take a couple of hours for the core temperature to drop so no one will notice.”

Goldsmith adds: “Look at positioning desks away from radiators to allow the full heat to get out.”

Andrews Tipper says heating and lighting controls can be a way to find large savings. “Small investments into heating and lighting controls can achieve big reductions in bills, as can improved maintenance to keep equipment running more efficiently.”

“Then schools should make sure that power-consuming equipment, like computers and photocopiers, are switched off overnight.” 

Long-term changes

To look for bigger savings the longer term changes offer the greatest potential to lower costs.

Not just renewing your current deal every year but using a broker to find the cheapest deal, installing suspended ceilings and using free cavity insulation where available, are some of Goldsmith’s tips on lowering your energy bills.

She adds: “Look at decentralising your heating system into smaller zones - more ability to control heat locally at different parts of the school (so food tech areas won’t need the same core temp as, say, English, as food tech will also have oven heat). Smaller local modern boilers more efficient than old-style massive school boilers.”

Other changes could include “installing auto-doors to external exits, rather than standard doors that will get wedged open much of the day allowing heat to escape,” Goldsmith says.

LED lighting would possibly offer a way to lower the school’s energy usage, according to Andrews Tipper.

“At the lower cost end, schools should make sure they have installed LED lighting where suitable,” Andrews Tipper says.

“This technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years, offering better light quality, longer lifespans and much higher energy efficiency than other lighting options.

“Most school buildings could also do with improvements to the building fabric, primarily by installing more insulation into walls and roofs or better windows. Even though it will tend to be one of the more expensive improvements, new boilers can offer schools substantial savings on heating costs, as it is not uncommon for these to be rather old and far more inefficient than modern models.”

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow Tes on Twitter and Instagram, and like Tes on Facebook