Effective School Management

The cost of time
Calculating the cost of time is a salutary exercise for most organizations. A
person does not simply cost the organization his or her salary but also
(1) employer’s contribution to National Insurance;
(2) employer’s contribution to superannuation;
(3) a proportion of common-room costs (furnishings, heating, lighting, etc.);
(4) stationery, textbooks, etc., for personal use;
(5) meals (if supplied), etc.; and
(6) INSET including supply cover.
These costs, if aggregated, mean that the real annual cost of a teacher is
something between 1.5 and 2 times his or her salary. Allowing for holidays
and weekends, teachers work for 195 days a year in the maintained sector
and between a six- and eight-hour day depending on the time we allow for
out-of-school activities.
If we assume a salary of £20,000 a year, therefore, some simple arithmetic
tells us that the cost of an hour’s time is something between £20 and £25. A
two-hour staff meeting of twenty people, therefore, costs between £800 and
£1,000. This may, of course, be money well spent, and it may be argued that
some staff would not be doing anything else if they were not at the meeting.
However, we should constantly be aware that we are using a valuable

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MANAGING RESOURCES
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resource and ask whether we are getting the benefit which should flow from
the investment.