Resource management in schools: how to maximise resources without increasing admin workload
Resource management in schools means planning and allocating resources – such as rooms, IT or sports equipment – as effectively as possible. It can be a challenging task, but effective management of school resources is essential to ensure all students get the most out of their education.
Challenges in school resource management
International schools are busy environments and streamlining your resource management might not always be a priority. Common challenges schools face include:
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Lack of resources
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Manual and inefficient processes
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Diverse student needs
Having more time to spend on resource management in school can help you address these challenges, and this is even more important where resources are limited. But time is something all school leaders, teachers and support staff often don’t have enough of – so it's key to find ways of saving time while getting the most out of your school's resources.
Managing school resources effectively
Where resources are limited, managing them effectively is essential – this means managing your school’s resources in a way that maximises what you get out of them.
Digital resource management in schools
Managing your school’s resources digitally makes resource management processes more effective and efficient. Digital management is simple, saves time and leaves less room for errors – for example, inconsistencies in recordkeeping between staff members.
Resource management software such as Tes Room Booking is designed specifically for use in schools and helps you streamline management processes. Giving staff an easy way of booking rooms and resources online makes it easier and less time-consuming, encouraging staff to use the resources on offer.
Using software developed for schools can further save time, as these systems can integrate with your school management system. This means you don’t have to make manual updates, such as when a timetable change affects the resources on offer.
For example, Tes Room booking automatically syncs with your timetable and timetable updates, ensuring rooms can only be booked when they’re free of scheduled classes and preventing double bookings.
Be flexible to maximise your use
Being flexible in how resources are shared and distributed is key to making the most of your school’s resources.
For example, where you have a laptop trolley that contains 20 laptops, enable the trolley to be split into parts and booked that way. This means if a group only needs 10 laptops, they can just book what they need and the other 10 can be used by another group, ensuring you get the most out of the resource.
Digital resource management supports this by enabling a resource to be split into a number of parts before it’s booked.
Know what’s being used – and what isn’t
You may think that because your school’s resources are limited, they are always in demand. However, some resources may be underutilised and an awareness of this is key in getting the most out of your school’s resources.
For example, if a specific resource isn’t used often, you might need to increase staff awareness of it. On the other hand, it could be something your staff know about but don’t need or like to use – if this is something with an ongoing cost, you might decide this could be better spent on a different resource.
Either way, having this knowledge is essential. It enables you to maximise the resources at your school – whether it’s by raising awareness, modifying resources, or replacing them with something more valuable.
Learn from data
Having a holistic view of your school’s resource management enables you to identify areas where processes need further streamlining, or to simply see where resources are needed most.
Software such as Tes Room Booking gives you reports that provide this view, with bookings shown by user, department and resource.
This helps you understand which room, resource or times of day are the most popular, so you can make data-driven decisions with a full understanding of which resources are used, how often and by who.
Streamline your school’s resource management with Tes
Tes Room Booking gives you a full picture of resource management in your school, so you can understand what’s working and what isn’t, save staff time with simplified booking, and improve school resource management with data-driven decisions.
Download our free guide and learn how Tes Room Booking can work for your school by helping you get the most out of your resources and do more in less time.