Whether you are sat on a sunny Spanish beach or camped in a cool Clacton cove, we look at some of the 'best sellers' for finance staff this August
Academies Financial Handbook
The latest edition comes into effect on 1
st September. The handbook strengthens the requirements on academy trust governance, and emphasises that trusts must publish details of their governance arrangements on their websites. Trusts should ensure their governance information is readily accessible on a webpage without the need to download or open a separate document.
Further changes in the 2015 handbook are summarised on pages 5 and 6. While Annex C (from page 44) lists the requirements that Academies must have in place. Compliance with the handbook is a requirement in trusts’ funding agreements with the Secretary of State.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook-2015
SFVS
Whilst Academies are governed by the Financial Handbook, maintained schools must comply with School Financial Value Standard & Assurance. SFVS helps schools to manage their finances and to provide assurance to the local authority that they have secure financial management in place. The guidance applies to maintained schools and local authorities and now considers 25 areas (previously 23).
www.gov.uk/schools-financial-value-standard-and-assurance-sfvs
School Funding for 2016-2017
The DfE have announced the direction it intends to take on school funding in a speech. The focus for 2016-17 is on work to decrease grant discrepancies between schools in similar areas but with different backgrounds. The government state they are committed to making school funding fairer, to maintaining the amount of money that follows children into schools and have confirmed the extra £390 million fairer funding uplift from 2015 to 2016 in budgets for 2016 to 2017 and beyond. Per-pupil funding rates from 2015-16 will be upheld, and in a few cases improved upon.
www.gov.uk/government/speeches/school-funding-for-2016-to-2017
Following this announcement the EFA wrote an open letter to Academy Heads.
Click here for a copy.
For further information on 2016-17 funding
click here.
And Top Videos
We recommend the following:
School Business Services have enhanced its budget planning and monitoring tool – SBS Online; and now provides additional support for users through webinars. See
http://www.schoolbusinessservices.co.uk/sbs-online-webinar-8th-july-2015/
For further details or to arrange a demonstration please
click here.
The EFA have produced a number of support and training videos covering finance, procurement, capital funding and the efficiency toolkit.
https://registration.livegroup.co.uk/EventWebsites/efa/
Shorts
PE and sport premium funding for primary schools remains the same as last year. First installments will be paid to local authorities on behalf of local-authority-maintained schools on 29
th October 2015 and to academies on 2
nd November 2015.
Click here for further details.
Our MIS colleagues have provided a handy tool to allow schools to calculate their pupil premium funding in 2015-16.
Click here for details.
It is the end of a busy year for Ofsted inspectors with nearly 4,700 school inspections carried out in England over the last 12 months. ‘Schools Week’ looks at the results.
Click here for details.
