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The governors’ role in school finance

Making Sense of School Finance

As chair of the Learn Together Partnership, I am delighted to offer youthe third training booklet in the “Making sense of…” series. This timewe are “Making Sense of School Finance”. I know so many of youhave found “Making Sense of School Performance Data” and “MakingSense of Safeguarding” most valuable I am delighted therefore tointroduce you to the latest work, produced through the GovernorEffectiveness Group of the Learn Together Partnership.

The Learn Together Partnership is a collaboration of nine localauthorities’ Children and Young People’s Services, namely CheshireEast, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, StHelens, Sefton, Warrington and Wirral. The authorities have a longhistory of working closely together to meet the challenge of highquality provision within the children’s services agenda.

This project is the result of the collaborative work of all of our ninepartner local authorities and has been led by their respective governorsupport and training sections. The cost of the booklet has been met bya bid to the Merseyside Improvement and Efficiency Partnership(MIEP), Narrowing the Gap programme.

Our aim was to provide a useful resource to support you to enhanceyour role as critical friends and equip you to provide both support andchallenge effectively.

An important section is the identification of the key questions thatshould be asked in monitoring the school budget, to ensure yourschool gets value for money for your pupils so they can learn andgrow.

Yours sincerely

Gerald Meehan

Chair of the Learn Together Partnership

Strategic Director of Children's ServicesHalton Borough Council; Cheshire West andChester Council

Dear Governor

Our thanks go toThe Learn Together Partnership

The Merseyside Improvement and Efficiency Partnership

The Governor Training and Support Services in Cheshire East,Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Warrington and Wirral

David Lee - Consultant

Contents

Introduction 2

Sections

1 Where does the money come from? 4

2 Freedoms and constraints in the use of funding 8

3 Defining the boundaries 10

4 Schools Financial Value Standard 13

5 Creating a spending plan 15

6 Operational issues 18

7 What is meant by budget monitoring? 24

8 Defining “value for money” and “efficiency” 27

in schools

9 A final note of caution 29

Glossary 30

Useful documents and further reading 32

1Making Sense of School Finance

A little bit of historySchools in England have nowmanaged their own budgets forover twenty years. At the time ofintroduction many people weresceptical about the measure andit could often be heard “I didn’tcome into Education to managea business”, but it is worthremembering that it was notunique to this country, it was aninternational trend. Much of thedevelopment occurred inAustralia and Canada and, aswell as the UK, governments ofall political complexions in otherEuropean countries, NewZealand and some states in theUSA also took the idea forward.It is doubtful if many schoolmanagers would readily turnthe clock back to centrallydirected budgeting.

Some principlesWhen the idea of schoolsreceiving their own budgets wasfirst trialled, it was under theheading of “Local FinancialManagement”, but theterminology rapidly changed to“Local Management of Schools”.The reason for this was plain. In reality schools don’t managefinance for its own sake, thefunding only has a value in termsof what it buys: buildings,resources and, above all,staffing. With budgets camemanagement of premises, thechoice of where to buy books,materials and services, and fullcontrol of the staffing of schoolswithin the constraints of nationalpay agreements andemployment law.

In summary• School budgetmanagement is not anaccountancy exercise; it isnot about tax efficiency orinvestment, just carefulplanning with some goodbook-keeping.

• It is not necessary to havefinance experts on thegoverning body and youwill get professional adviceand lots of informationfrom the headteacher orbusiness manager.Additional help will beavailable from the LA orfinancial provider, but thisis usually a charged-forservice.

• Individual governors haveno financial liability for anydecisions made “in goodfaith”. Unless governorsact fraudulently, there is nopersonal risk.

• Everything which isallocated through thebudget must be directedtowards maintaining andimproving the educationalopportunities for pupils atthe school.

• The school budget and theschool development planare inextricably linked -nothing will improve unlessproperly resourced.

• With that in mind, budgetsrequire regular review -

just because money hasbeen directed in aparticular way in the past isnot a reason for itcontinuing to be spent thatway.

• Budget changes needcareful thought. If theschool is fortunate and hasa rising budget, howshould it be used for besteffect? If the budget is indecline, how will it bemanaged to minimise theimpact on pupils?

• Whatever is sometimessaid by governmentministers, or in the press,headteachers do notreceive the budget. Theyshould advise governorsand manage it on theirbehalf, but the governingbody has the legalresponsibility for ensuringthe efficient and effectiveuse of the funds given tothe school. Governors canchoose to delegate tasks,but they cannot delegateresponsibility.

3Making Sense of School Finance2 Making Sense of School Finance

Introduction

“Annual income twentypounds, annual expenditurenineteen pounds, nineteen

and sixpence, resulthappiness. Annual income

twenty pounds, annualexpenditure twenty pounds,ought and sixpence, result

misery.” Mr Micawber in Charles Dickens’

‘David Copperfield’

Health warning!

The government is committed to changing the way inwhich schools receive their funding and has consulted onhow that should happen. At the time of publication, thedetails are not yet known but affect only the section of thisbooklet concerning how school funding is calculated. The other key points should remain the same. Budgets for2012-2013 should not be affected. How you react to thechanges will require some thought and planning. They areintended to make funding fairer, but just as when LocalManagement was introduced, your response to that willprobably depend on whether you gain or lose under thenew arrangements. An Institute of Fiscal Studies report inNovember 2011 indicated that there will be a large numberof schools with significant changes to their budget andeven though transitional arrangements are to be put inplace, these changes will need to be carefully managed,particularly for schools which will lose funding over time.

Thoughts and questions

• Don’t be afraid of being involved in financial decisions. They aren’t about money. They’re about what you want for theschool.

• “I’ve got no experience of financial management”. You aren’t supposed to be an expert. Do you have to managemoney at work? Do you help a charity or voluntary group?Do you look after your household spending? The figures may be larger but the same principles apply. You want to get the best you can for what you’ve got.

• Who helps new members on your governing body understandthe budget? Can an “old hand” help someone through thefirst few meetings and explain what’s going on?

• Is there training available which would help you feel morecomfortable?

• Keep it simple. Three key questions are: Why are wespending this? What difference will it make to pupils? How will we know it’s worked? If nobody can answer these,it’s probably a bad choice.

on objective need. Theintention was to removeany suggestion of bias inthe allocation of resourcesto particular schools.

• The second was thatmoney follows pupils.Schools should be fundedprimarily on the number ofpupils they support andshould gain additionalfunding if pupil numbersincrease but lose if theydecline.

For governors these twoprinciples are vital. It is notpossible to plead that any schoolis a special case, or has aparticular need greater thananother, if it is not allowed forwithin the formula. Equally,however hard it seems, ifnumbers decline, so will thebudget and something, usuallystaffing, will have to give as aconsequence.

The LA will have determined aformula to allocate funding inconsultation with the localSchools Forum (see below).This will have a number ofelements which can vary from LAto LA although always withingovernment rules. The keyelements of the formula can be:

• Pupil numbers, based onan Age Weighted Pupil Unit(AWPU) (in other words theamount varies with thepupil’s age, generallyhigher in the Early Years,and for Secondary agepupils, than for Primary).

• Special Needs (based on aschool audit of SENpupils).

• Additional EducationalNeed (a factor related tothe relative deprivation ofthe area the schoolserves).

• Premises costs (largelybased on square metres of

floor area or historicspending patterns).

• Some school specificcosts, for example:• Rates• Service LevelAgreements

• Lump sum

Although the days of growth inbudgets have gone for themoment, there is a minimumfunding guarantee whichprotects schools from changes inthe formula, which would see arapid drop in their finances. Atthe time of writing, this is limitedto no more than 1.5% from oneyear to the next. But this onlyapplies to changes to the formula- if a school’s numbers fall, thereis no protection from that.

A recent major addition to thefunding stream is the currentgovernment’s introduction of thePupil Premium. This iscalculated nationally and basedprimarily on free school mealentitlement. The governmenthas decided that the PupilPremium in 2012-13 will beextended to pupils who havebeen eligible for free schoolmeals at any point in the last 6years. It is intended to supportthose schools with the highestproportions of pupils fromdisadvantaged backgroundsand, to some extent, toencourage schools to admitthese children on the “moneyfollows pupils” principle.Nationally the Pupil Premium willdouble from £625m in 2011-12 to£1.25 billion in 2012-13.It expected to rise further to £2.5 billion by 2014-15.

Schools have the freedom tospend the Premium, which isadditional to the underlyingschool budget, in any way theythink will best support the raisingof attainment for the mostvulnerable pupils, for which theywill be accountable.

The Schools ForumThe LA determines the way theformula is calculated, which iswhy there sometimes seem to bedifferences between schoolsacross boundaries, but theymust do this in consultation withschools. This is done through aSchools Forum made up ofrepresentatives elected by all thedifferent sectors and types ofschool, including academies, theearly years and 14-19. Othermembers are also drawn fromnon-school interests such as theLA, diocesan bodies,professional associations, youthgroups or parent groups. Schoolrepresentatives must make up atleast two thirds of the Forum toensure a majority but the aim isto have the widest possiblespread of representation of thosewith an interest in education.Depending on how it is set up inyour LA, there may be governorrepresentation, indeed thegovernment guidance suggests itis good practice for SchoolsForums to aim for a membershipstructure based on an equalproportion of headteachers andgovernors. This is not alwayspossible but the intent is for thereto be sufficient representation ofeach group to ensure debatewithin the forum is balanced.Each type of school will certainlyhave a voice, and if there areconcerns about the way thebudget is distributed (though notthe total education spending),governors may wish theirrepresentative to hear thoseviews.

Academy Schools andFree Schools fundingarrangementsThese schools operateindependently of LAs and receivetheir funding directly from thegovernment through the EFA.They will receive exactly thesame budget share as theywould have received if they had


How LAs and schools gettheir fundingThe way schools get their fundingis complex, and to a large extentbeyond the influence of theschool and governing body, butwhat follows is intended to makethe process a little clearer.

In essence, the school has ashare of the funding madeavailable to the LA by centralgovernment in the form of theDedicated Schools’ Grant, (DSG).This varies from LA to LA becauseit is intended to reflect the needsof particular communities. This isdecided by the government usingits own criteria (and these arewhat will change in the new,“fairer” system).

There are floors and ceilingswithin this calculation to minimiseextremes or sudden changes.

This total figure is divided intocategories and has some ruleswhich affect its distribution:• The greater part is withinthe Schools’ Block, themoney delegated toschools or held centrallyfor their benefit to supportsuch things as someelements of SpecialEducational Needs,behaviour support,assessment of free schoolmeals eligibility, insurance.

• There are limits imposedon the percentage of thefunds the LA can hold (theCentral Expenditure Limit).

• An amount determined bythe government to coverthe LA’s statutory functions.

The way these are allocated islaid out in a document called theSection 251 Statement which

must be made available to allschools and which also showshow each LA has calculated thebudget share - the school’s partof the overall budget for the LA.

Funding for sixth form students iscalculated separately by theEducation Funding Agency(EFA), formerly the YoungPeople’s Learning Agency(YPLA), and channelled throughthe LA to schools.

Major elements of theformula and how schoolsget their budget shareFrom the earliest days of LocalManagement of Schools therewere two key principles:

• The first was that schoolsshould receive a share ofthe budget allocatedthrough a formula based

4 Making Sense of School Finance

Section 1

Where does the moneycome from?

Technically, the staff of the schoolare contracted to work for the LA,but school staffing regulationsmean that, because of LocalManagement, the school musttreat them as its employees interms of hiring, dismissal and pay.However, because of theircontract status, governors wouldbe well advised to discuss staffingissues with the LA to protect theschool against such matters asequal pay claims, or in the case ofredundancy.

Voluntary Aided (VA) andFoundation Schools (includingTrust Schools)The premises of Aided Schoolsand Foundation Schools areowned by the foundation ortrustees. The governing body willhave to take into account a widerrange of property mattersbecause they are responsible forall aspects including majorrepairs, extensions, or rebuilding.

In these schools the governorsare also the legal employer of allstaff and their contracts rest withthe governing body. Governorswill have to abide by nationalconditions of service and rates ofpay in most cases but shouldtake care over all employmentmatters and seek advice wherenecessary.

Differences betweenschoolsAs well as the funding processjust outlined, all schools arefunded at the same level. Thereare differences because of thevariety of schools in the system.These differences will give aschool either more or less work todo and choices to make. The keyvariations are listed below.

AcademiesGovernors in Academies alsohave full responsibility forpremises and are the employersof the staff. However, staffing

matters have an additionaldimension in that the nationalconditions of service and payscales in operation are notbinding in Academy schools.Governors may choose to adoptthem, but they are not required todo so.

Special SchoolsSpecial schools have theirbudgets calculated in a differentway. Because pupil numbers arenot as consistent, nor as clearlywithin the school’s control, thepupil element is based on

notional school places for thetype of pupil the school supportsrather than the actual number inthe school at any given time.Numbers may fluctuate to theschool’s advantage ordisadvantage. If there is apermanent change, the schoolformula will be adjusted. Thepupil places will be heavily relatedto the staffing required for theirsupport and as a consequencegovernors may wish to seekadvice before making significantchanges to the staffing structure.


still been under the control of theLA, but importantly they alsoreceive a proportion of the LA’scentral budget in compensationfor services they no longerreceive. Remember though thatthis is not additional funding, itsimply gives greater choice, andthey will still have to have accessto those services either byproviding them for themselves orbuying them in from the LA orelsewhere.

Unlike maintained schools thatare funded on the traditionalfinancial year basis (April toMarch), academies are fundedfrom September to August toreflect the academic year. Thefunding comes in the form of agrant, known as the GeneralAnnual Grant (GAG), paid by theEFA. This is made up of differentelements:• School core funding - by farthe largest element of GAG,known as its delegatedbudget share. This will bethe same as the school'scurrent budget sharereceived from the LA. EFAmake small adjustments toreflect any reducedbusiness rates, paid by anacademy as a charitabletrust, and for insurance,which is paid separately inGAG.

• Local Authority CentralSpend Equivalent Grant(LACSEG) - this isadditional money to coverthose central services theLA no longer provides.

It is important to note that theLACSEG is not a uniform figureacross the country and will varybetween LAs to reflect the amountthe LA already holds back to payfor central services. This elementof the grant is calculated by theEFA (not the LA), using a formulabased on an academy's pupil

numbers and the amount that therelevant LA spends on centralservices. It is not based on theactual costs of the servicessupplied to the individual school.

These services and costs includeelements funded both from alocal authority's schools’ budgetand from other LA sources,specifically:• SEN support services• behaviour support services• 14-16 practical learningoptions

• school meals and milk• assessment of free schoolmeals eligibility

• repair and maintenance ofkitchens

• museum and libraryservices

• licences and subscriptions• central staff costs(maternity, long-termsickness and trade unionduties)

• certain employmentterminations

• LA statutory/regulatoryduties

• asset management• school improvementservices

• monitoring nationalcurriculum assessments

• education welfare services• pupils' support (e.g.clothing grants)

• music services• visual and performing artsservices

• outdoor education services• certain redundancy andearly retirement costs.

Academies need to consider howthey will obtain these servicesusing the additional funding theyreceive. They are free to buy backthe services from an LA, if offered,or find them elsewhere.

Depending on which LA theacademy is in, it might be thecase that the school is alreadyresponsible for some services,and already receives a greaterdelegated budget from their LA.

The following items do notbecome the responsibility of theacademy and continue to restwith the LA: • home to school transport(including transport forchildren with SEN)

• education psychology, SENstatementing andassessment

• monitoring of SENprovision, the ParentPartnership, etc.

• prosecution of parents forpupil non-attendance

• individually assigned SENresources for pupils withrare conditions needingexpensive tailored provision(this is usually a top-up toformula funding)

• provision of pupil referralunits or “educationotherwise” for a pupil whois no longer registered at anacademy

Community and VoluntaryControlled SchoolsThe funding is passported toschools from the LA. In otherwords the LA must give it to theschool directly and then theschool chooses what to do with it,in particular which services itmight want to purchase backfrom the LA. The school does notown the premises but iseffectively the tenant. The schoolwill receive money for basicmaintenance and for minorimprovements, but major repairsand rebuilding costs will remainthe responsibility of the LA. This will mean some negotiationwith the LA, should majorimprovements to the fabric of thebuilding be required.


Thoughts and questions• It’s difficult to influence the school budget share, but anyradical change from the previous year’s figures needs to bechecked to ensure there are no errors. Your head orbusiness manager will almost certainly have done thisalready.

• On a local level there may be issues about the discretionaryparts of the budget formula, for example the Age WeightedPupil Unit (AWPU). The only way to change this is throughthe Schools Forum. You may like to check who representsyour type of school.

• If the feeling is strong among schools in a particular sector itis possible to change the formula.

• Being on top of pupil numbers is really important. Yourschool numbers are most likely to be stable but if you knowthat there are changes planned to local housing, for example,how will this affect you? It could be that sudden changes innumbers by the movement of service families, travellers ormigrants have a major impact on the budget. In these circumstances, when it’s beyond the school’scontrol, it’s worth checking whether there is any supportwithin the funding system.

• How will the Pupil Premium affect your school budget? Someschools stand to gain significantly if the figures rise but howwill the money be spent?

• Are you sure it will be used to best effect? More of the samewon’t necessarily produce a better result, so what will bedifferent for your school?

• Somewhere in the calculations there is funding to assistSpecial Needs pupils. Do you know how this is being usedwithin the school to benefit pupils who experience difficultiesin their learning? After all they aren’t just a notional formulafactor but real pupils.

One attraction often cited in relation to becoming an academyschool is that such schools attract greater funding. However, youwill almost certainly still need to buy services or provide theminternally. You will have to assess whether this is worth theadditional management cost and responsibility.

received. This will usually beover a maximum period of threeyears unless there areexceptional circumstances.

Control of the budget isimportant since, if schoolsoverspend, ultimately they aretaking funding away from those that do not. There is asimilar control over surpluses. A contingency balance is goodmanagement but currentlegislation permits LAs, at theirdiscretion, to claw back excesssurplus balances (usuallyconsidered to be more than 5% for a secondary school, or8% for a primary) forredistribution unless it is satisfiedthat they are assigned to adesignated project. Again this isbecause this is money whichshould be being spent for thebenefit of pupils in the systemwithin the LA. Governors maywant to think about the carry-forward of funding into futureyears even if it is for a plannedproject. It could be consideredthat the pupils in the school arehaving less spent on them thanthey might, for the benefit offuture pupils. The governingbody is perfectly entitled to dothis, but will want to considercarefully the impact on currentpupils’ experience andopportunities.


Some funding is devolved andalthough governors control howit is spent, it must be used for itsintended purposes. There is lessof this type of funding than in thepast and most has now beenbuilt into the budgets, but anexample is Devolved CapitalFunding, which is intended formajor building or equipment costs(usually ICT). However much,there might be different priorities,it could not be spent on staffing

or the routine running costs of the school.

It is for the governing body todecide how best to spend theschool’s budget for theeducational benefit of theschool’s pupils. Schools mayaccumulate savings and carrythem forward, but any deficitbalances must also be carriedforward. Strictly speakinggovernors may not set a deficit

budget, but they may enter into a planned overspend. The difference is importantbecause just like a personal debthas to be with the agreement ofthe bank, for example, the schoolneeds the agreement of the LA,or the EFA in the case ofacademies. The governing bodywould have to indicate why itneeds the facility to overspendand have a clear timetable to payback the additional money


Section 2

Freedoms and constraintsin the use of funding


• Do try to be creative with your freedoms. The budgetheadings in your spending plan are not set in stone, theyshould change over time. A fresh look from a governor notpreviously involved might just be the thing that’s needed.Why are spending patterns the way they are? Are there otheroptions?

• Don’t play around with devolved funding and push it intomainstream activities. Ask why you need to do it. It is likelyto be picked up at audit and is not sustainable in the long-term.

• Be careful of making long-term staffing commitments ongovernment grants, pilot schemes, or trials. They have ahabit of becoming part of the budget very quickly, but thefunds don’t always follow. Always build an exit strategy intoplans relating to short-term funds.

• A contingency fund is good but successive governmentshave been nervous about high balances in schools. Moneyrolling up into a surplus is money not spent on pupils’education.

• Think hard about the morality of financing long-termimprovements from the current pupils’ funding.

• Deficits usually occur when action is not taken on staffingissues as pupil numbers fall. The problem is unlikely to goaway and staff costs can multiply at an alarming rate ifnumbers continue to decline.

• Never try to build up a surplus to reduce the impact of knownfalling numbers on future staffing levels. It’s a short-termanswer and only takes money away from current pupils toavoid hard choices about jobs, which will still have to bemade. Surplus should be used for specific, future plannedspending projects

The majority of funding which comes through to schools is delegated to the governingbody which means that governors have complete control over how it is spent so long as itis for the benefit of pupils within the financial framework set down in the LA financialregulations. Governors are able to vire this money if they choose. This just means it canbe moved from one budget heading to another. If governors choose to spend fundinggiven to them for premises or staffing, they can - but they will have to live with the consequences afterwards.

and may lead to duplication ofdebates already held elsewhere.For greater efficiency a schoolcould delegate that role to thefinance committee and trust it todo the detailed work, onlyreporting back to the fullgovernors’ meeting. Thegoverning body as a wholeneeds only consider financialissues if something radical hashappened which will have aserious impact on the SDP or willchange the school’s priorities insome way.

Other structuresIt is something of a convention tohave a finance committee, but itis not always helpful to split thebudget issues from what most ofthe money is spent on. Manyschools will include premises inthe terms of reference of thefinance committee and,increasingly, staffing as well tomake a single resourcescommittee. It only delaysdecisions and increasespaperwork to be passing minutesof committees back and forthand asking for permission tospend in line with what shouldhave been agreed priorities in thefirst place. Having a singleresources committee to coverpremises and staffing matters,and how both will be paid for,makes sense and saves time,though it can make for longagendas if not carefully handled.

Responsibilities of the headteacher andother staffThe headteacher is the principalprofessional adviser to thegovernors and should beexpected to carry that role out,giving governors advice andsharing information about thelevels of funding available,existing spending patterns andtrends. Above all headteacherswill offer advice on the school’s

priorities and where it may benecessary to redirect resources,in other words they will guidegovernors in the creation of theSDP. In reality they will also carryout the spending of the budgeton behalf of the governors andensure that money is being spentin the way it was intended.

However, the headteacher’s roleis to lead the educationalpriorities and, except in thesmallest of schools, they shouldnot be expected to be controllingthe school finances on a day-to-day basis. The schooladministrator, or the businessmanager in a larger school, is themore appropriate person to dothis.

For curriculum spending, in mostschools some budgetresponsibilities will be delegatedto heads of departments, subjector key stage leaders, or classteachers, especially for resourcepurchases. Individually theseamounts may be quite small butthey should be being seen withina previously agreed framework.

In a very small school, theresponsibility may rest with thepart-time school secretary oradministrator. It is not reallyreasonable to expect them to domuch more than processpurchases and some limitedupdating of the financial records.However, the headteacher’s timeis also valuable and arguablyneeds to be spent elsewhere andit is a circle many schools mayfind difficult to square. Oneoption, which more schools areadopting, and are activelyencouraged to follow, is toconsider the employment of ashared financial officer who maywork across a number of smalllocal schools.

The larger the school, the morelikely the possibility of there

being someone who will haveresponsibility for looking after theprocessing of financialinformation: orders, payments,LA data etc. Many schools haveextended this role to cover moreof the elements of schoolmanagement, which the budgetbrings in terms of premises,purchasing, cleaning andmanaging some support staff.They are probably called abusiness manager or a bursar.

Almost inevitably in the biggestschools the whole non-curriculum running of the schoolis likely to be given over to thismember of staff and for them tobe members of the school’ssenior leadership team. This isobviously a very senior andresponsible post with wide andvarying responsibilities, possiblyincluding ICT and personnelfunctions as well as budgetmatters and very likely involvinga number of other staff.

Remember that the point ofcreating these posts is to free theheadteacher to be the leader ofthe school’s learning, while thesupport functions are dealt withelsewhere. The closer theschool gets to the latter model,the more likely that this is theperson who will report directly tothe governing body. If the schoolemploys someone at areasonably serious level withdetailed knowledge of thefinancial data it does not makesense for the reports to come tothe finance committee, orgoverning body, through theheadteacher and it is not a gooduse of the headteacher’s time forthem simply to pass on asecond-hand briefings togovernors when they could hearthe information first-hand fromthe school’s specialist.


The role of the governing bodyThe governing body remainsultimately responsible for themanner in which the budget isspent. This is not just aboutensuring that the figures add up,it is about ensuring that it hasbeen spent wisely to the benefitof pupils, which is why therelationship of the budget to theSchool Development Plan (SDP)is so important. Each year thegoverning body should considerthe priorities for the school and set these out in the SDP.The detail in this will usuallycover the next academic year butmany schools like to have athree-year plan, at least inoutline. It is not necessary tocover everything the school doesbut major developments andimprovements should be shownwith, amongst other things, anindication of timescales, theintended educational outcomes

and, importantly, the costsinvolved. It could be argued thatsetting the context anddevelopment planning for theschool is the key way in whichgovernors demonstrate theirresponsibility for the strategicdirection of the school. If carriedout properly and with allconcerned understanding whatthe plan covers, and why,everything else the governingbody does makes sense. Below the level of the governingbody and its strategic role, it isreally important for thecommittee structure, if you haveone, to have clear terms ofreference and delegatedauthority so they can makedecisions and report backwithout having to seek approval.This is particularly important onbudget issues when theboundaries of responsibility willneed to be set out very carefully.

The Finance CommitteeThe governing body is able todelegate most of its functions toan individual or committee andone of those can be itsresponsibilities around theschool budget. Once thegoverning body agrees the SDP,the task of the finance committeeis to review spending on aregular basis to see that it isprogressing as planned, or totake action to bring the budgetback into line if for some reasonthere has been an underspendor overspend. It is not necessaryto debate the school budget indetail at a governors’ meeting,though minutes of the financecommittee will be submitted forinformation, perhaps with a briefreport from the chair of thecommittee. Some schools wantthe full governing body toendorse the annual budget butthat is not necessary in law if thisfunction has been fully delegated


Section 3

Defining the boundaries

This standard is very clearlydirected at governors and is anindication of the expectations thegovernment has of governors’responsibility for effectivemanagement of school funds.The key features are 23questions to which the governingbody should provide self-assessed evidence of whether itmeets the expectations fully,partly, or not at all.

Obviously if it does not meet thestandard fully, there is anexpectation that the school willprovide information of how itintends to do so. Details ofSFVS, together with guidancenotes are available from the DfEwebsite. Further information canalso be obtained from the localauthority.


Terms of reference,responsibilities anddelegationIn financial matters, perhapsabove all others, given thatpublic money is at stake, it isreally important, and only fair toall concerned, for there to beclear definitions of responsibilityand any financial limits imposed.There should be clear terms ofreference for committees with anindication of spending limits.What level of spending has beendelegated to the headteacherwithout reference back to thefinance committee? Does the

business manager have similarlimits, or are they lower withreference up to the headteacherfor larger sums? There are likelyto be clear rules set by the LA onmajor purchases with strictcriteria for offering contracts, forexample. Have budgets beendelegated to other committees,to other members of staff and, ifso, what controls are there toensure they are clear about theirlevel of authority. Clarity overthese matters gives allconcerned the freedom to act butalso makes accountabilityclearer.


Section 4

Schools Financial Value(SFVS)


• What committee structure does your governing body have?

• Does it aid effective decision-making?

• The governing body’s key role is to be strategic and take along-term view of how the school meets the needs of thecommunity and how it can improve. How do you actually dothat?

• How do you determine the school’s priorities?

• How do you influence the SDP?

• How do you check progress?

• How do you act if things are not happening as expected?

• Are the financial implications of plans properly costed andtransferred to budget planning?

• Do you have proper terms of reference and delegatedauthority for committees and individuals in the school to acton your behalf?


• If you have met FMSiS, can you meet the new standard?

• What is your evidence?

SFVS replaced the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) scheme inSeptember 2011. This was the standard required by the government, which most schoolsmet. Schools will have to complete SFVS by 2013. There will be an annual review afterthat point.

Remember that the schoolfinancial year begins in April, butmost planning will be on thebasis of an academic yearbeginning in September. As aresult 5/12 spending may alreadybe committed, 7/12 will be newspending and there will have tobe some provisional planning forthe following summer term. It isonly a mathematical exercise butperhaps one which governorscould do without.

In theory, the governing bodycould embark on an exercise in“zero-based” budgeting,whereby governors start with ablank sheet of paper and workup costs from nothing to supportthe aims and policies of theschool. In practice, unless the

school is completely new, thismethod is unlikely to be usedand would probably not be auseful exercise.

Most schools tend to undertake“incremental budgeting”, wherethe individual elements of thebudget are increased ordecreased depending on thefunding received and thepressures of cost inflation. The danger of this approach isthat it assumes that all priorexpenditure was necessary andeffective and that minoramendments to spendingpatterns in line with changingcosts are actually appropriate -you spend on certain thingsbecause you always have.

A better approach might be tocombine the two and to questioneach budget line to establishwhether it is still necessary, orwhether to amend up or down inthe light of current costs, or if asignificant change in its priority isneeded. Only by getting theschool’s planning cycle right willgovernors know if significantchange is needed.

The planning cycleThe starting point for all planningshould be the SDP. This shouldset out what the school believesto be the major areas fordevelopment which are to bepriorities for the next one to threeyears (typically a year in detailand a further two in outline).

15Making Sense of School Finance14 Making Sense of School Finance

Schools Financial Value Standard

The Governing Body and School Staff1. In the view of the governing body itself and of senior staff, does the governing body have adequate

financial skills among its members to fulfil its role of challenge and support in the field of budgetmanagement and value for money?

2. Does the governing body have a finance committee (or equivalent) with clear terms of reference and aknowledgeable and experienced chair?

3. Is there a clear definition of the relative responsibilities of the governing body and the school staff inthe financial field?

4. Does the governing body receive clear and concise monitoring reports of the school’s budget positionat least three times a year?

5. Are business interests of governing body members and staff properly registered and taken intoaccount so as to avoid conflicts of interest?

6. Does the school have access to an adequate level of financial expertise, including when specialistfinance staff are absent, e.g. on sick leave?

7. Does the school review its staffing structure regularly?

Setting the Budget8. Is there a clear and demonstrable link between the school’s budgeting and its plan for raising

standards and attainment?9. Does the school make a forward projection of budget, including both revenue and capital funds, for at

least three years, using the best available information?10. Does the school set a well-informed and balanced budget each year (with an agreed and timed plan

for eliminating any deficit)?11. Is end year outturn in line with budget projections, or if not, is the governing body alerted to

significant variations in a timely manner, and do they result from explicitly planned changes or fromgenuinely unforeseeable circumstances?

Value for Money12. Does the school benchmark its income and expenditure annually against that of similar schools and

investigate further where any category appears to be out of line?13. Does the school have procedures for purchasing goods and services that both meet legal

requirements and secure value for money?14. Are balances at a reasonable level and does the school have a clear plan for using the money it plans

to hold in balances at the end of each year?15. Does the school maintain its premises and other assets to an adequate standard to avoid future

urgent need for replacement?16. Does the school consider collaboration with others, e.g. on sharing staff or joint purchasing, where

that would improve value for money?17. Can the school give examples of where it has improved the use of resources during the past year?

Protecting Public Money18. Is the governing body sure that there are no outstanding matters from audit reports or from previous

consideration of weaknesses by the governing body?19. Are there adequate arrangements in place to guard against fraud and theft by staff, contractors and

suppliers (please note any instance of fraud or theft detected in the last 12 months)?20. Are all staff aware of the school’s whistleblowing policy and to whom they should report concerns?21. Does the school have an accounting system that is adequate and properly run and delivers accurate

reports, including the annual Consistent Financial Reporting return?22. Does the school have adequate arrangements for audit of voluntary funds?23. Does the school have an appropriate business continuity or disaster recovery plan, including an

up-to-date asset register and adequate insurance?

Section 5

Creating a spending planCreating a spending plan should not be a complex matter for most governing bodies.Schools are well used to the process by now, but it may not be the case that this is alwayseffective simply because it has always been done in a particular way. The commentswhich follow are intended to help the debate in governing bodies.

discussion by the staff ofpersonal, subject ordepartmental needs and whole-school action plans will be underdevelopment. Some governingbodies choose to use this termas a time to revisit their vision forthe future of the school, probablynot annually, but frequentlyenough to be sure that allconcerned with the school arestill clear about the school’spurpose and values.

The key element in planning forJanuary will be the schoolcensus date when pupil numbersfor the following year’s budgetwill be recorded. At the sametime there is likely to be someindication of the fundingavailable for the followingfinancial year. A view of staffingrequirements is then possible ifnothing else changes.

By the end of the term there willusually be a draft SDP to bepresented to the governors. This should not come as asurprise, if information has beenpresented effectively andgoverning body’s decisions havebeen incorporated. Neverthelessthe governors need to consider itseriously and not simply “rubberstamp” its contents because itshould shape the future of theschool. If it clearly sets out thekey issues for the school for thenext year including some targetsand deadlines for action thenprogress can be checked on aregular basis, especially throughthe headteacher’s report to thegoverning body.

The budget needs to be alignedwith this plan and its majorelements properly costed. There is guidance available tohelp with this but it is primarily atask for the school managementto do this on the governors’behalf. What is important is that there is an element of

reality in the plan and its costing.Once the plan is in place,consider the following:

• What are the priorities forthe school and what will weexpect to achieve?

• Have we allowed for thecosts of any planneddevelopment? If not, howsincere are we about theactivity?

• Are numbers rising, falling,or static and is there anychange in the profile of thepupils who attend?

• Will we need more or lesssupport for those pupils inthe form of teachers andother support staff? Is theratio of those staff stillappropriate?

One of the roles of a governor isto challenge, and the budget is akey area to do this. For example,if there is no new money in thesystem and an activity is added,along with its associated cost,what will have to be reduced orabandoned? This is particularlyimportant in terms of staffingcosts; beware of “Staff time” inthe “Resources” column of aplan, as if it is free. Eithergovernors will be asking staff todo more within limited, definedhours, or something they weredoing has to be dropped, orthere will need to be additionalstaff and the budget will have tobe modified. Materials, books,equipment, or the cost ofsomeone to lead staff trainingcan seem significant, but if thereis no allowance for effectivestaffing, it is unlikely thatchanges have been properlythought through.


Many governing bodies see theSDP as a staff-driven documentand effectively only ratify acompleted plan towards the endof the spring term, but this is tofail to see it as the major driver ofthe activities of the school andthe source of effective evaluation.It could be argued that progressagainst the SDP should be thekey focus of governors’ meetingsand is the exercise of thegoverning body’s strategic role.If this is the case and the

governors’ views are minuted,the SDP develops progressivelyin response to those decisionsas the evaluation of the school’sperformance is reported.

Normally schools will begin theirplanning process in the autumnterm when the previous year’sresults will be assessed, staffperformance managementreviews will be taking place andthe process will be underway toconduct the headteacher’s

performance review. There willbe a great deal of informationavailable at that point. It is reallyimportant for the governors todiscuss this fully so that somesuitable priorities for the schoolcan be developed and these canbecome the basis for a futureSDP and for the headteacher’sperformance managementobjectives.

By the end of that term there islikely to have been some


Thoughts and questions• Influencing the SDP is key to the governing body’s function.Are you clear about the needs of the pupils and areas foraction? Do these relate to performance data and feedback onthe school from Ofsted or other external agencies?

• Do you have a process for making the governing body’sviews clear before plans are drafted by the staff?

• Making sure the school has considered the financialimplications of its plans is another key role for governors. Inessence they should challenge whether financial decisionsmade by school management are improving outcomes. Canyou ensure that:• costs are against every significant activity in the SDP?• staff costs are in the plan, especially if this has an impacton delivering the existing curriculum?

• money is spent on priorities? The school should be able toshow governors how actual spending matches the plannedactivities during the financial year. By comparing the costsand outcomes of individual activities, governors canevaluate value for money.

• the school is prepared for future financial change with abudget and SDP for the next three financial years?

• It may not seem a finance matter but it is absolutelylegitimate for the finance committee to ask, not only wasthe funding spent in the manner planned, but whether itachieved what was intended.

This is an example based onone school’s planning cycles -the content of the circles willvary depending on indivdualschool cycles.

Linking the budget and improvement planning cycle to focus decisionson improved outcomes for childrenAn example

The finance committee will needto be conscious of incrementaldrift, which means that if there isno staff turnover, the salary billwill still rise. For a couple ofyears this may not matter but itcan, paradoxically, be adownside to a stable staff, theywill progressively become moreexpensive.

Performance pay progression isanother element which those notused to school staffing will findunusual. Even without additionalresponsibilities, all but the leastexperienced teaching staff willhave been assessed to havepassed a threshold andthereafter can be considered forthree more performance payprogression amounts at two-yearintervals. The salaries of theheadteacher and those on theleadership spine must also bereviewed, though not necessarilyincreased, every year. Theheadteacher will assess theleadership members and collectthe review assessments for allthe other teaching staff and passthese recommendations to therelevant committee of thegoverning body. The governorswill have a performancemanagement group to undertakethat task for the headteacher’sperformance management andthen make a recommendation ontheir pay to that same committee.Pay enhancements arepermanent, unlike the bonusessome governors may be used to,and will fall on the schoolbudget. Make allowances forthese costs for those who maybe eligible, as the regulations donot permit governors to blockpayment because the schoolcannot afford the additional cost.

In all schools other thanAcademies, teachers’ terms andconditions of employment are inlarge part determined by theSchool Teachers Pay and

Conditions Document. This mayapply in Academies also, butGoverning Bodies are free to optout of this if they so choose,subject only to ensuring aprocess of consultation withteaching staff, something which itwould be strongly advised is onlyattempted with suitable HRadvice. Teachers are contractedto work for 1265 hours a yearspread over 195 days. It ispossible to pay teachers forhours beyond these (for examplea weekend residential trainingcourse) but it is relatively unusualto do so. Most schools willcarefully manage teaching hoursthrough the timetable and“directed time” (those hourswhen teachers are expected tobe working but may not beteaching). When timetabling,allow 10% PPA (planning,preparation and assessmenttime) for teachers. Additionallythere are different conditionswhich apply to the workload ofthose in the first year of teaching,which will not only reduce theirteaching timetable but alsorequire supervision by a seniormember of staff, which will alsohave an impact on their time.

Teachers are only required tocover for absent colleagues“rarely” which, in practice, meanscovering emergencies. Section 4,paragraph 55 of the SchoolTeachers’ Pay and ConditionsDocument (STPCD) 2011 notesthat teachers may still berequired to cover, but “onlyrarely, in the case ofcircumstances that are notforeseeable”. As a result thecosts of covering absence forillness or professionaldevelopment or tasks out ofschool, will need to be built intothe budget. This could bethrough supply teachers, eitherdirectly employed on a casualbasis, or through an agency, orcover supervisors from within the

school support staff. Supplycosts may be covered by aninsurance scheme if the schoolhas opted into such anarrangement.

Classroom and administrativesupport staff will be on differentpay scales and contracts ofvarying hours and possibly term-time only. There is a great dealof flexibility in thesearrangements but there areoccasionally pitfalls to watch outfor, particularly in costing schoolplans. If support staff colleaguesare to be asked to do additionalwork, it is likely to require longerhours or some tasks to bedropped. In addition if they areto attend meetings or undertakeprofessional development,particularly on training days,allowance for these will need tobe built into their contracts orthey will need to be paid for theextra hours. Joint traininginvolving teachers and supportstaff is not cost-free.

One of the former StandardsFund grants devolved to schoolsin the past and now within theschool budget covered the costsassociated with continuingprofessional development (CPD).It may be tempting to reallocatethis to help support other budgetheadings but it is worth reflectingthat a school does not just needthe right number of staff, it alsoneeds them to have up-to-dateskills in order to be effective.Schools should have a CPDpolicy which ensures thatpriorities in the SDP are properlybacked up by appropriate staffdevelopment and which alsomeets the needs of teachers andother staff identified in theirperformance management.Many schools also try to have aprogressive approach tosuccession planning, aiming toensure that staff members gainthe skills they need for the next


Pupil numbersAs previously indicated, one ofthe most important factors forgovernors to monitor is thenumber of pupils in the school.The major element of the budget(at least 65%) will be calculatedon the pupil count in January onthe Annual School Census date.If numbers fall, governors needto be conscious of whether this isa trend which is likely tocontinue. If so, staffing will needto be adjusted to match numbersor the budget will rapidly get outof control. If numbers fallbetween the January count andthe new school year, the schoolwill keep the funding for thosepupils, but this will only be atemporary windfall and willcorrect itself after the followingschool census. Equally, ifnumbers increase, governors willneed to be aware of thepressures that the rise will placeon staff. There will be a funding

shortfall for that financial yearand governors will need to plancarefully to manage the pressureof increased numbers. In thelonger term it is likely that staffinglevels will be altered.

Both the cases identified aboveare examples of one of thegreatest difficulties of managingschool budgets which is thattimetables and teachingworkloads tend to be worked outin “fte” (full time equivalent)teachers but there is often apressure point where there is notquite enough funding to employthe number of staff governorswould want.

Be aware that if pupils areexcluded, the funding followsthem immediately to thereceiving school.

PersonnelThis is a complicated area soseek support from the HRprovider for the school. Thelargest element of the budget willbe staffing. It is likely that ataround 80% of the school’s costswill go out in salaries and “oncosts”, such as the NationalInsurance and pension paymentsfor those employed. The smallerthe school the higher thepercentage, in general terms. Itis vital to be aware of staffingcommitments and some of thepeculiarities of life in schools,which those who work outsideeducation sometimes findstrange. The most obvious ofthese is the incremental salaryscale. Teachers and mostsupport staff will be on scaleswhere their salaries increaseautomatically each year until theyreach a ceiling. These scales areshorter in length than they usedto be but they are still significant.


Section 6

Operational issues

appropriate, ensure that there isno come-back on the governingbody if the worst happens.

Devolved Capital Funding(DCF)The repair and maintenance ofthe school are part of therevenue budget but there willalso be an allowance forstructural improvements. This isdescribed as devolved capitalfunding and the differencebetween this and other elementsof the budget is that it is ring-fenced to provide for majorrefurbishment, which would gobeyond routine maintenance.For example improvinglaboratory provision, orrestructuring the library andlearning resources space wouldbe capital spending, simplyredecorating them would not. Itis possible that the school maybe allowed to spend on otherthings, often ICT equipment, butthese will be tightly defined.Governors are not allowed tomove this funding to anotherbudget heading such as staffing.

This funding is much reduced,around 20% of previous levels,pending a government review ofbuilding programmes.Nevertheless, as with all otherspending it needs a clearpurpose and plan. Thegoverning body will want toensure that there is a clearlearning outcome to the buildingwork. In the examples above itmight be higher standards inscience, or improved literacy andevidence of pupils’ independentlearning. It is legitimate for thefinance committee to ask forevidence of these outcomes aswell as simply allocating thefunding and ensuring that thespend stays within budget.

Premises costs in PrivateFinance Initiative (PFI) schoolsThe PFI ensured that newschools were built in a ratherdifferent manner. Typically thecontract was made for both theconstruction and maintenance ofthe premises and grounds andprobably for other services suchas catering over a defined periodof 20 or 25 years, with the costsbeing repaid over that period.This has the advantage ofsimplicity in that the schoolbudget share will take account ofthis contract which is fixed inadvance. Effectively it is a“straight in, straight out”arrangement. However, it has adisadvantage in that thegoverning body will lose theflexibility and any possible

savings that local managementbrings and any change to theoriginal PFI contract comes at acost and will requirerenegotiation.

Major capital projectsMajor rebuilding or extensionsare not part of the delegatedbudget governing bodiesreceive. If there is a need forsuch a project, the school willneed to make a case to the LAand the DfE. Diocesan schoolswill need to make a contributionfrom the school itself towardsthese costs, at present this is10%. Academies will need todeal directly with the EFA.


stage in their career. Theybelieve this helps staff motivationbut also ensures that, while notlimiting the possibility ofrecruitment from outside, theschool is more likely to havesomeone equipped to step intoadditional responsibility withinthe school, either as short-termcover or as a permanentpromotion.

Remember also that governorsas well as staff need relevanttraining and support, whether forthe induction of new members orthe development of the skills andknowledge of existing governors.Governors may access thistraining from the LA or choose toprovide it “in-house” but it willneed to be resourced properlythrough the budget process.

At present some personnel costsare generally held centrally byLAs to help cushion the impacton schools. These may includesome redundancy paymentsassociated with school closuresand early retirement costs. Anyfinancial impact, which mightresult from employment tribunalsor unfair dismissal will normallybe covered, but only if LA advicehas been sought and followed.There is an increasing trend toshift these funds into schoolsand incorporate them into thebudget share. This obviouslyhas a major significance for anyschool which may be in thatposition in the near future. Itwould be worth checking thecurrent position with the LAsbefore proceeding.

PremisesThe premises from which theschool operates will account foraround 10% of the budget andwill need to be carefullymanaged by any governingbody.

Within the budget, the school willundertake the basic repair anddecoration of the buildingtogether with heating, lightingand grounds maintenance wherethere are playing fields.

The basic running costs ofheating and lighting will havebeen kept under review for manyyears and it is unlikely that therewill be massive savings to bemade under that heading, but itis fair to say that sometimesthings slip and it is worthchecking on a regular basiswhether consumption is rising,as well as taking into account theinflationary increases which havebeen considerable in recentyears and may be significantwhen the current contract comesup for renewal.

Building maintenance will also bean issue, with the need to ensurethat there are proper schedulesto keep the building in goodrepair. Just like with homemaintenance, it is usually a falseeconomy to cut back onessential repairs and it may wellresult in higher bills later on. TheLA will have an interest in thebuildings of the schools where itis the landlord and will be likelyto act if it believes the future ofthe premises are at risk, chargingcosts back against the budget.In schools where the governorsare the owners of the premises,do not expect others to helpcover the costs of maintenanceproblems which have beencaused by the school’sdecisions.

Decisions on how to maintain thepremises will largely rest with theschool. Governors will need toseek the best price for contractsand to ensure that the work isproperly managed, especiallythese days in relation to healthand safety issues. Largerschools may do this through apremises manager or as part ofthe administrator’s role, butsmaller schools may choose touse the services of the LA’sproperty management service.

Routine maintenance may becarried out as part of theresponsibilities of the schoolstaff, but it is important for thegoverning body, as the effectiveemployer, to ensure that it is notundertaking tasks beyond itscompetence or skills simply as ameans of saving money.

Cleaning and groundsmaintenance may be undertakenby school staff or an externalcontractor. Ensure that they arenot only being provided at thebest cost but to the standard theschool would wish to see.Regular review would beconsidered essential for goodresource management in theschool.

Many schools now let out theirbuildings and sometimes theirplaying fields, to external users.The school will need a chargingpolicy for this and governors willwant to keep this under regularreview to ensure that costs aregenuinely being covered by theincome received. It is quite easyto subsidise the activities ofothers if charging is not carefullycontrolled. As with buildingmaintenance contracts, it isimportant to ensure that properinsurances are in place beforeletting out the premises orgrounds, which means both theschool’s public liability and theusers’ own insurances, where


LA financial systems to pay billsand salaries through the LA.

Returns and theConsistent FinancialReporting (CFR) systemThe LA will expect clear returnsindicating the school’s spendingpatterns since it has a legalresponsibility to ensure that thespending is within the rules. LAswill also provide schools with aservice (at a charge) giving themmonitoring and outturninformation, usually monthly, orat least quarterly, showing howspending matches estimates.There is now also a nationalsystem called “ConsistentFinancial Reporting” to ensurethat every school reports itsspending against the sameheadings in the same manner.One of the reasons for this, apartfrom the government wanting toknow how schools spend theirmoney, is so that governors canmake comparisons with otherschools, which are believed to besimilar, to check where theirspending may differ. Governorsmust provide the final version ofthe year end accounts in thisformat each year by the dategiven by the relevant LA.

VAT considerationsLA schools can claim back theVAT on their purchases. Inessence, governors can ignoreVAT costs. If the schoolmanages its own bank account itwill need to make provision for itsown VAT records andaccounting. (VA schools cannotrecover VAT on capital projectspaid through the revenue budgetfor amounts in excess of £2,000.)The Government has indicatedthat it is making arrangements toallow Academies non-businessVAT costs to be reimbursed byHer Majesty's Revenue andCustoms through a refundscheme similar to that which

applies to local authoritymaintained schools. The DfE willissue further guidance toAcademies about the processduring 2012.

Other fundsOther money such as SchoolFund, or accounts held byFriends of the School, or throughother voluntary donations, willneed to be kept clearly separatefrom public funds. It is a goodidea to have different signatories

from other school accounts andfor them to be auditedindependently. It is often difficultto make the distinction, aseverything is being spent for thebenefit of the school, but inprinciple these funds should notbe being spent on elements ofthe SDP or used to support themain school budget. Targetspending on desirable extrasrather than essentials.


Purchasing servicesThe school is likely to buy inthree different markets.

• Services which LAs havetraditionally provided eitherfree to schools, or at cost.These could vary fromsupport for curriculumdevelopment orprofessional developmentto provision for SEN pupilsto administrative servicessuch as finance advice,payroll and personnelservices, governor supportor clerking. Governors canchallenge schools tocompare LA services withother LAs or externalproviders to see who offersthe best quality of service,at the best price. Value formoney may be at riskequally if schools either failto take advantage of theeconomies of scale thatLAs can secure, or defaultto LA services throughfamiliarity, when cheaper or better options areavailable.

• High-volume items thattend to be priced morecompetitively if purchasedin greater bulk than anindividual school.Governors can questionwhether routine suppliesare purchased mosteffectively direct, through acentral purchasingconsortium through the LA,or perhaps through anetwork of local schools

• Some costs relate tospecialised markets withfew possible supplierssuch as energy ortelecommunications whereLAs or professional buyingorganisation contracts arelikely to be the cheapest asthey are able to aggregatedemand. Many schools,particularly the biggerones, have found thatcatering services aresometimes more effectivelyprovided in-house butequally many feel thatprovision of school mealsis a distraction to their corepurpose which outweighsany savings.

LA budget informationThe LA will usually make it clearwhat the likely levels of budgetchange will be at the time of theChancellor’s autumn statement,even if only in percentage terms.Now there is less LA discretion,by the beginning of the springterm the budget will probably beclear. In any event the LA mustprovide the school’s budgetshare by 31 March though mostwill do so earlier. Governorsmust agree the budget for schoolby the LA’s deadline.

Bank accountsPay and non-paySchools can choose to have fullcontrol of their funding andoperate their own bank accounts.Governors may choose to do thisfor either the obvious “cash-type”activities such as payment ofinvoices for materials, ormaintenance costs, or can havefull control including all the salaryand staffing elements and all thepayroll costs. Some schools likethe former option because itensures that they can clearlyreconcile payments and feel theycan monitor the budget situationmore efficiently. Processingpayments through the LA centralpayment system may result in atime lag before they are recordedon the school administrationsystem.

The second, full bank accountoption is, of course, morecomplex as the school will needto operate some form of payrollsystem and will becomeresponsible for the administrationof all elements of the staffingcosts including taxation andNational Insurance. Althoughyour LA (or another externalprovider) will charge you for thisservice, governors may find itmore cost-effective than to useinternal staff time for thisfunction. Schools can also use


Thoughts and questions• Do you have a process for regular review of the school costheadings and their effectiveness?

• Are staffing levels what you will need for the future?• Is the balance between support staff and teachers in need ofchange?

• Is your leadership team still appropriate or should it bestrengthened or reduced?

• When did you last formally consider the school structure? • Have you an annual maintenance plan for the premises?• Tackling repairs on an “as and when” basis can lead to long-term problems

• Is there a redecoration programme as well as structuralrepair?

• Has improvement to the school grounds been costed?• Playing fields will deteriorate over time• What would be the main priorities for a capital programme?• What improvement should be made to support theeducational aims of the school?

• When did you last reconsider the provision of managementsupport for the school comparing costs and levels ofservice?

• Could you consider a rolling programme for review of theseservices to avoid renewal decisions all being made in thesame timeframe?

• Does your budget cycle match the deadlines for returns?• Try to give yourself some space for decisions or you may endup “rubber stamping” because of time pressures.

• If you’ve not yet decided about bank account arrangements,discuss whether the level of control you gain is important toyou. It will take more administration.

• Are you providing the LA or DfE with all the returns neededpromptly and effectively?

• Delays tend to suggest lack of control.• Are accounts ready for audit including VAT records andindependent sources of finance such as School Fund?

• The school is carrying asurplus of more than 10%in the first year butgovernors can see howrapidly this declines as theschool spends more thanits income.

• If the trend continues, inthe year following thesefigures, there will be anactual deficit rather thanthe current operatingloss, which is beingcovered by the previoussurplus carried forward.The school will need totake action to bring thebudget back intobalance.

The projections for the next twoyears do not seem to takeaccount of any inflationarypressures except perhaps moreaccurate projections for staffingcosts. Is this realistic?

Monthly outturn reportsOnce the budget has been set, itwill be broken down into moredetailed series of categoryheadings, depending on thereporting system used and thelevel of detail governors require.These will vary from school toschool and between LAs, if theschool uses their financial adviceservice, but typically show eachline of the budget with theprojected spend and then, as theyear progresses, the actualexpenditure to date can bepresented in outturn reports.

It may look something like thetable on page 24, which shows asection of an outturn report forstaffing costs towards the end ofthe autumn term. Thedifferences between theprojected and actual expenditurecan be seen and also thepossibility of commentaryexplaining the variance. Theseare really intended for theheadteacher and whoever ischarged with day-to-day financein the school but may bepresented to governors in asimilar format.

However, the role of the financecommittee is not to checkbudget outturn reports orinvoices line by line, pound bypound. Although there is a logicthat says looking after the small

amounts ensures the overallbudget stays under control, it iseasy to be deflected by smallsums and lose sight of the bigpicture, which is the governors’function. Try to ensure thatreports are presented in a waythat is meaningful. Essentially,governors need to know whetherspending has progressed asplanned and, if not, why not?After that governors will have toconsider what action needs to betaken. Has spending just beendelayed, but will still happen?Has there been an increasedcost, or a saving? If there hasbeen a change in the spendingpattern, how will you adjust thebudget, moving funding betweenheadings to accommodate thechange (called virement).

It may seem obvious butspending will not be neat andconsistent over the year.Governors should expectspending on materials andteaching resources to beweighted towards the end of thesummer and beginning of theautumn terms. For example if80% of the learning resourcesbudget has been committed byOctober that probably is not anissue. On the other hand, if thebudget for supply teaching isspent to the same extent it islikely that there is a real problemto resolve. Similarly, governors


The table on page 26 is anexample of a school budgetshown against the CFR headingswhich shows what governorsmay be asked to approve. It isfor a primary school. For asecondary school the figures willbe greater but the headings willbe the same. The example gives the current figures and alsothe projected budget for the nexttwo years.

A couple of points should benoted:

• In the “Income” section,the budget declines overthe next two years by some£58,000 but “Expenditure”by only £32,000 and thatthe difference is coveredby spending reserves.

• The SEN element seemsto be reducing andgovernors might want tocheck why this is so.Perhaps there arefunding changes ordifferences in the pupilpopulation?

• What implications arethere for the school? Ifthere is lower SEN,which this figuresuggests, doesexpenditure need to beadjusted to match thatdecline?

• In the “Other income”section, several headingsare showing “£0” as grantsare progressively droppedand incorporated into themain budget.


Section 7

What is meant bybudget monitoring?

Budget v Actuals - Account detailCFR 2011-12 2011-12 Predicted Projected

Account heading Cost Account cate- Budget Actual Committed Actuals + CY to year total Variance Commentscentre code gory Account description £ £ £ Commt’s end expend. £

Direct Employee Exps 1234000 1111 E01 Tchs - General 590,477 294,908 0 294,908 290,957 585,865 4,612 Budgeted for KS to finish 15 April. Also £685 salary adjustment re NF

1234000 1211 E01 Music tutors 9,421 4,413 0 4,413 4,692 9,105 316

1234000 1411 E02 Tchs - Supply 49,000 11,027 0 11,027 37,973 49,000 0

1234000 3111 E05 LGO - Professional 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1234000 3211 E05 LGO - Admin and clerical 41,463 23,653 0 23,653 23,166 46,819 -5,356 £1404 retro pay and basic salary adjust forRK and PN. Also £1642 costs for LP notincluded in budget (salary to date of leaving)

1234000 3311 E05 LGO - Casual 0 242 0 242 0 242 -242

1234000 3511 E03 LGO - Teaching assistants 76,863 38,988 0 38,988 38,658 77,646 -783 Offset by 05211

1234000 4511 E04 LGO - Site maint officer 21,102 10,381 0 10,381 10,614 20,995 107

1234000 5211 E03 LGO - Sp Nds Tching Assts 74,125 34,370 0 34,370 36,282 70,652 3,473 Offset by 03511

1234000 7711 E07 Mday Sup - Assts 18,334 12,650 0 12,650 9,102 21,752 -3,418 Costs for Out of School club appearing on thiscode. Journal required (£4216)

1234000 8212 E05 Admin and clerical staff OT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1234000 8214 E03 Education support staff OT 0 133 0 133 0 133 -133

1234000 8215 E04 Premises related staff OT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1234000 8217 E07 Other staff OT 150 0 0 0 150 150 0

1234000 8811 INVALID Ext - General agency 0 0 227 227 -227 0 0 Journal required to a/c 8821

1234000 8821 E26 Ext - Agency supply 3,688 535 0 535 3,153 3,688 0

1234000 8871 E27 Visiting lecturers 0 339 0 339 0 339 -339

1234000 8881 INVALID After school contracted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Direct 884,623 431,639 227 431,866 454,520 886,386 -1,763Employee Exps


• Do you receive reports from the school management, whichshow variance from the school spending plan in a clearmanner?

• Is there a narrative which explains key issues, gives reasonsand suggests alternatives to bring spending back into line?

• Are your meetings productive?

• No repeat discussion of items at other governor committees.

• No extended discussion of minor items or amounts.

• Is there a focus on thinking ahead and the impact ofspending on pupils?

Economy is minimising the costsof resources used for goods,services or activities. Anexample of this would be: areschool supplies purchased at thebest available price?

Efficiency is the relationshipbetween outputs and theresources used to produce them.Does the timetable make bestuse of teachers?

Effectiveness is the extent towhich objectives have beenachieved. An example would bethe extent to which thedeployment of teachingassistants has raised levels ofattainment and pupil well-being?

Regular reviews of high-costgoods and services, such asadministration, managementservices or ICT, will reveal

whether they are meeting theschool’s aims and have theexpected performance levels.Governors can challenge theschool to undertake reviews andtake any appropriate action. The reviews will help the schoolwith decisions about futuresuppliers. It does not follow thatwhat has been right in the past isstill the best option. Governorsmay wish to bring a service


will expect consistent spendingon energy costs based onhistoric patterns and if there is a variation, governors will want to know.

It can help to have somedesirable, but not essential (and

probably limited cost), items in aSDP, which can be undertaken iffunds become available, ordropped if there is a financialproblem, to give some optionsfor how the budget could bemodified. Spending windfalls onwhat seems like a good idea at

the time, but has not been seenas a priority, or cutting spendingon a key development simply toensure a balanced budgetwithout considering other optionsis not what is meant by efficiency.


Section 8

Defining ‘value for money’and ‘efficiency’ in schoolsThe widely accepted definition of value for money in schools, supported by the DfEin its own guidance, refers to three elements described as the “three Es”: economy,efficiency and effectiveness. In simple terms, this means making the best use ofavailable resources, including getting better outcomes for the same spending, orfreeing up resources, that are being used inefficiently, to be used for otherpurposes. It is important to recognise that value for money does not necessarilymean cheapest and one of the roles of the governors is to help assess whether theoutcomes for the school justify the cost however great or small.

2011-12 Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) Summary

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Balance bought forward from previous year 171,704 141,588 103,562LMS funding 1,163,456 1,122,263 1,116,344

I01 Funds delegated by the LA 1,050,116 1,031,539 1,038,219I02 Sixth form funding 0 0 0I03 SEN funding 113,340 90,724 78,125

Other income 36,407 25,500 25,500I04 Funding for minority ethnic pupils 0 0 0I05 Standards fund 3,555 0 0I06 Other Government grants 0 0 0I07 Other grants and payments 4,090 0 0I08 Income from facilities and services 16,238 13,500 13,500I09 Income from catering 524 0 0I10 Receipts from supply teacher insurance claims 0 0 0I11 Receipts from other insurance claims 0 0 0I12 Income from contributions to visits, etc. 12,000 12,000 12,000I13 Donations and/or private funds -0 0 0I14 SSG pupil focussed 0 0 0

Total income 1,199,863 1,147,763 1,141,844Salaries 882,359 847,520 862,719

E01 Teaching staff 594,970 554,862 577,658E02 Supply teaching staff 49,000 49,000 49,000E03 Education support staff 148,431 156,899 147,876E04 Premises staff 20,995 21,167 21,228E05 Administrative and clerical staff 47,061 47,126 48,250E06 Catering staff 0 0 0E07 Cost of other staff 21,902 18,466 18,707

Other expenditure 347,620 338,269 334,269E08 Indirect employee expenses 400 400 400E09 Development and training 5,939 5,939 5,939E10 Supply teacher insurance 15,553 15,553 15,553E11 Staff related insurance 2,218 2,218 2,218E12 Building maintenance and improvement 22,238 17,000 17,000E13 Grounds maintenance and improvement 10,000 10,000 6,000E14 Cleaning and caretaking 35,908 35,553 35,553E15 Water and sewerage 16,386 16,386 16,386E16 Energy 24,820 26,820 26,820E17 Rates 19,593 19,593 19,593E18 Other occupation costs 12,081 12,381 12,381E19 Learning resources (not ICT equipment) 54,709 53,043 53,043E20 ICT Learning resources 12,392 12,300 12,300E21 Exam fees 0 0 0E22 Administrative supply 15,436 11,613 11,613E23 Other insurance premiums 5,262 5,262 5,262E24 Special facilities 28,083 28,083 28,083E25 Catering supplies 10,827 10,689 10,689E26 Agency supply teaching staff 3,688 3,688 3,688E27 Bought in professional services - Curriculum 15,049 14,710 14,710E28 Bought in professional services - Other 37,037 37,037 37,037E29 Loan interest 0 0 0E30 Direct revenue financing (Revenue cont. to capital) 0 0 0

Total expenditure 1,229,979 1,185,789 1,196,988In year Deficit -30,117 Deficit -38,026 Deficit -55,144

Perhaps it is also worthremembering that the funding isthere to promote high standardsof education for the pupils and theLA can act if those standards arenot what might be expected, or ifthe quality of governance ormanagement is such that it putstandards at risk. If the LAbelieves that to be the case it mayissue a warning notice to thegoverning body stating what theproblem is and giving a timescalein which they would expect to seeimprovement. Financialmanagement is part of overallgood management of the schooland spending decisions need tobe justified in terms of their impacton pupil achievement.

It is also the case that the LA canintervene if schools are placed in

an Ofsted category. It very muchdepends on the policy of the LAconcerned, but they do have thepower to suspend financialdelegation to a school whichrequires action following aninspection. This is done on thebasis that it is not enough just forthe figures to add up but, as hasbeen indicated throughout, thefunding has to have been usedeffectively. As a result the LA maychoose to take away financialmanagement from the schooltemporarily, managing financesdirectly until such time as thesituation improves and control ofthe school is returned to thegoverning body. This is extremelyunlikely to happen in isolation andother support will have been put inplace such as strengthening the

governing body, additionalmanagement support, anexecutive headteacher, forexample, or some othermeasures. It is not possible toremove financial delegationpermanently and control must bereturned to the governing bodywhen the underlying issues havebeen resolved.

These measures are notmentioned as a threat or as aprospect of doom but to reinforcethe simple fact that when schoolspending is being assessed it isagainst the outcomes for thepupils. If all decisions are madewith that in mind then no morecan be asked and the timedevoted to being a governor, withan interest in the finances of theschool, will have been well spent.


under a dedicated member ofstaff in the school, or may feelthat the need for increasedprofessionalism or economies ofscale mean that provisionthrough an outside agencywould be better.

BenchmarkingOne of the purposes of the CFRsystem is to enable schools tocompare their levels ofexpenditure with other schools.There is a national website whichnow enables you to do this,showing one school’s costsagainst those of another, similarschool. This enables governorsto then compare, for example,staffing or premises costs withothers. Of course, like muchdata, this will give no answersbut it will give more questions topursue with the staff. Forexample, if the pupil teacher ratioor senior management costs aresignificantly out of line with otherschools, it may encouragegovernors to find out why.Governors would certainly wantto question any further increasein staffing levels if that wereproposed. It does not mean thiswould be refused but governorswould probably want to knowclearly how the additional staffingwould contribute still further tostandards in the school.

The benchmarking data goesbeyond financial information andcan allow you to compare resultsas well as costs. If your staffcosts are higher but your pupils’performance is not, that might bea reasonable area to investigate.

Partnerships, Federationsand clustersThe government is keen to seeschools working morecooperatively as a means ofmaking efficiency savings. Thiscould be through informal

arrangements between schoolson joint activities or sharedtimetables. It could be through amore formal governancearrangement such as theestablishment of a jointgovernance committee withdefined terms of reference, asallowed for in the SchoolGovernance [Collaboration]Regulations, 2003. Furtheradvice can be obtained from thelocal authority.

The idea is to enable schools toget either better purchasingpower by placing joint contractsor to make savings by sharingstaffing costs. It might bepossible to organise a jointgrounds maintenance contract ina local area for example or toemploy grounds maintenancestaff jointly where it could not bejustified in a single school. Otherexamples of staffing

collaboration might beemploying a finance officershared between a group of smallschools; it might be possible toemploy a specialist musicianjointly where there would not bea full timetable for a singleschool; a group of schools couldmake use of specialist sportscoaching to give PPA time toteaching staff; it might even bepossible to establish jointleadership teams for a cluster ofschools. Governors would need to take care not simply to drift into arrangements, which almost seem like theyreplicate the services of a mini-LA. The immediacy, controland consequent effectivenessgained may be as important asany cost savings.



• As budgets become tighter are you sure that each majorcontract is being reviewed and if necessary renegotiated atthe best price?

• Do you consciously seek alternative suppliers (while beingaware of the cost of management time this may take)?

• Do you establish quality standards in contracts and checkthese?

• Cheap may not be value for money.

• If savings can be made do you consider how they can bereallocated within the budget to achieve more for yourpupils?

• Cost saving is not an end in itself.

• Have you taken the trouble to check your costs against thoseof schools in similar circumstances?

• Have you also considered within the benchmarking data thedifferences in outcomes for pupils as well as costs?

• If faced with a priority or a problem, which seemsunaffordable, might collaborative working be of help?

• Networks and partnerships take time, particularly of theleadership team, but without them the risk is that you maybecome isolated as a school and not only lose the financialbenefits of sharing services, but the educational benefits ofshared innovation.

Section 9

A final note of cautionRemember that the governing body is using public money and there are processeswhich will hold them to account. The LA or the DfE will have audit systems whichwill expect the school to demonstrate that it has acted properly and within the legalframework and governors must ensure that it can meet all these requirements.

LA - Local Authority (formerly Local Education Authority).

Maintained school - A school for which an LA has financial and administrative responsibility.

Non teaching staff (also known as support staff) - Members of school staff employed by thegovernors to provide services in a school other than teaching, such as classroom assistants,cleaners and school secretaries.

NQT - A newly qualified teacher.

Ofsted - Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. It brings together theregulation and inspection of day care and children’s social care and the inspection of LAchildren’s services, schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning, adulteducation and more.

Outturn - A statement prepared annually by a school, and ultimately the LA for all schools,showing expenditure during the financial year. The statement is in a form prescribed byRegulations (see Consistent Financial Reporting).

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) - A way of financing public building projects including schoolswhereby private sector partners build and manage assets and the long-term delivery ofservices.

Pupils on roll - Pupils registered at a school.

School company - A company set up by schools to provide goods and services for schools inthe company and other schools. Accounts for this company must be clearly separate from theschool budget. Profits may be used for the benefit of the school but the budget may notsubsidise the activities of the company.

Scheme for Financing Schools - A document which must be prepared and maintained byeach LA showing how the schools within the LA will receive the funds required to run theschool and the conditions attached.

Schools’ block - The element of the Dedicated Schools’ Grant allocated specifically to schools

Schools Forum - A body which must be established by each LA which represents thegoverning bodies and Headteachers of schools maintained by the LA as well as the interests ofother persons. Its purpose is to advise the LA on matters relating to the schools budget.Members are elected by the various groups represented.

School Improvement Plan (School Development Plan) - An outline of the school’s prioritiesand areas for improvement setting out what is to be achieved, by when, and how it will bemeasured. Included within the plan should be an indication of how each element will befunded.

School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document - Teachers’ conditions of employment ofschool teachers, including pay are contained in an Act of Parliament and governors must followthe national scheme.

Special educational needs (SEN) - Learning difficulties for which a child needs specialeducational help.

Voluntary aided school - A school set up and owned by a voluntary body, usually a religiousfaith, largely financed by an LA. The governing body employs the staff and controls pupiladmissions and religious education. The school’s land and buildings (apart from playing fields,which may belong to the LA) will normally be owned by a charitable foundation.

Voluntary controlled school - A school set up by a voluntary body, often a church body(generally Church of England). These schools are totally funded by the LA, which employs the staff.

YPLA - Young People’s Learning Agency. From 1st April 2012, to become the EducationFunding Agency, see above.


ASC (formerly PLASC): Annual School Census (Pupil Level Annual School Census) -The collection of pupil data by the Department of Education, one key element of which is theJanuary pupil numbers then used in the budget share calculation.

Academies - Publicly funded independent schools.

Age weighted pupil unit (AWPU) - The sum of money within the budget calculation assignedto each pupil of the age in the school. Decided locally it will differ from one authority to anotherand is usually a lower value for primary pupils than secondary.

Associate member - A person who is appointed by the governing body as a member, but whois not a governor. They may join discussion on financial matters but not vote.

Budget share - The element of the funding for schools directly given to individual governingbody which they may determine spending through their budget.

Audit Commission - An independent body set up by government to monitor the use of fundsby LAs and certain other bodies. (Now disbanded).

Capital expenditure - Spending on building projects and large items of equipment.

Collaboration - Two or more governing bodies carrying out functions jointly, ideally withshared arrangements.

Community school - A state school wholly owned and maintained by the LA.

Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) - The government’s required system for publicreporting of school and LA spending under a common set of budget headings.

Contingency fund - Money set aside for unexpected costs.

Current expenditure - Spending on the day-to-day running of schools, including staff costs,heating and lighting and consumables, sometimes called revenue or recurrent expenditure.

Dedicated Schools’ Grant (DSG) - The government grant to each LA identifying how muchmoney is available for distribution to schools

Delegation - A process where one body or person gives another body or person authority totake decisions. The governing body may, in certain circumstances, delegate a specific functionor responsibility to a committee or an individual.

Education Funding Agency (formerly the Young People’s Learning Agency).

Extended school - Activities, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of its pupils, their families and the wider community. These activities may not be funded from theschool budget.

Federation of governing bodies - Several schools joined together under a single governingbody. The schools remain separate but are have one governing body. They may choose tohave one or more Headteachers.

Formula funding - The method by which funds for school budgets are calculated. The mostimportant factor is the number of pupils.

Foundation school - A state school which has more freedom than community schools in howit is managed and with its admissions procedures. At foundation schools, the governing bodyis the employer and the admission authority. The school’s land and buildings are owned byeither the governing body or a charitable foundation. Funding comes from the LA on the samebasis as other schools in the LA.


Glossary

SDP and Budgets toolDepartment for Education 2010http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/b0069984/vfm/casestudies/abington-high-school/step-by-step-process-of-making-improvements-linking-the-school-budget-to-improvement-plans

School Financial ValueStandards (with support notes)Department for Education 2011http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schools%20financial%20value%20standard/a00192114/schools-financial-value-standard-sfvs

School funding reform: anempirical analysis of optionsfor a national funding formulaInstitute for Fiscal Studies 2011http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/5754

Schools Forums; Operationaland Good Practice GuidanceDfE 2010http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/financeregulations/b0064735/guidance-on-updated-reg

Fraud risks in schools advicefor school governorshttp://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Downloads/20111109fraudschoolgovernorsflyer.pdf

Keeping your balanceOfsted and the Audit Commission 1993 and revised 2000http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/pages/keepingyourbalance.aspxhttp://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/NationalStudies/brbalanc.pdf

Valuable lessons: Improving economy and efficiency in schools.Briefing for school governorsAudit Commission 2009http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/NationalStudies/valuablelessonsgovernorsguide30jun2009.pdf

Financial Efficiency in SchoolsDepartment for Education 2010https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR007

Efficiencies: helping schools balance the budget.Case studies and recommendations for school leadersNational College for School Leadership 2010http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/2096/1/download%3Fid%3D134049%26filename%3Defficiencies-helping-schools-balance-the-budget.pdf

Securing the best for less: making resources go furtherNational College for School Leadership 2010http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/index/about-us/news/press-release-detail.htm?id=133814

Funding - Basic ToolsAssociation of School and College Leaders (undated)http://www.ascl.org.uk/resources/library/funding_tools

Governing Body Value for Money Health CheckDepartment for Education 2010http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/ppt/g/governing%20body%20value%20for%20money%20health%20check.ppt


Useful documents andfurther reading

http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/nationalstudies/localgov/pages/keepingyourbalance.aspx

http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/NationalStudies/brbalanc.pdf

http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/AuditCommissionReports/NationalStudies/valuablelessonsgovernorsguide30jun2009.pdf

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR007

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/2096/1/download%3Fid%3D134049%26filename%3Defficiencies-helping-schools-balance-the-budget.pdf

http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/index/about-us/news/press-release-detail.htm?id=133814

http://www.ascl.org.uk/resources/library/funding_tools

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/ppt/g/governing%20body%20value%20for%20money%20health%20check.ppt

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/b0069984/vfm/casestudies/abington-high-school/step-by-step-process-of-making-improvements-linking-the-school-budget-to-improvement-plans

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schools%20financial%20value%20standard/a00192114/schools-financial-value-standard-sfvs

http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/5754

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/financeregulations/b0064735/guidance-on-updated-reg

http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Downloads/20111109fraudschoolgovernorsflyer.pdf