We partner with School and Academy Trust sector bodies The Confederation of School Trusts (CST), Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL) and The Trust Network. They continue to advocate hard on behalf of schools and trusts and are offering guidance and advice on operational issues. Some key items are highlighted here.
The Secretary of State’s announcement on 29 July of fully funded 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders is encouraging news. The long-standing challenges facing schools and Trusts means the award was essential and a step in the right direction.
Considering this announcement Trusts who have previously submitted their Budget Forecast Returns (BFR) are not expected to resubmit updated BFRs. Trusts are required to submit their BFRs using the information available to them at the time. Trusts will be able to amend returns until 29 August if it has a material impact on your forecast but there is no obligation to do so.
The BFR collects the percentage pay award assumed in your forecast and so major differences in assumptions used by Trusts compared to the final School Teachers’ Review Body position will be visible. The BFR also provides comment boxes in which you can share information about the basis of your pay award your income and cost assumptions.
While the ESFA do use the BFR as a starting point for some of their engagement with trusts, they have also confirmed that if returns show significant divergence from the final STRB position this will be taken into account as part of those conversations with Trusts being able to set out, at a high level, what impact they think this has had on their forecasting.
You can discuss the above in more detail by contacting ESFA here. You can also review the BFR guidance and further details on the website.
The DfE has published the Academy Trust Handbook for September 2024 alongside a ‘Dear Accounting Officer’ letter. There are some changes to the Academy Trust Handbook documented on page 8 of the handbook and in the letter.
The most significant is the decision to extend the list of circumstances in which a notice to improve may be issued to include estates management.
This change is likely driven by events such as the RAAC crisis and concerns around procurement of CIF projects by certain organisations. The change emphasises the importance of Good Estates Management for Schools (GEMS) the importance of good project management, procurement practices, contract admin, statutory compliance and planned maintenance programmes.
If you wish to discuss this Barker’s team can help and support with your estates strategy and operational processes. Contact Us