School financial management

Learn how to manage cash flow as a school business manager (SBM). See what to include in your monthly forecasts to help monitor and report income and expenditure. Download a template from the ISBL and get tips for filling out cash flow templates.

Get to grips with what you need to prepare and do when it comes to monthly budget monitoring reports for academy trusts.

Find advice for keeping track of money, setting up financial controls, and using petty cash funds in your school.

Find out which school trips you can charge for and how much you should charge. Download our handy template to help you calculate your costs. Plus, find out what to do with any money that's left over.

Understand what you can and can't charge for with respect to residential trips. Read guidance on when parents may be exempt from paying for elements that are normally chargeable.

Find out what activities and equipment you can and can't charge parents for and how to request payment.

Parent and carer associations are a great way to build a strong sense of community and to help your school get the extra financial support it needs. See how one PTA raised over £20,000 in a term and share their ideas with your own PTA.

See practical advice and examples from other schools on fundraising for small or rural schools, to help you combat any challenges in generating income. Plus, use our fundraising planning sheet to get started.

Find a selection of the grants available to schools across a range of areas, and details of freebies you can access. Also learn about cost-of-living support available for your school and community.

Changes to the Academy Trust Handbook 2024 include a requirement to capture appointment information in your register of interests, less admin for leasing arrangements, and a requirement for trusts with higher incomes to use professional auditors for internal scrutiny.

Understand the different ways you can allocate curriculum budgets. Download our curriculum budget formula calculator and see case studies from different types of school.

Download our list of questions to help you analyse your benchmarking data, and find guidance from the DfE.

Find out what to include in your recruitment adverts and where to post them so that you stand out and attract the best candidates.

Let prospective parents and carers know about your school's unique selling points. Adapt our template marketing plan to make sure you're getting the most out of your social media, newsletters and website.

Academies must include a review of value for money in their annual accounts. Read about the purpose and structure of the review, and see examples from other academy trusts.

Use our template contracts register to keep a record of all of your school's contracts and service level agreements in one place.

As a maintained school or academy, you have a duty to get the best value for money from contracts you enter into. Follow our step-by-step procurement guide to make sure you're buying in the right way.