Managing the school budget

  • Academy Trust Handbook: changes from September 2023
    Changes to the Academy Trust Handbook 2023 include looser requirements on sharing management accounts with your board, a higher threshold for related party transaction value before ESFA approval is necessary, and a new list of estates guidance to apply.
  • Allocating departmental budgets
    Find out about the different ways you can allocate curriculum budgets. Download our curriculum budget formula calculator and see case studies from different types of school.
  • Budget planning: how to and templates
    Get to grips with your budget planning. Use our template 5-year budget plan spreadsheets to help you model a range of scenarios and then cost your chosen one in detail.
  • Calculating the cost of your whole-school SEN provision
    Understand how to calculate staffing costs for SEN provision so you can better estimate how much money you're spending on your overall SEN provision. Download our tools to help keep track of how much each intervention costs and whether it offers value for money.
  • Consistent financial reporting (CFR)
    Find out the purpose of the consistent financial reporting (CFR) framework for maintained schools and pupil referral units (PRUs), and how to use COLLECT to submit a data return. Plus, see what's changed for 2023-24.
  • Financial benchmarking for multi-academy trusts (MATs)
    Effective financial benchmarking is harder for MATs than for standalone schools. Get expert advice on using internal and external benchmarking to improve your trust's financial health, and learn how to find trusts to benchmark against.
    For Trust Leaders
  • Financial benchmarking: how-to guide
    See how you can identify schools similar to yours and make comparisons using the financial benchmarking service from the DfE. You'll also understand the benefits and limitations of benchmarking, and see examples of how other schools use it.
  • Presenting your budget to governors: templates
    Keep your governors fully informed about your budget planning and decision making with our downloadable templates. You'll find a detailed budget planner, and a planning report that will help you head off likely questions from governors.
  • School budget monitoring: questions to discuss
    With finances squeezed, use this guide to help you make the most of your budget monitoring meetings. See what to cover and use our questions to help you spot issues and identify next steps.
  • Staff salaries: internal benchmarking
    Benchmarking internal staff salaries helps to make sure you’re paying staff fairly and following equality legislation. See advice on when and how to carry out a review.