The Education and Skills Funding Agency released updated guidance on the financial requirements for single- and Multi-Academy Trusts, effective 1 September 2023.
The complete financial management obligations are available on the official government website or in the Academy Trust Handbook 2023, also known as the Academies financial handbook.
We highly advise all academy stakeholders, including members, trustees, local governors, accounting officers, chief financial officers, auditors, and governance professionals, to review the document and familiarise themselves with the most recent guidelines.
In this blog, our website and auditing experts have outlined the financial information that Academy Trusts must share on their website, in addition to the DfE Requirements for Academies, free schools and colleges.
The Trust must publish on its website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible format, including:
If the accounting officer is not a Trustee, their business and financial interests must still be published:
(Section 1.44)
The Trust must publish on its website in a separate, readily accessible form the number of employees whose benefits exceeded £100k, in £10k bandings, for the previous year ended 31 August. Benefits for this purpose include salary, employers’ pension contributions, other taxable benefits and termination payments. Where the Academy Trust has entered into an off-payroll arrangement with someone who is not an employee, the amount paid by the Trust for that person’s work for the trust must also be included in the website disclosure where payment exceeds £100k as if they were an employee.
(Section 2.29)
The Trustees must agree a procedure for whistleblowing, and publish it on the Trust’s website, to protect staff who report individuals they believe are doing something wrong or illegal.
(Section 2.40)
The Trust must notify DfE of changes to the governance information described in this section within 14 calendar days of the change and update its website and Companies House accordingly.
(Section 2.46)
The audited report and accounts must be published on the Trust’s website by 31 January
(Section 4.4)
Trusts must publish relevant business and financial interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers on their websites. Trusts have discretion over the publication of other individuals' interests on the register. The Charity Commission offers guidance in: Managing a conflict of interest in your charity and CC29: Conflicts of interest: a guide for charity trustees.
(Section 5.48)
The department will notify the Trust of the date on which the department has published the NtI. The Trust must then publish the NtI on its own website within 14 days and retain it on the website until the department lifts the NtI.
(Section 6.19)
Although these may not be mentioned in the Academy Handbook 2023, don’t forget there are other essential website requirements associated with education finance.
Trusts must publish their funding agreement on their website.
Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulation 2017, organisations with 250+ employees have to publish information on their website and the government reporting website about the gender pay gap within their organisation.
It is also worth noting that schools also need to report the following financial information on their school website:
Academies should publish their charging and remissions policies (this means when you cancel fees). The policies must include details of:
All schools that receive pupil premium funding must publish a pupil premium strategy statement on their website each year by 31 December
In the strategy statement, you must explain how your pupil premium and recovery premium is being spent and the outcomes that are being achieved for pupils.
If your school receives PE and sport premium funding, you must publish:
Understanding and adhering to the financial information requirements outlined in this blog is essential for Academy Trusts to maintain transparency and compliance with regulatory standards, but it’s not an easy task.
Deciphering the information and knowing what guidelines you must adhere to can be complex and time-consuming, but it’s essential to get it right.
We've partnered with over 300 Academy Trusts to create visually appealing and fully compliant websites.
Our expert website team, specialising in standalone sites or trust-wide projects, can help your trust shine online while maintaining compliance.
Book a free consultation with our team today and ensure your trust remains fully compliant online.