Internal scrutiny services for schools and MATs

Our internal scrutiny service for primary and secondary schools as well as trusts provides clear, independent oversight that helps your trust identify risk, improve governance, and meet your compliance obligations with confidence.

 

How can you improve your school compliance?

MATs, SATs and maintained schools often lack internal time or expertise to conduct thorough reviews, especially when stretched across multiple sites. 

Whether it’s a budget compliance check or a full trust-wide review, we can help you with our school compliance services specifically designed with schools and trusts in mind. At Juniper Education, we take a proactive, purposeful approach to internal scrutiny. 

  

Providing real solutions for all of your internal scrutiny and risk management challenges

Our professionally qualified experts offer a breadth of internal scrutiny and risk management solutions for schools and trusts. 

  • Support with site security, health & safety and critical incident planning
  • Assess all financial processes, including financial governance and reporting
  • Ofsted inspection preparation and mock reviews
  • Non-financial audits for schools and trusts
  • Education system audits
  • Operational risk management 
  • Our experts will help you navigate, understand, and manage risk in your school or trust

What sets Juniper’s internal scrutiny service apart?

External scrutiny and school compliance reviews that are supportive, not judgmental and always sector-specific. 

What does internal scrutiny include?

✓  School financial audit including: a review of financial systems, processes and documentation 

✓  Sample testing of procurement, budgeting, and spending

✓  Assessment of compliance with Academy Trust Handbook (ATH) and internal policies

✓  Responsible Officer checks for maintained schools

✓ Clear, jargon-free written reports with practical recommendations

✓ Remote and onsite delivery options

 

Delivered remotely or in person, our school compliance reviews are accessible to schools and trusts nationwide. Wherever you're based, you’ll have access to dedicated expert consultants who understand your context, funding model, and regulatory requirements. 

 

All non-financial school audits are tailored to your context, experience level and areas of risk, whether that’s across your MAT, or within an individual school. 

 

Non-financial audits for schools and trusts

We go beyond the basics, offering 50+ in-depth, non-financial audits and reviews for schools and trusts. Our reviews provide information across key areas such as data, education, estates, HR, risk management, and more.

Internal scrutiny for academy trusts, schools and education settings

✓  Sector-specific expertise with education funding and finance

✓  Reports you can use - not just tick-box summaries

✓  Designed to align with your governance cycle and trust priorities

✓  Supports both school compliance and strategic improvement

✓  Fully integrated with our wider services across HR, finance and governance 

✓ Remote and onsite delivery options

We don’t just assess what’s working. We help make what’s not, better. 

Is this service for you? We partner with:

✓  MATs needing full annual internal scrutiny

✓  Standalone academies preparing for external audit and aiming to strengthen systems and processes 

✓  Maintained schools requiring Responsible Officer checks

✓  Trusts & schools seeking a more strategic, joined-up view of financial health

If you need independent insights, expert support to identify risks, tailored to the education sector, we're here.

Meet some of our internal scrutiny experts

Every school has different risks, different budgets, and different systems. That's why we offer bespoke internal scrutiny for multi-academy trusts and schools. 

We work with Trusts across the UK - from smaller academies with emerging structures to larger MATs needing multi-site sampling and consistency across policies.  

Carly Quick Crockford

Internal Scrutiny &

Consultancy Manager

Carly Quick Crockford  - Internal Scrutiny Manager

Since joining the Juniper Education Team in 2019, Carly has dedicated six years to enhancing the organisation’s financial and operational integrity. With 20 years of experience in finance, she brings a wealth of expertise to her role.

Rachael Langdale

Senior Consultant

Internal Scrutiny Specialist

Rachael Langdale - Internal Scrutiny Specialist

Rachael began her career in Internal Scrutiny with Essex County Council in 2009 and became part of the Juniper Education team when the service was acquired. With over 16 years of experience in the field, she now works as a Senior Consultant.

What do schools think of Juniper's Internal Scrutiny?

Helping trusts stay accountable, efficient, and inspection-ready. 

We are in the process of using the Juniper Internal Scrutiny service to assess the financial controls across our 16 academies. The service provided is professional, the reviews being carried out are thorough, and the reports we have received to date have been highly informative. I would definitely recommend.
CFO Epping Forest Schools Partnership Trust
We have used the Internal Audit Service from Juniper for several years and have always been impressed with the way that the service is conducted. As an academy trust we are required to be suitably challenged to ensure that our procedures match our financial regulations and the academy financial handbook.
CEO Eveleigh Link Academy Trust
Juniper provided a comprehensive solution to our needs; we continue to use Juniper year after year.
Dave Richardson Trust Project Manager, Osborne Co-operative Academy Trust

Free resources

All free to download, designed by our consultants, and ready to use.

Why it's essential to review your school policies - Juniper Education

Why It's Essential to Review Your School Policies

 

→ Read blog

How to prepare for an Ofsted inspection - Juniper Education

How to prepare for an Ofsted inspection

 

 

→ Read blog

Ensuring compliance and financial accountability in Multi-Academy Trusts - Juniper Education

Ensuring Compliance and Financial Accountability in Multi-Academy Trusts

→ Read blog

Trusted nationwide

Used by schools and trusts across the UK.

  

Find out how Sonar Multi-School can support your MAT

  • Holistic trust-wide insights
  • Target interventions for improved pupil achievement
  • Highlight areas for strategic Continued Professional Development (CPD)  

Integrated support

Stronger when combined with finance and HR.

Our Internal Scrutiny service works seamlessly alongside our Finance Managed services, HR consultancy, and governance tools, giving you a joined-up, strategic view of your school or Trust’s operations.  

It’s important to know that when Internal Scrutiny carries out audits, it’s completely independent and impartial. Even if your school or trust uses other Juniper finance services - like payroll or budget support - Internal Scrutiny remains entirely separate.