Accounts | Schools Week

Rise in parents complaining to Ofsted about schools post-Covid

But watchdog wants to ‘reassure’ sector that few led to snap inspections

Trust reviews policies after CEO’s ‘premium’ Apple event flights

Auditors flag ‘financial issue’ after trust forked out £1k for journey

MATs gain schools and record cash boost amid Covid

Academies boasted record levels of spare cash and continued to expand amid the pandemic, Kreston’s annual benchmarking report shows

Trusts rack up £3bn surplus, and 6 more academy sector accounts findings

The report reveals rising reserves, more spending rule breaches and more trusts under scrutiny over high pay

Two-thirds of heads warn schools face cuts despite ‘record’ funding

Two-thirds of primary school leaders say sharp cutbacks could be needed to balance their books in two years’ time, according to a union survey. The NAHT union warned almost a third of those polled had already made cuts in the past year, with some heads revealing they had cut teaching assistant and site manager roles […]

Small academy trusts told to use reserves to fund urgent safety repairs

The government has warned small academy trusts and sixth form colleges they will be denied funding for urgent health and safety repairs if they could use their own reserves instead. The Department for Education published revised guidance on “urgent capital support” (UCS) funding today, tweaking eligibility rules. The UCS pot is earmarked for “urgent condition […]

Ofsted’s 2020-21 annual report and accounts: 8 things we learned

Ofsted has published its corporate annual report and accounts, laying bare how the watchdog’s work has changed in an unprecedented year in which most of its functions were scaled back. The document focuses on the inspectorate’s performance, and is not the same as the official annual report to Parliament each year, which focuses on inspection […]

‘No frills’ private school racks up £170k loss

The country’s first “no frills” private school – charging pupils just £60 a week – has posted a £170,000 loss in its second year of operation. The Independent Grammar School: Durham (IGSD) opened in 2018 with just six pupils. It now has 47 children on its books. New accounts for the firm behind the school, […]

Academy trusts to face tougher financial checks

Academy trusts can expect tougher checks on their finances as auditors sharpen up following high-profile auditing scandals – and cash-strapped chains can no longer rely on government bail-outs. Government guidance published last week said trustees and finance staff would face “more detailed questioning” from auditors assessing whether their trusts have enough cash to continue. The […]