All maintained schools are required to self-assess their financial management procedures and controls annually and identify any areas of non-compliance for further action.
This mandatory responsibility is placed upon governors who, in conjunction with school leaders and school business managers are left to make judgements about whether the school delivers good value for money and maintains appropriate and safe financial controls.
The Schools Financial Value Standard consists of 25 questions which governing bodies should formally discuss annually with the headteacher and senior staff.
To support schools to comply with the standard, drb Schools and Academies offers the following support which can be purchased individually or as a bespoke package:
- Training and advice for governors and senior leaders about their roles and responsibilities in achieving the standard
- Production of an SFVS action plan and timeline
- Assistance in producing a summary of evidence
- Production of a summary and analysis of governing body and school finance staff competencies
- Review of internal controls in line with audit recommendations
- Production of a benchmarking review and reports
- Financial health checks
