“Does the school have adequate financial skills amongst its employees to ensure sound financial management is maintained?”
In the ‘Finance’ section of Evaluate-Ed there is a topic called ‘Procedures and Practices’ with a set of questions directly related to this theme
There is absolutely no doubt that both the procedures established by any school or trust, and the skills of the people undertaking the daily practices of financial management, directly affect the resources available to support pupils. When there are clear roles and responsibilities, that are not only defined but also understood by all staff, they allow the importance and relevance of financial systems to support school development and the whole-school improvement process. So here are some thoughts on the question above, as we assimilate the implications for our own school or trust of the latest updated to the DfE’s ‘School Resource Management: Building a stronger system’ document.
- Do we have an appropriate and clear delegation of financial responsibilities?
- Has our school or trust undertaken an audit of staff skills in relation to the financial management of the school?
- Does our school development plan contain direct links and information in relation to the school budget requirements needed for its success?
- Does our board of trustees or governors have members with the necessary skills and training to support the oversight of financial matters?
- Does our school leadership or management team include a staff member with key responsibilities in relation to finance?
- Are there regular reports to governors and trustees on our current financial situation?
- Is there a long-term financial plan for our school or trust?
A successful school or trust will always have staff, governors or trustees with the variety of financial skills necessary for the provision of a high-quality curriculum with all the necessary resources to support pupil learning.
John Croghan M.Ed. BA. Cert.Ed.
If you would like to speak to John please email john.croghan@evaluate-ed.com.
