Finance update for School Business Leaders – 10 August 2020

Exam Fees Refunds
We haven’t currently been able to confirm this but it looks like schools may receive a refund in the terms of a ‘credit note’ from Exam Boards for this year’s fees. Clearly exam boards have already paid for papers, senior examiners, administration and so on and so cannot return the full amount, but Pearson appears to have contacted Heads of Centre offering a partial refund as a credit against future year’s exams.

COVID Catch Up Premium
The DfE have published more information about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium. There will be £80 per pupil from reception to year 11 allocated to support schools to catch up pupils following the issues caused by the pandemic. Special schools, APs and hospital schools will receive £240 per pupil.
A good starting point for assessing how to spend this additional funding is the Covid-19 support guide for schools published by the Education Endowment Foundation.
The accountability process is in two parts: initially the plans need to be scrutinised by trustees and governors but. When Ofsted resume routine inspections from January 2021 the use of the premium will inform their judgements about the positive impact of the curriculum.

National Tutoring Programme
One of the ways that you could use the COVID Catch Up Premium is accessing the National Tutoring Programme. The launch of the National Tutoring Programme is being supported by through this website.
There are two programmes running as part of this initiative: funding for in-school Academic Mentors in disadvantaged areas supported by Teach First; and tutoring support provided to schools by tuition partner organisations.

Funding for Post-16 Catch Up
The DfE have also announced funding for tuition for post-16 students who have not achieved a grade 4 in one of either GCSE English or GCSE Maths. Schools and colleges will receive £150 per student who has failed to achieve a grade 4 in either English or Maths, but have clarified that it can be used to support them in other subjects, not just achieving English and Maths.

SRMA support for schools, academies and trust
In ESFA Chief Executive’s letter to Accounting Officers she highlights the ‘COVID-19 recovery offer … using our cohort of SRMAs to support schools and trusts with financial or resourcing challenges. These optional ‘resilience visits’ can be adapted to your needs but, for example, could include budget advice or support to put in place plans to mitigate the impact of lost income during lockdown. Our intention is that these, likely mainly virtual, visits will provide practical help and will not place unnecessary burdens on schools or trusts. The SRMA will produce a short report which will be shared with you (and which, as with routine SRMA reports, will remain confidential between you and the department), but with no requirement for you to take follow up action. Initial feedback suggests that these have been well received, with the CEO of St. Ives Infants School saying the visit: “saved us weeks of research. The impact of personalised support was that we can apply the suggestions with real purpose and be proactive…the SRMA was a real critical friend with a huge amount of knowledge”.’
You can discuss a possible SRMA visit with TSO Education or contact the ESFA directly.

Additional Capital Funding
The ESFA have published the additional Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) projects that will now be funded as part of their £560 million post-COVID additional funding.

Procurement for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak
The ESFA have published some useful guidance for those responsible for procurement in schools, including one-to-one video calls with Crown Commercial Services to assist with finding good value in the supply market.

Internal Audit
For those of you who haven’t yet addressed the requirement to separate your providers for external and internal audit TSO Education still have capacity to provide internal audit services in the 2020-21 year. Our service is both bespoke to the organisation and competitively priced and will be provided by auditors who are members of the Institute of Internal Auditors. If you are interested please contact us for a quotation.