Spotlight on Education - Issue Autumn 2019 - Thorne Widgery
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Spotlight on
Education
Issue
Autumn 2019
Contents
02 Academy handed final notice to improve
03 Coasting’ measure no longer a trigger for intervention
04 Population boom means 80 more special schools needed
05 ESFA gets tough on third party transactions
06 Academies told to justify ‘excessive’ pay
07 Schools and Academies Show / First MAT summary evaluation
08 DfE to rethink funding cuts
09 Tougher stance on illegal and failing schools
10 Tougher stance on illegal and failing schools
__
Welcome to Thorne
Widgery’s latest
Spotlight on Education,
which highlights
some of the latest
educational, financial
and accounting issues,
affecting academy
schools and colleges.
At Thorne Widgery we’re proud to be the leading
accountancy firm in Herefordshire when it comes to
assisting schools and colleges in our region and beyond.
If you have any comments on our bulletin, or would like
further information on the services Thorne Widgery is
able to offer to single academies and multi-academy
trusts (MATS) both pre and post conversion, or to
schools in the independent sector, please contact us.
Meet the TW Senior
Education Team...
01 Welcome to Thorne Widgery’s Spotlight on Education
thornewidgery.co.uk
Contact Us
01432 276 393
info@thornewidgery.co.uk
Lisa Weaver Kevin Tong Rebecca Jenkins
Lisa has nearly 25 years of accounting Kevin has more than 30 years’ Rebecca joined TW in 2010 as an HGTA
and auditing experience. She joined experience, providing business accounts apprentice and has since
our team in 2012, having been advice to clients, mainly working in the gained her AAT and ACCA qualifications.
head-hunted from a leading national education, charities and agricultural Her role within TW now concentrates
firm and is now our Head of Audit sectors. Kevin currently works with on the management of many of the
and Assurance and a Registered 19 educational establishments, firm’s audit clients including Charities,
Auditor. With an in-depth knowledge assisting them with financial reporting, Companies and Academies in addition to
of the education, charities and budget forecasting and management, preparation of client accounts. She also
other non-profit industries, she is as well as VAT issues affecting works closely with Lisa, Head of Audit
particularly involved in developing the education sector. He also the and Assurance, in managing the charity
our services to meet the needs Senior Statutory Auditor for our independent examination clients.
of clients in these sectors. education/charities sector audits. rebecca.jenkins@thornewidgery.co.uk
lisa.weaver@thornewidgery.co.uk kevin.tong@thornewidgery.co.uk
Hannah Ayres
Sarah Jenkins Sam King Hannah joined TW in 2013 as a HGTA
Sarah joined TW in 2010 after Sam joined TW in 2014 and is our Xero apprentice and is now working towards
moving from the banking sector and accounting software guru. He oversees ACCA. Hannah is an integral part of the
is both AAT and ACCA qualified. training with our education clients on audit team, supporting Rebecca and
Sarah works on a varied portfolio the Xero for Education software system Lisa in particular and is heavily involved
including the education, charity, - which has been exclusively developed in academy accounts and audit work.
agricultural and corporate sectors. for use by schools. As Xero is so user- Her role also includes preparing client
sarah.jenkins@thornewidgery.co.uk friendly, our clients find that after initial accounts and VAT returns as well as
training they’re quite at home using supporting the audit team. Hannah is
Xero, but Sam and his team are always also involved in the development of less
on call to provide ongoing support. experienced members of the team.
sam.king@thornewidgery.co.uk hannah.ayres@thornewidgery.co.uk
02 Thorne Widgery senior education team
thornewidgery.co.uk
Contents
03 Additional school money / Academy re-brokerage reforms Call for
academy
04 Labour proposals threaten existence of independent schools
05 Six figure golden handshake / Is your school ready for teacher pay?
06 Compulsory minimum per-pupil funding levels
re-brokerage
07 Teachers’ starting salaries / Two independent schools close their doors
08 New academies chart of accounts
09 Study reveals academy teachers
reforms
10 XfE making accounting for schools easy
__
The former director of a chain of
academy trusts has called on the
Survey reveals Government to reform the academy
re-brokerage process, so that both
how parents would parties have sufficient time to decide
if they are a good fit for each.
like to see additional Frank Norris, the former director of the
Co-operative Academies Trust, claims
school money spent MATs are hurried into takeovers which
might not be in the best interests
of either party, which sometimes
Following the Government’s child mental health and SEND resulted in schools being left in limbo.
recent announcement that it services – particularly among In 2018-19, 307 academies moved to
intends to provide a £7.1 billion those eligible for free school a new trust and the Department for
cash injection into the country’s meals – and for improving Education has provided £31 million
schools, parents have been buildings and maintenance. in grant funding since 2013 to enable
giving their views on how the MATs to take over struggling schools.
extra money should be spent. “These are critical to a positive
learning environment without Mr Norris pointed to the fact that
According to new research, 55 which we are failing our children.” although diligence is carried out to
per cent of parents wanted to investigate school’s finances and HR
see extra cash for textbooks, issues, there is no requirement to
laboratory equipment and check whether the cultures are similar.
technology. 39 per cent of
respondents wanted additional
funding to support SEND
£7.1 billion He is now recommending the
implementation of two-step approval
pupils while 26 per cent felt cash injection process. “You’ve got this slightly
school maintenance deserved odd world where you’ve applied
Parents were also asked
a greater share of the money. to the headteachers’ board, they
what measures their child’s
then like it and approve it, and that
The annual Parentkind survey school had introduced in
then becomes the trigger to say
also found that parents have order to balance the books.
it’s going to happen, he said.
increasing concerns about
22 per cent said they had been
meeting the cost of uniforms, “The RSCs see it as ‘we’ve approved
asked to make a financial
school dinners and trips. it, therefore it’s got to happen’,
contribution for school clubs
when actually there’s still a lot
Some respondents provided which had previously been free,
more due diligence going on.”
examples where they had been while 20 per cent said they were
asked to provide their child’s being asked to pay for events Meanwhile, Michael Pain, the
schools with additional support, such as sports day or concerts. chief executive of Forum Strategy,
including requests for cash which represents MATs, advocates
Around one in six had received
donations, providing basics such a “try before you buy” approach,
requests to supply teaching
as toilet roll and even being by allowing schools to become
equipment, while 6 per cent
asked to help with maintenance. associate members of trusts.
had been asked to supply
John Jolly, chief executive of essentials, such as toilet rolls. “The current approach to due
Parentkind, said: “It’s interesting to A further 11 per cent had diligence is very narrow,” he said.
see parents are embracing a wide been asked to pitch in with “Organisational development and
set of priorities beyond academic maintenance activities, such as sustainability is also about culture,
attainment, calling for more redecorating classrooms and vision, values, and being responsive
investment in learning resources, cutting grass and hedgerows. to the needs of communities.”
03 Additional school money / Academy re-brokerage reforms
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Contact Us
01432 276 393
info@thornewidgery.co.uk
Labour proposals
threaten existence of
independent schools
New plans have been unveiled Independent schools’ charitable
which, if successful, would see status would also be abolished,
independent schools ‘integrated’ adding £3,000 to the average annual
into the state sector. cost of day school fees. Full business
rates would also be applied to
The announcement at the recent schools, which critics argue would
Labour annual conference result either in a further increase
followed an earlier pledge by in school fees or putting smaller
the Party to apply VAT to private independent schools out of business
school fees if it wins power at
the next general election. In a further move against the
independent sector, universities
Matthew Adshead, vice-chair of the would have their intake of
Independent Schools Association privately educated students
(ISA), which represents 470 fee- capped at 7 per cent.
paying schools, condemned
Labour’s new manifesto pledge Mike Buchanan, executive
as a “worrying proposition”. director of the Headmasters’ and
Headmistresses’ Conference
Mr Adshead, who is also head of the (HMC) claimed that the proposals,
independent Old Vicarage School if implemented would amount to “an
in Derby, said: “For me, it seems act of unprecedented vandalism”.
quite incredulous that in 2019 I’m
discussing whether my private land He added: “Any government has
will be seized and then redistributed.” a duty of care to all its citizens
and this would harm children in
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today independent and state schools,
programme: “It doesn’t feel like harm families and harm freedom.”
I’m living in the UK anymore,”
The proposals could face a legal
Under Labour’s proposals, challenge as the European Court of
all property and assets held Human Rights “guarantees the right
by private schools would be to open and run a private school.”
“redistributed democratically
and fairly” across the country’s
state educational institutions.
04 Labour proposals threaten existence of independent schools
thornewidgery.co.uk
Contents
03 Additional school money / Academy re-brokerage reforms
04 Labour proposals threaten existence of independent schools
05 Six figure golden handshake / Is your school ready for teacher pay?
06 Compulsory minimum per-pupil funding levels
07 Teachers’ starting salaries / Two independent schools close their doors
08 New academies chart of accounts
09 Study reveals academy teachers
10 XfE making accounting for schools easy
__
Academy trust Is your school It is worth remembering that
the rules only apply to local
pays out six ready for authority-maintained schools as
figure golden teacher pay academies can set their own pay
scales, although they will need
handshake increases in the to be mindful of retaining their
competitive edge as an employer.
despite financial year ahead?
distress Following the announcement by
Will teaching
the Government that teachers’
A Norfolk academy trust has
admitted paying a former employee
salaries will rise from September, assistants
many schools will be taking a
£122,000 in a severance deal, close look at their budgets. receive a pay
despite having “significant”
financial challenges of its own. As the arrangements currently rise too?
stand, schools will need to fund Salaries for TAs are set at
The Right for Success Trust, which the majority if the pay increase
is responsible for 11 schools, a local level and so are not
from their existing funds. affected by the Government’s
admitted in its accounts that it had a
“significant financial and operational latest announcements.
challenge” and a “deterioration” What is the
of its financial position.
increase? How will my
In spite of its precarious financial
position, it was the only Trust Minimum and maximum salaries school’s budget
to pay more than £100,000 in in each pay grade will increase be affected by
severance pay to a single former by 2.75 per cent. The pay rise
member of staff during 2017-18. will apply to unqualified, main, the pay rise?
upper and leadership grades.
The £122,000 severance figure Schools will be expected to pay
was initially detailed in the annual the first 2 per cent of the pay
academy sector accounts published
in July and, following a Freedom of
Will every rise, which is estimated will cost
around £280million in total.
Information by Schools Week, the teacher receive The Government has promised
identity of the trust was discovered.
a pay rise? additional funds to top up the
This year the Government remainder of the pay increase
announced plans to put an end to Not every teacher in England will for 2019/20 and is setting aside
six figure public sector settlement automatically receive a 2.75 per £105million from the existing
deals, capping pay outs at £95,000, cent pay rise, as each school DfE budget for this purpose.
although the Treasury has yet will still be allowed to determine
to confirm a date when the new their teachers’ salaries.
rules will come into effect. However, the lowest and highest
A spokesperson for Right for ends of each teacher pay band
Success said it could not comment will increase by the relevant
on individual cases, but insisted amount. For those on either the Each pay grade
highest or lowest salary in each
all payments were “subject to
strict scrutiny [and] are fully grade will receive an automatic will increase by
compliant” with funding rules. increase in their salary. 2.75 per cent.
05 Six figure golden handshake / Is your school ready for teacher pay?
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Contact Us
01432 276 393
info@thornewidgery.co.uk
Compulsory minimum
per-pupil funding levels to
be introduced from 2020
Local authorities will be forced to “However, as a first step towards
pass on new minimum per-pupil hardening the formula, from 2020-
funding to schools, as part of the 21 the Government will make the
new national funding formula. use of the national minimum per
pupil funding levels, at the values
Although councils will still be in the school NFF, compulsory
allowed to set their own local for local authorities to use in
funding formulae, the new minimum their own funding formulae.”
per-pupil funding levels set by
the Department for Education Addressing Parliament, Education
(DfE) will be compulsory. Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said:
“I can reaffirm our intention to move
This means that minimum per-pupil to a hard national funding formula,
funding rates will rise from £3,500 where schools’ budgets are set
to £3,750 at primary level and from on the basis of a single national
£4,800 to £5,000 at secondary formula, as soon as possible.
from September 2020. The primary
funding rate is then set to increase “We recognise that this will
again to £4,000 in 2021-22. represent a significant change
and we will work closely with local
In a written ministerial statement, authorities, schools and others to
schools minister Nick Gibb make the transition as smooth as
confirmed the move is “a first step possible. We are determined that
towards hardening the formula”. no pupil will be held back from
The DfE proposes that any schools reaching their full potential.”
that fall below the minimum The DfE is expected to publish
levels in 2020-21 will receive illustrative school level allocations
additional top up funding. and provisional local authority level
“In 2020-21 local authorities will allocations in the next few weeks.
continue to have discretion over
their schools funding formulae and,
in consultation with schools, will
ultimately determine allocations
in their area,” said the minister
in a written statement.
06 Compulsory minimum per-pupil funding levels
thornewidgery.co.uk
Contents
03 Additional school money / Academy re-brokerage reforms
04 Labour proposals threaten existence of independent schools The DfE has yet to provide detailed
05 Six figure golden handshake / Is your school ready for teacher pay? information on how the salary
06 Compulsory minimum per-pupil funding levels increase will affect individual
07 Teachers’ starting salaries / Two independent schools close their doors
08 New academies chart of accounts school budgets, although analysts
09 Study reveals academy teachers have estimated that it will cost
10 XfE making accounting for schools easy around £130million per year.
__
The minimum salary increases
on the main pay scale will be
incremental, until the new starting
pay grade reaches £30,000 in
Teachers’ The rise of up to £6,000 is equivalent
to a 25 per cent increase but the
2022. However, as almost a quarter
of current teachers are paid less
starting
education sector has been warned than £30,000 a year, schools will
that funding will need to be found face a much higher salary bill.
salaries will
from existing budgets. Announcing
the move, education secretary Jon Andrews, director at the
Gavin Williamson said teachers Education Policy Institute think
rise to £30k should be in “no doubt that this
government fully backs them in
tank, said that whilst the DFE’s
announcement represented a
by 2022 every stage of their career, starting
with rewarding starting salaries”. He
“much-needed policy shift”, schools
will be “mindful this creates an
increased cost pressure on their
continued: “I want the best talent to
The Government has announced be drawn to the teaching profession budgets that will erode some of
a significant increase in teacher and for schools to compete with the increases” – referring to the
starting salaries over the next three biggest employers in the labour additional £1.5 billion per year
years in a bid to attract and retain market and recruit the brightest being provided to schools to cover
individuals to the profession. and the best into teaching.” the rise in employer pension costs.
Two Independent schools
close their doors days
before start of new term The school
Two independent schools have been The independent school, had 160 pupils
forced to close, just days before
they were due to welcome pupils
which had 111 pupils on its
register, confirmed that while
on its books
at the start of the autumn term. its creditors will all be paid in in 2017 –
Rastrick Independent School in
full, it did not have sufficient
funds to continue operating. representing
West Yorkshire posted a notification
on its website, giving parents no In a letter to parents, head teacher a 30% drop in
explanation for the sudden closure. Stephen Crump admitted that just two years.
the school had not been able to
Head teacher, Susan Vaughey,
“attract and retain enough pupils
stated that the school would The school, which charged
to remain financially viable”.
close from 30 August, leaving 71 £5,210 a year for day pupils and
pupils searching for alternative According to an Independent £9,760 a year for boarders, had
places. In Norfolk, Hethersett Schools Inspectorate report, provided education for girls aged
Old Hall School was forced to the school had 160 pupils on its three to 18 and for boys, aged
write to parents admitting that books in 2017 – representing a 30 three to 11, but had planned to
it was going into liquidation. per cent drop in just two years. go fully co-ed from this term.
07 Teachers’ starting salaries / Two independent schools close their doors
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Contact Us
01432 276 393
info@thornewidgery.co.uk
New academies
chart of accounts – a
first step to automated
financial reporting?
The Department for Education (DfE) Parliamentary Under Secretary
has launched a new academies of State at the DfE, Lord Agnew,
chart of accounts which could said: “We have recognised that
signal the first step towards the current system of submitting
automated financial reporting financial data to the department
is time consuming and offers
Although voluntary, the DfE hopes insufficient benefit to academy trusts.
the initiative will become the new
standard for financial data, as ‘By having a standard chart of
part of an academy’s accounts accounts, we create the essential
and budget forecast returns. building blocks for the new
system as it provides a consistent
According to the National Audit way of recording financial data
Office, the existing system causes for all academy trusts.
issues regarding the ‘truth and
fairness’ of the reporting of academy ‘This will allow us to reduce the
finances in DfE accounts, resulting burden on trusts through the
from the fact that the DfE’s year end electronic submission of financial
differs from academies’ year ends. data directly from finance systems
and adding greater value to trusts
Any academy which voluntarily by enabling us to create new
adopts the new standard is set to financial efficiency tools as well
benefit from an automated data as improve the timeliness and
transfer from their finance system, quality of the existing tools.’
for the 2019/20 financial year.
Although the DfE recognises that the
The DfE claims academies that opt new chart of accounts will require an
in will also receive more accurate investment in both time and effort on
financial benchmarking information the part of Trusts, it claims the long
that will in turn allow them to term benefits makes becoming an
compare their finances with similar early adopter extremely worthwhile.
academies more accurately.
08 New academies chart of accounts
thornewidgery.co.uk
Contents
03 Additional school money / Academy re-brokerage reforms Hundreds of
04 Labour proposals threaten existence of independent schools
05 Six figure golden handshake / Is your school ready for teacher pay? ‘outstanding’
06 Compulsory minimum per-pupil funding levels
07 Teachers’ starting salaries / Two independent schools close their doors schools
accused of drop
08 New academies chart of accounts
09 Study reveals academy teachers
in standards
10 XfE making accounting for schools easy
__
Ofsted has downgraded almost a third
of schools that had previously been
graded as outstanding. According to
Study reveals data which covers the period from
September 2018 to March 2019, only
academy teachers are 16 per cent of ‘outstanding’ schools
maintained their top grade. Twenty-five
promoted sooner and per cent were downgraded to ‘requires
improvement’ while 5 per cent were
also more likely to quit judged to be ‘inadequate’. A further fifty-
four per cent were graded as ‘good’.
Although ‘outstanding’ schools are
A study has revealed that teachers Commenting on the findings, usually exempt from routine inspection
in the largest academy trusts are Melanie Renowned, Ambition’s for up to ten years, Ofsted can
promoted on average three years interim chief executive, said: “Every inspect if concerns have been raised
sooner than colleagues in local governing board, CEO and head about performance or safeguarding
authority maintained schools. teacher needs to prioritise taking issues. During the seven month
care of their teachers and leaders. period up to March 31, 2019, Ofsted
However, despite fast-tracked The evidence on exit rates shows inspected 305 ‘outstanding’ exempt
career progression, the research that we cannot afford not to do so.” primary and secondary schools.
finds that they are also more
likely to quit the profession. The report’s authors have Its inspectors found that only 49 of
recommended that trusts support the 305 ‘outstanding’ exempt schools
According to the findings of the staff by offering promotion remained at this grade. This compares
survey conducted by the Ambition opportunities across their schools with 49 of 150 outstanding exempt
Institute and the Education Policy and develop specialist expertise outstanding schools inspected during
Institute, teaching staff in “system by moving staff to roles at the the previous academic year. Amanda
leader” academy trusts, with 12,000 same level in other schools. Spielman, the chief inspector of
or more pupils, were promoted to
schools, who has previously called
senior leadership positions at an Jon Andrews, the EPI’s deputy head
for the exemption from routine
average age of 35. By comparison, of research, said: “This research
inspection for outstanding school
peers in LA schools reached confirms that larger trusts are well
to be lifted, claimed that the latest
similar positions by the age of 38. placed to do this, with these groups
figures should set alarm bells ringing.
more likely to take on new entrants
The larger trusts, which were to the profession, and their teachers “The fact that outstanding schools are
found to employ “high proportions and leaders more likely to receive largely exempt from inspection leaves
of new entrants to the profession”, a promotion. However, we also us with real gaps in our knowledge
also have the highest rate of find that academies are seeing about the quality of education and
teachers quitting the profession. higher workforce turnover rates. safeguarding in these schools, she
It revealed that the proportion of said. “Some of them have not been
“The favourable structure of multi-
classroom teachers in place in inspected for over a decade, and
academy trusts means that there
2015 who had left the education when our inspectors go back in,
are opportunities for them to drive
sector by 2016 was 18.7 per cent they sometimes find standards have
improvements in the retention and
in “system leader trusts”; 16.1 per significantly declined. We believe
progression of teachers. Trusts
cent in “national trusts” of 5,000 most schools judged outstanding are
should now look to capitalise
to 12,000 pupils; 14.7 per cent in still doing outstanding work. But for
on this potential, and contribute
“established trusts” with 1,200 to the outstanding grade to be properly
positively to workforce outcomes
5,000 teachers, compared with 14.6 meaningful and a genuine beacon
in the sector as a whole”.
per cent in LA-maintained schools. of excellence, the exemption should
be lifted and Ofsted resourced to
routinely inspect these schools.”
09 Study reveals academy teachers
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XfE — making
accounting for schools
as easy as A, B, C
Is your school or trust still struggling Our solution is beautifully simple “I wasn’t happy with my previous
with clunky accounting software? to use, reliable, fully supported by system… there was no-one there
our talented team and completely to support me. I wanted a software
Does it feel like a battle of cost effective for schools and system where I would get help and
wills to get your accounting academies of all sizes. support. The team from TW were
system to provide meaningful, very patient. On-site training was
easy to understand data? But don’t just take our word good, and they broke things down into
for it, here’s what some of our small chunks so the information would
If so, then maybe it’s time to clients have to say about XfE:
check out XfE– a unique online sink in…. Just four weeks on I cannot
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and leading software provider Xero.
Julie Hancock – Business
XfE is a cloud-based accountancy
solution specifically for schools
Very user- Manager, Lugwardine
Primary Academy
and academy trusts, which friendly.
makes the job of managing “Xero gives me what I want… the
school finances far simpler. “Very user-friendly. We recently took power to drill down and report in
on new staff … our new recruit was whatever way I want. We have three
The benefits of XfE include: schools on board, and no-one is
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Straightforward fund Xero is so easy to understand and flapping from a finance point of view
and GAG accounting intuitive. Compared to our previous – so that’s got to be a positive!”
system, Xero is clearer and easier Peter Rickard, Lead Head of
Designed to meet
to use, the screen layout is a lot the Severn Bridges MAT
ESFA’s requirements
more user friendly, the dashboard
Bank feeds direct means everything is accessible and
from your bank support is a lot easier to access.”
Powerful, accurate reporting Emma Stackhouse – Business
Manager, Holmer Church Xero gives me
Secure multi-user access of England Academy
what I want.
Increased efficiency
If you would like to find out how XfE
Backed up and secure
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10 XfE making accounting for schools easy
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