Last summer, the Department for Education (DfE) developed a financial health check structure for schools (external link) to help them identify whether or not they would benefit from an external financial review. The Department is now undertaking a review to improve the offer and are keen to hear from those governing in schools about their views and experiences of the schools financial health checks offer. Whether or not your school has used the offer, if you would like to contribute to the review, you can do so through a short online survey(external link)
One of the core functions of the governing board is to oversee the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent. A financial review is just one way in which the governing board can ascertain whether or not the school is securing good value for money. In the current climate of uncertainty over school funding, governing boards need to ensure that their schools are running as efficiently as possible and seeking ways to assure themselves of this.