This page is about schools in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Which framework applies?
- Maintained schools: use consistent financial reporting (CFR) to report income, expenditure and balances to the local authority. The CFR framework applies to maintained schools and pupil referral units; it is optional for nurseries and non-maintained special schools. The current 2026 to 2027 framework was published on 16 March 2026.
- Academy trusts: follow the Academy Trust Handbook as a condition of their funding agreement. The 2026 edition took effect on 1 October 2026. Trusts prepare audited annual accounts and submit an academies accounts return (AAR, called AR in the DfE guidance). These are separate requirements.
- SFVS: local-authority-maintained schools submit the Schools Financial Value Standard checklist annually to their local authority. Academies use the school resource management self-assessment checklist instead, as the DfE's SFVS publication explains.
Academies accounts return: who submits and when
The accounts return guidance, updated 16 October 2026, gives 26 January 2027 as the submission deadline for the 2025 to 2026 return. The online form will go live by early November 2026 (‘Academies accounts return’).
The guide to completing the online form, ‘Who should complete the academies accounts return’, covers all trusts with academies open at any point from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, including trusts that transferred out all their academies on 1 September 2025. A consolidated return must cover the same legal entities as the trust's consolidated financial statements (‘Who is responsible for each trust’s academies accounts return submission’).
The trust's internal approver reviews and approves the return; the external auditor approver reviews, approves and submits it to the DfE. Responsibility for accurate data remains with the trust (‘Who is responsible for each trust’s academies accounts return submission’ and ‘Step-by-step guide to completing the accounts return’).
The return supplies financial data for the academies Sector annual report and accounts. It follows a different reporting framework from trusts' audited financial statements and can require additional or more detailed information (‘About the academies accounts return’).
A separate closing-trust requirement: where a trust ceased operating on 31 August 2026 and all its academies transferred to another trust on 1 September 2026, the DfE requires a one-day standalone return for 1 September 2026. This should be submitted using the 2025 to 2026 AR Excel workbook by 30 January 2027. The trust's auditors must sign off the closing return, which must reflect all transferring and closing balances. See the accounts return guidance, ‘1 September 2026 transfers’.
Audited academy accounts are a separate submission
The 2026 handbook, Part 4, requires adequate accounting records and an annual report and accounts, which must be audited (paragraphs 4.1–4.2). The accounting period ends on 31 August (4.3).
Paragraph 4.4 gives the annual deadlines for the audited report and accounts:
- Submit to the DfE by 31 December.
- Publish on the trust's website by 31 January.
- File with Companies House by 31 May.
- Provide a copy to every member and anyone who requests one.
The AAR deadline above does not replace these deadlines.
SFVS: the current submission deadline
For the 2026 to 2027 financial year, schools should submit SFVS to their local authority no later than 31 March 2027. This is the date in the DfE's Schemes for financing local authority maintained schools 2026 to 2027, section 4.16.
That section requires all local-authority-maintained schools, including nursery schools and pupil referral units with a delegated budget, to demonstrate compliance and complete the assessment annually. Governors must submit a form signed by the chair of governors. It must include remedial actions with an agreed owner and deadline; governors must monitor progress against those deadlines.
The SFVS checklist provides assurance about financial health and resource management. Local authorities use it to submit an assurance statement to the DfE (SFVS publication, ‘Details’).
CFR: what maintained schools report
The 2026 to 2027 framework, Introduction, says governing bodies must provide their local authority with a financial statement using the approved headings and sub-headings and complying with the authority's established accounting practices. It includes income and allocations, balances brought forward, expenditure and the school's financial position at year end.
The framework defines where income, expenditure, capital income, capital expenditure and balances belong. The DfE captures CFR data through COLLECT. The information supports benchmarking and comparative reports for governors and local authorities (Introduction).
The published collection dates for 2025 to 2026 were 1 April 2026 for opening and 31 July 2026 for database closure. These dates belong to that completed collection, not the 2026 to 2027 framework: DfE technical specification, version 1.2, section 1.3, page 4.
What governors and trustees oversee
Maintained-school governors: the SFVS checklist guidance covers financial skills and gaps, scrutiny of the budget, monitoring, conflicts of interest, value for money and controls. Questions 1–3 cover governing-body skills, the finance committee or equivalent, and clear budget monitoring reports at least 6 times a year. Questions 18–19 cover benchmarking income and expenditure, investigating differences and considering the DfE tools' findings. Question 29 covers an adequate accounting system and accurate reports, including CFR.
Academy trustees: overall responsibility for the trust's funds cannot be delegated. The board must approve a written scheme of delegation of financial powers (handbook 2.4). It must ensure financial plans are prepared and monitored, and approve and minute a balanced budget and significant changes (2.8–2.10). The trust must prepare management accounts every month, share them with the chair monthly, and the board must consider them when it meets (2.18–2.19). These include income and expenditure against budget, cash flow forecasts and a balance sheet.
Financial administration manuals and the local authority scheme
For maintained schools, start with the local authority's published scheme for financing schools. The DfE describes it as setting out the financial relationship between the authority and the schools it maintains. It does not apply to academies (scheme guidance, Introduction and 3.3).
A financial administration manual needs to reflect the applicable local requirements. The DfE says schemes should require schools to follow the authority's financial controls, including more detailed publications referred to in the scheme, and its accounting and year-end procedures (4.1). The scheme should require the governing body to record the extent of financial powers delegated to the headteacher (3.6).
For school budgets, the formal annual plan must be approved by the governing body or a committee. The DfE says the local authority's stipulated initial submission date should be between 1 May and 30 June; each school must also submit a 3-year budget forecast annually on a date set by the authority within that window (4.3). This is a locally set deadline within the published window.
Where to benchmark school spending
The DfE's Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool compares income and expenditure with similar schools and academy trusts. Open the tool.
Anyone can compare schools, academies or trusts across England. Some parts require a DfE Sign-in account. At school level, the service lets users compare spending, enter their own data to see its effect on the benchmarking position, plan curriculum finances and see tailored commercial recommendations. Trust users can see spending across their schools and compare with similar trusts. Data and findings can be downloaded for reports (tool homepage, ‘At a school level’ and ‘At a trust level’).
The data sources and interpretation page identifies CFR returns for maintained schools and AARs for academies as the financial sources. Its expenditure-chart guidance says the comparison shows relative positions but does not explain why they differ. Use the findings to investigate the reasons for differences in your school's spending.
Related guides and roles
Use the school data guide alongside financial comparisons, the pupil premium guide for that grant, and the pay and conditions guide for teachers' and leaders' pay.
Read the school business manager, headteacher and finance director role pages for the wider responsibilities of each role.
