Guidance

Academies budget forecast guidance for completing the online form

Updated 3 April 2024

Applies to England

1. Introduction to the online form

This guide explains how to complete and submit the budget forecast return (BFR) to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

For more information about the BFR returns, see our main page. This also includes details for the weekly MS Teams dial-ins where you can ask us any questions about your BFR.

The academies BFR will go live on 4 June 2024. The deadline is 29 August 2024.

1.1 BFR form structure

The BFR form is split into three sections, the table below shows the periods where the detailed actuals and forecasts are required. 

If your trust completed the BFR2023 then the period ‘Sep 22 - Mar 23’ will be pre-populated with the data your trust returned.

The summary level forecasts for the years:

• 2024/25 (will be automatically summarised from the data already entered in the form)
• 2025/26
• 2026/27

Period	Prior year	Prior year	Current year	Current year	Forecast year	Forecast year
Type of entry	Actual	Actual	Actual	Forecast	Forecast	Forecast
Months	Sep 22 – Mar 23 (7 months)	Apr 23 – Aug 23 (5 months)	Sep 23 – Mar 24 (7 months)	Apr 24 – Aug 24 (5 months)	Sep 24 – Mar 25 (7 months)	Apr 25 – Aug 25 (5 months)
Academic year	2022/23	2022/23	2023/24	2023/24	2024/25	2024/25

You can read more about the details of what is included in three year forecasts here.

1.2 Who should complete this return?

All established academy trusts active as at 30 April 2024 are required to complete the BFR and will need to complete on an accruals and prepayments basis. 

Throughout this document and the associated return, the terms “academy trusts” and “academy” include the following entities:

• sponsored academies
• academy converters
• free schools
• university technical colleges
• special schools
• studio schools

Note that for new trusts or trusts with academies having joined or left, data should be included for the period the trust has been open and include academies for the period that they have been part of that trust. To find out what to do if any academies have transferred in or out of your trust during the academic year click here.

We recognise financial planning can be difficult. There is more advice and links to information in our forecasting assumptions section of this guidance document. As you prepare your return, you may want to access the School Resource Management offer of tools, guidance and support, which includes benchmarking tools and webinars, guidance on using Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning, and direct support through a School Resource Management Adviser (SRMA) visit, which may help you with your wider approach to budgeting. You can find out more on GOV.UK

1.3 What are the user actions in the form?

Role	Action	Add an external preparer	Prepare the form	Submit form to ESFA
Preparer	Can complete the form	Yes	Yes	No
Approver	Can complete, amend and submit the form	Yes	Yes	Yes
External preparer	Is not an employee of the trust and can complete the form	No	Yes	No

1.4 External preparer

As with previous BFR returns if you have an external preparer who will prepare, but not submit, your BFR form; enter their details here.

They must have fully registered on the new DfE Sign in platform before you can enter their details in your form. Either the academy preparer or approver can add the details once registered. Once you’ve added their details the screen will look like this:

This shows an example of the completed BFR form external preparer details.

If you don’t have an external preparer to prepare your BFR form, you must ‘Mark as complete’ the page with no users added. Marking the page as complete will enable the rest of the form to be completed.

1.5 Dashboard

The dashboard page shows the overall status of your return. From this page, you can drill into each section of the form, look at the activity history, access guidance and download your reports.

This is the main navigation page in the form and once you’ve completed the ‘Overview’ section you’ll be able to access the rest of the return.

All pages need to be ‘Marked as complete’ in order to progress through the BFR form.

1.6 Information for multi-academy trusts (MATs)

MATs preparing aggregated financial statements comprising of more than one academy must submit a consolidated return, which aggregates the budgets of each of its academies.

The front page of the form contains the name of the academy trust, UPIN and a checked list of all academies that are on the ESFA data set as being part of the trust.

If you notice any errors or omissions contact the ESFA using the ESFA enquiry form so we can make any necessary changes for future returns.

MATs will be asked to review the names of the academies included in the return. If any academies have left, untick those academies that won’t be included for the timescales covered by the return. If you untick you will be asked for an explanation for why this has happened.

1.7 Re-brokerage of academies

If your academy trust has had any academies join or leave since May 2024, refer to the following tables:

BFR lines to complete  for new convertors/newly created academies joining existing trusts​​

Period joined	BFR lines
April 2024 and May 2024​ (academy should appear on your list of schools included in your BFR)	STEP 1 At the point of completing the BFR.  Enter any balances for the lines below (where applicable) into your form in the period i.e. actuals, current or forecasts that corresponds to the date of joining the trust:​
	999 - Pupil numbers - Adjust upwards to account for new pupils joining the trust.​
	215 - Revenue surplus on conversion - include revenue surplus received or receivable on conversion from local authorities. For example, surpluses received from local authorities on conversion excluding pensions and fixed assets. Enter this as a positive figure.​​
	351 - Revenue deficit on conversion - Include revenue deficit payable on conversion from local authorities, e.g. deficits received from local authorities on conversion excluding pensions and fixed assets. Enter this as a positive figure.​​
	572 - Capital assets transferred on conversion - Include the value of capital assets and liabilities received or receivable from local authorities on conversion. These balances will have a contra adjustment. For example, when you record a conversion from a local authority the entry is conversion income and the opposite adjustment conversion expenditure. The former recognises the transfer income and the later the expenditure to recognise the asset. The budgeting impact is neutral.​
	STEP 2 Treat the academy as if they have always been part of the trust by: Completing all BFR lines going forward i.e. actuals and forecasts for the relevant periods after the date of transfer​​

 ​​BFR lines to complete for existing academies joining your trust​​​

Period joined	BFR lines
April 2024 and May 2024​ (academy should appear on your list of schools included in your BFR)	STEP 1 At the point of completing the BFR.  Enter any balances for the lines below (where applicable) into your form in the period i.e. actuals, current or forecasts that corresponds to the date of joining the trust:
	999 - Pupil numbers - Adjust upwards to account for new pupils joining the trust​.
	212 -  Revenue surplus transfer of an existing academy in/out of the trust - Include all revenue surplus received following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a surplus out of the trust, enter this as a negative figure, decreasing your income. ​
	350 -  Revenue deficit transfer of an existing academy in/out of the trust - Include all revenue deficit payable following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a deficit into the trust, enter this figure as a positive figure, increasing your expenditure.​
	573 -  Capital assets transferred of an existing academy into the trust - Include the value of capital assets and liabilities received or receivable following the transfer of an existing academy from another academy trust. The value of any amount received or receivable should be entered as a positive value.
	STEP 2 Treat the academy as if they have always been part of the trust by: Completing all BFR lines going forward i.e. actuals and forecasts for the relevant periods after the date of transfer​​

BFR lines to complete for existing academies leaving your trust​​

Period joined	BFR lines
April 2024 and May 2024​ (academy should appear on your list of schools included in your BFR)	STEP 1 At the point of completing the BFR.  Enter any balances for the lines below (where applicable) into your form in the period i.e. actuals, current or forecasts that corresponds to the date of leaving the trust:
	999 - Pupil numbers - Adjust downwards to account for pupils leaving the trust.​
	212 - Revenue surplus transfer of an existing academy in/out of the trust - Include all revenue surplus received following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a surplus out of the trust, enter this as a negative figure, decreasing your income.
	350 - Revenue deficit transfer of an existing academy in/out of the trust - Include all revenue deficit payable following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a deficit out of the trust, enter this as a negative figure, decreasing your expenditure.​
	573 -  Capital assets transferred of an existing academy into the trust - Include the value of capital assets and liabilities received or receivable following the transfer of an existing academy from another academy trust. The value of any amount received, or receivable should be entered as a positive value.
	STEP 2 Treat the academy as if they have never been part of the trust by: Completing all BFR lines actuals and forecasts excluding the leaving trusts figure

BFR lines to complete for new/existing academies joining or leaving your trust

Period joined	BFR lines
June 2024 to Aug 2024 New/existing academy joining or leaving a trust during this period won’t appear on your list of schools; add academy details in comment box	Reflect to the best of your knowledge expected pupil numbers from point of transfer and forecasts for current and future years.
	Include any narrative about any anticipated transfers to your trust - including timescales. Reflect to the best of your knowledge expected pupil numbers from point of transfer and forecasts for current and future years.
	Include any narrative about any anticipated transfers to your trust - including timescales.
Sep 2024 onwards	Outside of the time period of the BFR 2024.

1.8 Queries and feedback

Any queries should be directed to the ESFA enquiry form. Your query should be titled with ‘BFR’ and quote your trust UPIN so it is efficiently triaged.

We also value your feedback. If you would like to send us some feedback, then headline your form with ‘BFR user feedback’.

1.9 Finance questions

This section of the form is used to clarify if your trust needs to complete later sections of the form.

This will be in line with how your form has been prepopulated from the previous submission. For example, if you had an outstanding loan in your BFR2023 submission, the answer to FQ2 and loans will be ‘yes’ and you won’t be able to change the page. You’ll need to update the data and answer the validation in the ‘Other Items’ section of the form.

1.10 Downloads and reports

On the dashboard, there are now two options on the right of the screen to download reports of your return. These are in PDF and Excel formats. The options allow you to download your previous year’s BFR report and your current BFR report. The reports can be accessed at any time during the completion of the return.   

We recommend that you download a copy your previous year’s BFR before you start completing your return. This will help you to prepare if you don’t already know the details of the last BFR return submitted to the DfE.

2. Updates to the BFR form

The main changes to the BFR 2024 form:

• we will pre-populate the prior year’s data within the form for trusts who adopt the Academies Chart of Accounts (CoA). To find out more on CoA pre population click here
• we have introduced new lines to collect data on how much trusts spend in key areas of technology (ICT). We have introduced new lines to collect data on how much trusts spend in key areas of technology (ICT). You will not have to enter data in these lines for the 2022/23 prior year columns, these are greyed out and data cannot be entered. To find out more on the new technology spend click here
• we have introduced a new line to understand how much trusts spend on buildings repairs/maintenance and or improvements that is included in the revenue section of the return
• we have updated the question about reserves to better understand trusts plans for reserves
• we have updated the three-year forecast section to ask for specific assumptions around pay awards for teaching and support staff
• we have removed line 299, included guidance on RAAC income/expenditure and updated a number of help texts following user feedback.  We have also created a BFR lines quick reference guide. To find out what is required in each BFR line click here
• when BFR 2024 goes live it’ll be on a new authentication system called DfE Sign in (DSI) and IDAMs will no longer be operational. To find out more about DfE Sign In click here.

2.1 Chart of accounts

For trusts who automated their FMS data into the AR 2022/23 by 31 January 2024, we will pre-populate the 2022-23 section of the BFR.  We will include an FMS mapping report similar to the AR and also include a BFR template pre-populated with your actual data to help complete the remainder of the form.

The CoA 2024/25 will be updated to include new account codes for the new ICT categories. The CoA currently will not map directly into the new ICT BFR fields as the current structure does not allow for the account codes to align with the contents of the new ICT fields. See section 2.2 for how to report ICT in 23/24 BFR. To find out more about Chart of Accounts click here.

2.2 Technology spend

This year we have introduced new lines within the revenue and capital sections of the form to collect data on how much trusts spend in key areas of technology. This data will help the DfE to develop better programmes and services that support schools and trusts.  You will only be asked to provide actual and forecasting assumptions on technology from 2023/24 onwards. You will not be asked to provide details for the last academic year (2022/23), these fields will be greyed out within the BFR form. For the BFR 2024, the entries in these lines will be manual, with the data being prepopulated either from the previous year’s BFR or the CoA next year. To find out more about the DfE Technology Standards click here.

The table below provides a summary of the categories and classification of the ICT costs that we will be asking you to report within your BFR return.

Category	Revenue	Capital
Connectivity	Y	Y
Onsite servers	Y	Y
Administration software and systems	Y	Y
Laptops, desktops and tablets	Y	Y
Other hardware	Y	Y
IT support	Y	N
IT learning resources	Y	N

We have provided further guidance within the revenue and capital sections showing where the new lines will appear and what should be included.

For trusts who have adopted the CoA, some of the current account codes do not align directly to the new reporting categories listed above. We will need to restructure ICT related account codes for 2024/2025. In the interim we have issued guidance that trusts can use to identify and report their 2023/24 spend into these categories.  To find out more about the ICT COA mapping click here.

Capital ICT spend

Trusts are able to set their own individual capitalisation policies we recommend trusts to either:

• set up bespoke codes on your FMS by amending the last digit of available/unused account codes with your choice of digits between 1 and 9 or
• make use of analysis codes or project codes that your FMS system offer you

For BFR 2023/24 you will need to manually transfer the data from these bespoke codes in your FMS into your BFR. The lines within the BFR for reporting capital ICT spend will be 621 to 625. No data input will be required in these lines for the first three columns of the form (prior years 2022/2023).

Revenue ICT spend

Our approach for revenue ICT spend for BFR 2023/24 is to use existing CoA codes. To find out more about the existing COA codes to map your ICT spend click here. We will provide a full account code list for 2024/25 with detailed guidance. The lines to use within the BFR  for reporting revenue ICT spend are 336 to 342.

2.3 Building repairs and maintenance

Trusts can set their own capitalisation policy which structures what is and isn’t capitalised. The DfE needs to report to HM Treasury the use of capital grants and we are aware that not all capital funding is capitalised despite being used for the purpose intended. Not all maintenance, improvement or repair costs for your buildings and estates will be capitalised but we need to know how much has been spent. This year, we are asking that you show the amount of spend on this funded by capital grants that isn’t capitalised.

We have added line 379 – (Building repair & maintenance/building improvements) as a disclosure line. We are asking that you disclose the amount of spend on building repairs and maintenance that sits within line 378 that have not been capitalised and report it here. All of your building maintenance, improvements, and repairs should be reported in line 378 if you have not included the expenditure in the capital section of the BFR. If you have capitalised this spend and included in the capital section, you don’t need to include in line 378 section as it would double count the expenditure. Line 379 is a disclosure only line and won’t impact the overall total as all of the spend is included line 378. 

If you have entered a value in line 379, we will then ask if you can tell us the typical percentage of this spend that is funded through capital grants and that you have not capitalised. We want you to include any spend funded through capital improvement funding (CIF), Devolved formula capital (DFC), school condition allocation (SCA) etc that your trust has spent but not capitalised (i.e. included in the capital section of the BFR). 

The percentage estimate is a guide based on typical capitalisation. If you are unsure look at the last year and calculate of the capital funding your trust has received – how much was reported in the revenue section as compared to the capital section.

You will only need to provide this breakdown for the costs that are not included in the capital expenditure part of the form. If you have capitalised repairs and maintenance costs, then include them in the capital section of your form and do not include them within the revenue section.

2.4 Reserves

To help improve the accuracy of the data we collect for trusts whose reserves are more than 20% of their income, we have added validations to the input field to ensure accurate data input. To find out more about the trust reserves section on the form click here.

The department has recently published new guidance on Academy trust reserves.  This guidance sets out principles for an effective approach to managing academy trust reserves. The guidance aims to complement the Charity Commission’s guidance on reserves, by positioning it in the context of the academy sector, including drawing on the Academy Trust Handbook (ATH) requirements on reserves.

To find out more about the Academy trusts reserves guidance click here.

2.5 Three-year forecast assumptions

The department would like to understand trusts intentions/plans for pay settlements in future years. This information should be based around your trust’s individual circumstances, strategic aims and approach to financial planning. We have added a section for trusts to breakdown their forecast assumptions year on year for the average teacher pay award % and average support staff pay award %.  To find out more about forecasting assumptions see section.

2.6 RAAC and other form updates

For academies who have received grants for RAAC remediation work, where funding received has been used to cover building maintenance and improvement and you have capitalised these in your accounts, please record these in the capital section of your BFR. Use line 571 for capital income and lines 601 and or line 636 to report capital expenditure. All other RAAC remediation grant income and expenditure should be recorded within the revenue section of the form. Use line 220 for revenue income and line 378 for revenue expenditure. For additional guidance on RAAC click here.

We have removed line 299 from the online form. We have also updated a number of help texts within the form to provide more detailed information on what needs to be included within each line.

2.7  Move from IDAMs to DfE Sign In (DSI)

IDAMS has been decommissioned. The department is in the process of moving all externally facing DfE services onto the main authentication system called DfE Sign In (DSI). DSI will ensure that users can access a wide variety of DfE systems using one set of login details. All trust users will receive an email from the DSI team about how to activate the DSI accounts. If you already have a DSI account there will be little to no action for you to complete.

To find out more about DfE Sign In click here.

3. ESFA and DfE resources that can support your forecasting

We want to understand trusts forecasts, so we can more effectively support a financially healthy sector. The return enables us to fulfil our wider responsibilities in reporting to Parliament, supports our assurance of strategic budget planning in the sector and helps the ESFA understand best practice and areas for further support in the sector.

To find out more about the support and guidance the ESFA offers academy trusts visit:

The School Resource Management

This resource includes Information, tools, training, and guidance to help schools and trusts save money on day-to-day costs.

Good estate management for schools

This resource provides advice for schools and responsible bodies to help manage their school buildings and land.

Buying for schools

This resource directs you to advice and information to help you buy goods and services for your school, get better value and be compliant with procurement regulations.

Find, join or create a network for school business professionals

This resource provides business professionals working in schools information on how to find, join or create a network of local school business professionals.

Academy trust financial management good practice guides  

This resource outlines information on how to promote good practice in academy trust financial management and assurance. To view please click here.

Academy trust management accounting, management accounts, and the overall role of management accounting within schools

4. Forecasting assumptions

The BFR is a combination of actuals and forecast for 2022/23, 2023/24 and forecasts for 2024/25 in detail and in summary for 2025/26 and 2026/27. These should be consistent with your own current planned forecast at the time of completing the return.  

We recognise this forecast is an informed snapshot - and we know trusts’ plans may well evolve once the academic year starts in September. It remains important that the submitted information reflects the actual circumstances at the trust as you see them at the time. We need data to be as complete as possible to aid our understanding of trusts’ overall financial position to inform policy development and fulfil our wider responsibilities such as reporting to Parliament. 

We appreciate that financial forecasting has been more challenging in recent years in the context of wider economic uncertainty and cost of living pressures. You may need to make some assumptions about future patterns of income and expenditure. Assumptions will be based around your trust’s individual circumstances, strategic aims and approach to financial planning, and must be agreed with trustees’ as part of their approval of the budget forecast. Assumptions are best determined locally as you have the detailed operational knowledge of your own particular circumstances, which will include, for example, local area trends and local authority planning for pupil numbers and knowledge of any investment plans going forward. 

Your leadership team and trustees are best placed to consider budgetary assumptions and decide which best reflect the priorities and actions for your trust and its context for the coming year. There are tools and information available to help you with this part of the process. Alongside the information available to you locally on pupil trends and projections, DfE provide tools to help trusts understand and assess their financial position through View My Financial Insights and Schools Financial Benchmarking. 

Trusts can see the notional schools national funding formula (NFF) allocations that their academies attract in 2024-25 on the Impact of the Schools NFF table, as well as the NFF webtool. The actual GAG funding that academies are allocated in 2024-25 may vary from these notional NFF allocations, as GAG allocations are determined by local authority funding formulae and use more recent pupil data. The NFF policy document sets out the key changes in the NFF for 2024-25, including a 1.4% increase to core factor values and minimum per pupil funding levels compared to 2024-25, and a 0.5% funding floor (with local authorities able to set their local minimum funding guarantees between 0.% and 0.5%). The mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) has been incorporated into the NFF for 2024-25 and the policy document explains how this funding has been rolled in.  

In 2023-2024, the Government took into account the feedback from schools and head teachers, resulting in additional funding that covers the full cost of the pay award above 3.5% nationally. This recognised that many schools had budgeted for a 3.5% pay increase as per the figure put forward in the Department’s written evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body. 

Our calculations indicated that, on average, schools could accommodate a 4% pay award from their existing budgets, thanks to the £2 billion announced in the 2022 Autumn statement. However, the additional funding provided for the pay award exceeded our calculations. For the 2023-24 financial year, schools received an additional £525 million, with £900 million being provided in the 2024-25 financial year. 

Academy trusts can see funding rates and allocations for the 2023-24 teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG), and information on the 2024-25 grant. Further information about the teacher’s pay award is on The Education Hub. This TPAG funding is allocated on top of GAG in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. 

Trusts are able to set their own pay award rates and whichever pay award your academy trust opts to apply, this must be agreed with trustees and be affordable for the trust. 

The Department for Education expects to publish its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body, as it usually does, in July 2024 – and this will be available on gov.uk. This will set out the Department’s view on an appropriate pay award for 2024/25. You can use this to guide your planning if your trust intends to follow the nationally set pay scales. We would always encourage trusts to consider different scenarios that might materialise as part of planning. 

There are other sources, such as information from the Local Government Association on support staff pay.  Your trust may be able to access advice and support from stakeholder bodies, such as CST, ASCL, ISBL if your trust is a member. 

It is especially important to comment on your overall net surplus or deficit over the forecast period. ESFA recognises that there will be a number of contextual factors that lead to a trust forecasting a deficit in their BFR and it remains vital that you provide a genuine forecast representing a realistic future picture. Once we’ve collected all the BFRs we can form a view nationally and how best to support individual trusts. 

If you are forecasting a deficit, then include a description of any mitigating actions that you are undertaking. If these actions are already approved by trustees, then the forecast should reflect the impact of these plans. 

If you’re concerned about your trust’s financial position or forecasting an imminent deficit, we’d encourage you to contact the ESFA through the online enquiry form as soon as possible.  

Here are some suggestions to consider as part of your planning that may help you construct your forecast:

Factors affecting potential income

• forecast pupil numbers and local trends
• estimated National Funding Formula funding per pupil with a baseline including minimum funding guarantees
• academies revenue funding allocations
• changes in pupil premium funding and mix of pupils with special needs (and any associated funding for their support)
• mix of weighting factors including area cost adjustment
• other income assumptions such as, commercial income and investment income

Factors affecting potential expenditure

• pay awards for all staff (national rates or locally determined rates)
• any upcoming structural or curriculum changes
• staff turnover estimates and future staff grade ratios
• TPS contribution rates (indications of national rates)
• LGPS contribution rates (varies according to region)
• non-staff cost inflation- could apply a flat rate or variable one subject to different rates depending on specific costs

5. Pupil numbers

Line 999 Pupil numbers. Input the total number of students in your trust as at the October census date each year. This must not be rounded. Within section 2 (prepare BFR form) if you input the pupil numbers first, this will prevent other validations being triggered on line 102 – General Academy Grant (GAG) (excluding Student Service Grant).

6. Revenue

Quick links - revenue
Revenue income	DfE ESFA income	Other revenue	Revenue totals
Surplus transfers on conversion	Staff costs	Non-staff costs	Deficit on conversion	Academy trust reserves

Include all DfE revenue grants funding receivable in the period. This should be broken down into the various ESFA funding streams, including new funding streams. For the September 2022 to August 2023 academic year (previous year):

• input the September 2022 to March 2023
• input the year-end totals outturn as at 31 August 2023
• the April 2023 to August 2023 forecast outturn will automatically be calculated and no input is required

For the September 2023 to August 2024 academic year (actual year):

• input the September 2023 to March 2024 actuals
• input the year-end totals forecast as at 31 August 2024
• the April 2024 to August 2024 forecast will automatically be calculated and no input is required

For the September 2024 to August 2025 academic year (future year):

• input the September 2024 to March 2025 actuals
• input the year-end totals forecast as at 31 August 2025
• the April 2025 to August 2025 forecast will automatically be calculated and no input is required

6.1 DfE ESFA income

Lines 101 to 199 – include ESFA revenue grants received or receivable for the applicable periods, including any post-16 allocations. You will need to gross up the GAG line to reflect the grant expected before any deduction for RPA (Risk protection agreement) is made.

Line number	Title	Action
101	Rates reclaim	As per section 3.66 of the Academies Accounts Direction. Include the grossed up rates reclaim and show the equal expenditure offset in line 378.  You should enter the total amount for the year you are claiming.
102	General Academy Grant (GAG) (excluding Student Service Grant)	This is the gross GAG figure as shown on the trusts GAG funding statement and the post 16 allocation statement. Don’t include any deductions for the RPA Scheme (insurance scheme), loan repayments, start-up grants or the Academy post 16-19 bursary funding.
103	Student Services Grant (Academy Post 16 Bursary Funding)	Only include the Academy post 16-19 bursary fund.
105	Start up grants	Include both elements of the post opening grant (start up grants and post opening grants) included in the GAG funding statement
108	Pupil Premium & Service Premium	Don’t include any looked after children pupil premium allocations as this is funding provided by local authorities and should be included within line 200
132	Pupil number adjustment	Include any additional funding you have received due to PNA. This applies to academies who receive their funding based on pupil numbers. It is necessary so that academies funded in this way receive grant income which more accurately reflects the actual pupil numbers present during the year.
135	Other DfE/ESFA grants	Include any remaining non-GAG grants receivable for the periods not included in lines 101 to 138. This includes the ‘Catch up’ funding for tutoring and other Covid 19 related grants from the DfE/ESFA
136	Universal infant free school meals	Include any additional funding you receive from Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). This provides funding for all government funded schools to offer free school meals to pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2.
137	Insurance	This should only contain any insurance top-up grant received from the ESFA. It shouldn’t include the value of insurance claims.
138	Sponsor Capacity Grant	Include any additional funding from the Sponsor Capacity Grant, as per the Grant determination. This grant is from the DfE to facilitate an increase in the number of academies within a trust and encourage trusts to take on struggling schools. School can bid for between £50-£100k.
150	Other DfE/ESFA family revenue grants	This should only be used for grants from the DfE family, including National College of Teaching and Leadership, Standards Testing Agency, or Office of the Children’s Commissioner.

6.2 Other revenue

Line number	Title	Action
200	Local authority revenue income	Include all revenue income received or receivable from local authorities, but exclude revenue surplus transfers from predecessor local authority maintained schools on conversion.
205	Other government grants	Include all revenue grants receivable from other government sources (i.e. excluding DfE, other bodies within the DfE family, ESFA and local authority) that are not included in the lines above. Line 205 should include, but is not limited to, grants receivable from any government funding intended to promote access and opportunity for minority ethnic pupils in support of English as an additional language or as part of a wider focus on raising attainment.
210	Non-government grants	Include all revenue grants received from non-government sources.
211	Income from trading activities	Include all revenue received from trading activities such as hall hire, catering, rental income, breakfast and after school clubs, parental contributions, staff secondments outside of the trust and insurance claims.
220	Other income, including endowment revaluations and investment income	Include any other revenue income not covered by the above categories e.g. RAAC, donations, business sponsorship, investment income, gains or losses on endowments and any transfer of revenue reserves.

6.3 Surplus transfers on conversion

Line number	Title	Action
212	Revenue surplus transfer of an existing academy in/ (out) of the trust	Include all revenue surplus received following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a surplus into the trust, enter this figure as a positive figure, increasing your income. Where there is a transfer of a surplus out of the trust, enter this as a negative figure, decreasing your income.
215	Revenue surplus transfer to academy on conversion	Include all revenue surplus received or receivable on conversion from local authorities, i.e. surpluses received from local authorities on conversion excluding pensions and fixed assets. Enter this as a positive figure.
255	Transfers between revenue and capital (Line 585)	Net transfer between revenue and capital. This should be the planned transfer from revenue reserves or income to the capital budget to spend on capital items. This should normally be a negative figure. However, occasionally a capital grant is spent as per the grant conditions, but the expense has been classified as revenue (for example, roof repairs). In this case you may need to make a transfer from capital to revenue, creating a positive transfer to revenue from capital (i.e. negative balancing line 585).
298	Total revenue income	This is the sum of total DfE/ESFA revenue income (line 199), Other revenue, any revenue transfers in or out of the trust (line 212/215) and any revenue transfers between revenue and capital income (line 585). This line is used to calculate your trust’s total reserves.  The reserve balance details page (if triggered) calculates a ratio between line 430 ‘c/f 31 Aug 2024’ and the 2023/24 total balance in line 298 (Line 430 divided by line 298).

6.4 Staff costs (excluding pension movements)

Line number	Title	Action
310	Wages and salaries	Include the full costs of employment for staff employed directly/indirectly by the trust including gross pay, bonuses, overtime, allowances, maternity and sick pay. Include any redundancy costs for staff costs in here also. Exclude third-party IT support and instead please include these in line 342 - ICT costs: IT support further below in the revenue expenditure section
311	Social security costs	Include the employer’s national insurance and any costs of the apprenticeship levy
320	Pension cost: teaching staff	Include the superannuation contributions relating to teaching staff. For example, staff members in the teachers’ pension scheme including those on the leadership pay scale. It should include actual pension contribution
325	Pension cost: non-teaching staff	Include the superannuation contributions relating to non-teaching staff. Include the superannuation contributions relating to non-teaching staff. Include actual pension contributions and any payments to address the deficit on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund. Don’t include any change in the value of the deficit calculated under FRS102.

6.5 Non-staff costs

Line number	Title	Action
336	ICT costs: connectivity	Include main and backup broadband lines, wireless networks, network switches, network cables, telephony, ISDN, ASDL or other dedicated phone lines. Also include safety and security features such as cyber security and filtering and monitoring if bundled with connectivity services. Please also include any leasing costs associated with connectivity. Exclude connectivity expenditure where costs are capitalised such as installation costs or where phones are not leased.  Mobile phones, including hardware and contracts. Instead, please include these in line 621 - ICT costs: connectivity, within the capital expenditure section.
337	ICT costs: onsite servers	Include purchased or leased physical onsite servers present in the school or trust where they are not capitalised, also onsite servers that support cloud-based storage across a trust. Exclude: cloud-based storage where the school or trust does not have a physical onsite server; instead include these in line 339 - ICT costs: administration software and systems. Exclude energy costs associated with onsite servers (please include these in line 378 – Non-staff costs), expenditure on onsite servers where costs are capitalised (please include these in line 622 – ICT Costs: onsite servers, within the capital expenditure section), and any repair and maintenance costs (please include line 342 - ICT costs: IT support).
338	ICT costs: IT learning resources	Include curriculum software to support teaching and learning such as apps and lesson planning tools, subscriptions and licenses associated with educational software and websites, digital learning platforms and e-books.  Exclude resources that are used specifically for administration purposes such as management information systems, safeguarding systems, and data storage. Instead, include these in line 339 - ICT costs: administration software and systems. Exclude any laptops, desktops, and tablets including associated licenses, should be included in line 340 ICT costs: laptops, desktops, and tablets if they haven’t been capitalised. Any other hardware not capitalised, such as audio-visual screens, printers and keyboards, should be included in line 341 - ICT costs: other hardware.  Where a resource is used for learning and administration purposes, and where costs are material, costs or estimates of the split should be coded separately at the time of purchase.
339	ICT costs: administration software and systems	Include administration and management software such as management information systems (MIS), safeguarding, finance, cashless catering, building management and payment portals. Also include operating systems and device licences, unless bundled into the cost of laptops, desktops and tablets. Include IT hosting including cloud and data storage, cybersecurity and filtering / monitoring if they are not part of any previously stated connectivity services. Exclude connectivity such as broadband and telephony; instead include these in line 336 - ICT costs: connectivity. Exclude IT learning resources, hardware, inhouse or third party IT support; instead include these in line 338 - ICT costs: IT learning resources. Where a resource is used for learning and administration purposes, and where costs are material, costs or estimates of the split should be coded separately at the time of purchase.
340	ICT costs: laptops, desktops and tablets	Include laptops, desktops and tablets purchased or leased by the school that are used for teaching, learning and administration. Include peripherals such as keyboards, mouse’s and display screens if bundled into the cost of the devices. Include operating systems and licences if bundled into the cost of devices, device management tools. Only include costs within this line if they have not been capitalised. If they are capitalised, include in line 624 - ICT costs: laptops, desktops and tablets within the capital expenditure section of the form. Exclude bring your own device (BYOD) schemes where pupils and / or staff are required to bring their own devices such as laptops or tablets. Exclude peripherals that are not bundled into the cost of the devices, and any other hardware, expenditure where device costs are capitalised and instead include these in line 341 - ICT costs: other hardware. Also exclude IT support unless this is bundled into the purchase or hire of the devices and instead include in line 342 - ICT costs: IT support.
341	ICT costs: other hardware	Include hardware such as printers and consumables, audio-visual display screens, projectors and CCTV. Include peripherals such as keyboards and mouse’s where they are not bundled into laptop, desktop and tablet costs. Include purchase or hire of any hardware where this has not been capitalised. Only include costs within this line if they have not been capitalised. If they are capitalised, include in line 625 - ICT costs: other hardware. Exclude laptops, desktops and tablets, instead include this in line 340 - ICT costs: laptops, desktops and tablets above. Exclude any onsite servers, instead include these in line 337 - ICT costs: onsite servers. Exclude software unless bundled as part of the cost of the hardware and instead include in 339 - ICT costs: administration software and systems.
342	ICT costs: IT support	Include third-party IT support contracts, maintenance and repair of technology, IT related consultancy when not bundled into any other services. Also include the estimated costs of IT support if these are bundled into other services. Exclude  inhouse IT support such as a network or IT manager. This will be included in staff costs.
330	Other staff support costs	Include any indirect staffing costs such as training and development, staff travel, childcare vouchers and DBS checks.
378	Non-staff costs (cash)	Include any other revenue expenditure not covered by the above categories e.g. costs of all educational and non-educational supplies and services (including bought in supply cover and HR/Payroll services from the Local Authority), RPA contributions, building repairs and maintenance costs (including any service level of agreements that relate to the upkeep and maintenance of the school estate), legal and governance costs, land and buildings valuations, bank charges and interest. If your trust has any RAAC related expenditure that hasn’t been capitalised, please include this in here. Exclude revenue deficits on conversion/ transfer or any non-cash costs such as unwinding of the discount, impairment, depreciation. Include all ICT related costs in lines 336 - 342.

379

Building repair & maintenance / Building improvements (Disclosure only)

Disclosure only: Include any expenditure that relates to building repair & maintenance / building improvements that have not been capitalised. For example, this could include: roof repairs, heating / boiler replacements, general maintenance and repairs to the building. Only include costs in here that have not been added to the trusts balance sheet as a fixed asset. You do not need to alter line 378, as this line (379) is a disclosure only and any repair and maintenance costs within 378 will not be double counted. Line 379 is a disclosure only line and won’t impact the overall total as all of the spend is included line 378.   If you have entered a value in line 379, we will then ask if you can tell us the typical percentage of this spend that is funded through capital grants and that you have not capitalised.  We want you to include any spend funded through capital improvement funding (CIF), Devolved formula capital (DFC), school condition allocation (SCA) etc that your trust has spent but not capitalised (i.e. included in the capital section of the BFR). The percentage estimate is a guide based on typical capitalisation. If you are unsure look at the last year and calculate of the capital funding your trust has received – how much was reported in the revenue section as compared to the capital section.

6.6 Deficit on conversion

Line number	Title	Action
350	Revenue deficit transfer of an existing academy in/ out of the trust	Include all revenue deficit payable following the transfer of an existing academy, excluding pensions and fixed assets. Where there is a transfer of a deficit into the trust, enter this figure as a positive figure, increasing your expenditure. Where there is a transfer of a deficit out of the trust, enter this as a negative figure, decreasing your expenditure.
351	Revenue deficit transfer to an academy on conversion	Include revenue deficit payable on conversion from local authorities, e.g. deficits received from local authorities on conversion excluding pensions and fixed assets. Enter this as a positive figure.
395	Other non-cash items	Only include any non-cash costs that flow into revenue reserves. If non-cash costs feed the pensions reserve or the capital fund then exclude

An example of line 395 is where depreciation flows into the capital fund. In this case this shouldn’t be included here. It should be disclosed in the other items section below. If you include impairment charges in revenue reserves then provide an explanation following the validation query. Include other non-cash items such as provisions (but not pension liabilities) or unwinding of the discount.

Line number	Title	Action
400	Net revenue income/(expenditure) for the period	No action - auto calculation.  If forecast year expenditure is forecast to increase by more than 10% compared to the current year, without a corresponding increase in income provide an explanation.
410	Balance b/fwd from previous period	Input the closing balance of revenue funds from the previous financial year. The figures for this can be found in your statutory accounts refer to the AAD for guidance. Assuming there are no structural changes to the trust, the amount should agree to the sum of ‘Endowment Fund’, ‘Restricted Income Fund’ and ‘Unrestricted Fund’ in the Balance Sheet Summary of the prior year accounts return. Don’t include capital funds or pension reserves or revaluation reserves. The 1 Sep 22 pre-populated opening balance figures have been prepopulated from your previous AAR (annual accounts return).
430	Balance c/fwd to next period	This is an automatic sum of lines 400 and 410 and is used to calculate your trust’s total reserves. The reserve balance details page (if triggered) calculates a ratio between line 430 ‘c/f 31 Aug 2024’ and the 2023/24 total balance in line 298 (Line 430 divided by line 298). Provide an explanation where there are any deficits.

6.7 Revenue totals

We have pre-populated revenue totals (line 410 balance b/fwd from previous period) for 1 Sep 22 with the closing balance from the 2021/22 annual accounts return (AAR). To see examples of how to calculate this number using your AAR, statutory accounts, or an example from the academies model accounts, see our scenarios section below in our guidance .

6.8 Academy trust reserves

Following inclusion in 22-23, we are again asking trusts with high levels of revenue reserves about their plans for holding these funds. This is to enable ESFA to monitor compliance with Academies Trust Handbook that trusts with substantial reserves have a clear plan and rationale for the decision to hold reserves at that level.

We request additional information for any academy trust with reserves equivalent to more than 20% of their income. The calculation is a ratio of line 430 ‘c/f 31 Aug 2024’ and line 298.  

If you have a ratio of 20% or more, you’ll be asked some follow up questions. You’ll be asked to provide more details about the minimum amount your trust would want to keep in reserves along with a narrative. We also ask for specific details about the trust’s plans, including selecting the main purpose(s) your trust is holding its reserve balance for. This information is requested to try and minimise further queries later in the year. The  trusts minimum reserves amount should be separate to other planned spend highlighted in the project options below.

You must select at least one from this list of options, and can include projects across all the options:

• ‘specific building/estates projects’ (site development or maintenance e.g. new classrooms, sports facilities, CIF contributions)
• ‘other non-building capital expenditure’ (curriculum development, ICT infrastructure)
• ‘staff retention and development’ (planned training commitments)
• ‘strategic development of the trust’ (increase in schools, conversions or transfers in)
• ‘growth of existing schools in the trust’ (increase in pupil numbers/age range changes)
• ‘future change/uncertainty’ (reduce income due to decreasing pupil numbers or a future in-year deficit)
• ‘other’ not listed above

All inputs are for the approximate cost, in rounded thousands (£,000’s), and an estimated date of the activity commencement, even if that’s in a future year – this will give us information about your planned use of these reserves.

7. Capital

Quick links - capital
Other income – capital	Disposals	Capital income totals
Capital expenditure	Capital totals	Capital transfers and conversions

7.1 DfE/ESFA income – capital

You’ll need to include all DfE capital grants funding receivable in the period.

Line number	Title	Action
510	ESFA devolved formula capital	Input the total amount of capital funding grant receivable from the ESFA
520	Value of any capital donation of an asset from the ESFA for PSPB/Free Schools Programme	Include the value of any asset that has been transferred, or due to be transferred from the ESFA to the trust where the ESFA has procured the capital works centrally under the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) or Free Schools Programme. This should equal row 605.
530	Other DfE income– Capital	Include the amount of any capital grants received from the ESFA that is not included in lines 510 or 520, for example CIF/SCA funding.
540	Other DfE family capital grants	Enter the value of any capital grants from DfE family bodies, such as the national college, ESFA, Office of the Children’s Commissioner or the Standards and Testing Agency.
560	Local authority capital income (cash)	Include any local authority capital funding receivable. This should be cash payments only. Include unspent grants (cash) including any capital balances on conversion. This is the cash reserves balances on conversion only.

7.2 Other income – capital

Line number	Title	Action
560	Local authority capital income	Include any local authority capital funding receivable. This should be cash payments only

Other capital income (lines 570 to 575) – include all other capital income broken down into the following categories:

Line number	Title	Action
570	Non-governmental capital income	Include voluntary, private capital, donations for use as capital or endowment funds or any other non government capital income. Specify what each is in the comments section
571	Other government grant capital income	Include any other government capital grants received, which are not included in the above lines. If you have received any RAAC funding that relates to capital, please include this here. Specify which government body the grants are from in the comments column
574	Endowment releases to fund capital expenditure	Include where there have been any releases from endowments reserves to fund capital expenditure
575	Local authority donated assets	Include any donated assets from local authorities. Note this will equal line 606 (local authority donated assets expense).

7.3 Disposals

Disposal proceeds (lines 581-583) – include the value that all disposals are carried in the financial statements, i.e. cost less depreciation in the following categories lines:

Line number	Title	Action
581	Land and buildings disposals	Disposal proceeds only
582	Other fixed assets disposals	Disposal proceeds only

7.4 Capital income totals

Line 585 Transfer between revenue and capital (contra line 255) – This should balance to line 255, normally there are revenue transfers to capital and this line should be a positive figure. Transfers from capital funding to revenue reserves is usually not allowed. However, on occasion for the reasons described in line 255, a reverse transfer may be necessary, in which case funds may flow from capital to revenue and the balance in this line would become negative. In this circumstance, you’ll need to add an explanation to provide the context of this.

7.5 Capital expenditure

This year, we are collecting data around ICT costs, to comply with the new digital standard to understand what the education sector spends on ICT. This will help schools and trusts monitor and plan spend in key areas of technology that can lead to cost and time savings longer term.

Land and buildings additions are shown in lines 601-620. This will include the cost of land acquisition including all fees and charges associated. This will include the cost of new construction, including fees, cost of conversions and renovations and cost of extension to existing premises. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines:

Line number	Title	Action
601	Land & buildings additions funded by ESFA grants	Include any expenditure of grant received from the ESFA for freehold and leasehold land and buildings additions. In here, also include any RAAC related expenditure that has been capitalised. If your trust has had any major maintenance work completed that has been capitalised, please include this in here. Any unspent grant income would be carried forward into the next financial year, usually in the capital funds balance.
605	Land & buildings donated to the trust by the ESFA (PSPB/Free Schools Programme)	Include the value of any asset that has been transferred, or due to be transferred from the ESFA to the trust where the ESFA has procured the capital works centrally under the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) or Free Schools Programme. Contra to row 520.
615	Land & buildings additions funded by other capital grants	Include any expenditure that is funded by other capital grants (not the DfE/ESFA family) include lottery funding, sports England, Local Authorities, FA.
620	Land & buildings additions funded by reserves	Funded by reserves - including other revenue sources as well as endowment releases.

ICT additions are shown in lines 621-625. This will include the cost of ICT where they have been capitalised for network connection and installation, onsite servers, software and hardware. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines

Line number	Title	Action
621	ICT costs: connectivity	Include where capitalised; broadband, wireless networks, network switches, network cables, installation costs. Telephony, ISDN, ASDL or other dedicated phone lines where they are not leased, and installation costs. Exclude leasing (see line 336 - ICT costs: connectivity, within the revenue expenditure section), IT support, repair and maintenance costs (see line 342 - ICT costs: IT support, within the revenue expenditure section).
622	ICT costs: onsite servers	Include physical onsite servers where costs are capitalised. Exclude lease costs (please include in line 337 - ICT costs: onsite servers) and any repair and maintenance (please include in line 342 - ICT costs: IT support) costs associated with onsite servers, cloud storage  costs, IT support.
623	ICT costs: administration software and systems	Include where capitalised; administration and management software such as management information systems (MIS), safeguarding, finance, cashless catering, building management and payment portals, operating systems and device licences (unless bundled into the cost of laptops, desktops and tablets), cloud and data storage, cybersecurity and filtering and monitoring if not part of any connectivity services. Exclude connectivity such as broadband and telephony (see line 621 - ICT costs: connectivity), IT learning resources, (see line 338 - ICT costs: IT learning resources, within the revenue expenditure section), IT support, repair and maintenance costs (see line 342 - ICT costs: IT support, within the revenue expenditure section). Where a resource is used for curriculum  and non-curriculum (administration) purposes, and where costs are material, costs or estimates of the split should be coded separately at the time of purchase.
624	ICT costs: laptops, desktops and tablets	Include where capitalised; laptops, desktops and tablets purchased by the school (used for teaching, learning and administration), operating systems and licences (if bundled into the cost of devices) and device management tools. Exclude bring your own device (BYOD) schemes where pupils and or staff are required to bring their own devices such as laptops or tablets. Exclude any other hardware (see line 625 - ICT costs: other hardware, within the capital expenditure section), IT support, repair and maintenance costs (see line 342 - ICT costs: IT support, within the revenue expenditure section). Where a resource is used for curriculum  and non-curriculum (administration) purposes, and where costs are material, costs or estimates of the split should be coded separately at the time of purchase.
625	ICT costs: other hardware	Include where capitalised; hardware such as printers and consumables, audio-visual display screens, projectors and CCTV, peripherals such as keyboards and mouse’s (where they are not bundled into laptop, desktop and tablet costs). Exclude laptops, desktops and tablets (see line 624 - ICT costs: laptops, desktops and tablets), onsite servers (see line 622 - ICT costs: onsite servers, IT support, repair and maintenance costs (see line 342 - ICT costs: IT support.

Other fixed assets additions are shown in lines 636-638 – include the cost of other fixed assets acquisition. These fixed assets include items such as furniture and equipment, computer equipment, motor vehicles, assets under construction, intangible assets etc. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines:

Land and buildings additions are shown in lines 601-620. This will include the cost of land acquisition including all fees and charges associated. This will include the cost of new construction, including fees, cost of conversions and renovations and cost of extension to existing premises. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines: 

ICT additions are shown in lines 621-625. This will include the cost of ICT where they have been capitalised for network connection and installation, onsite servers, software and hardware. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines:

Other fixed assets additions in lines 636-638 – include the cost of other fixed assets acquisition. These fixed assets include items such as furniture and equipment, computer equipment, motor vehicles, assets under construction, intangible assets etc. This needs to be broken down into the following category lines:

Line number	Title	Action
636	Other fixed assets additions funded by ESFA grants	Include any expenditure of ESFA grant received in a previous period.  The unspent grant income should be carried forward from a prior year. In here, also include any RAAC related expenditure that has been capitalised in this line. If your trust has had any major maintenance work completed that has been capitalised, please include this in here.
637	Other fixed assets additions funded by other capital grants	Include any expenditure that is funded by other capital grants (not the DfE/ESFA family) include lottery funding, sports England, Local Authorities, FA. If your trust has had any major maintenance work completed that has been capitalised, please include this in here.
638	Other fixed assets additions funded by reserves	Include any expenditure that is funded by reserves – including other revenue sources as well as endowment releases.
606	Local authority donated assets expense	This should be the contra of row 575 recognising the asset expense following receipt of the donated asset (as income).

Any additions shown in lines 601 – 606 should be new assets created by the existing trust and not assets transferred in from another local authority or academy. For assets transferred in from a local authority or academy, please see section 7.7 Capital transfers and conversions (disclosure).

7.6 Capital totals

Line number	Title	Action
670	Balance b/fwd from previous period	Input the closing balance of capital funds from previous financial year. Assuming there are no structural changes to the trust, then the amount entered in this cell should agree to the “Fixed Asset Fund” less “Tangible assets” and “Intangible assets” in the Balance Sheet summary of the prior year Accounts Return. The 1 Sep 22 opening balance figures have been pre-populated from your previous AAR (annual accounts return).
680	Balance c/fwd to next period	No input required

Line number	Title	Action
572	Capital assets transferred to an academy on conversion	Include the value of capital assets and liabilities received or receivable on conversion from local authorities on conversion. These balances will have a contra adjustment. For example, when you record a conversion from a local authority the entry is conversion income recorded below and the opposite adjustment which is expenditure. The former recognises the transfer income and the latter the expenditure to recognise the asset. The budgeting impact is neutral.
573	Capital assets transferred of an existing academy into the trust	Include the value of capital assets and liabilities received or receivable following the transfer of an existing academy from another academy trust.
639	Capital assets transferred of an existing academy out of the trust	Include the value of capital assets and liabilities paid or payable following the transfer of an existing academy to another academy trust. The value of any amount paid or payable should be entered as a negative value.

Your BFR has been pre-populated capital totals (line 670 balance b/fwd from previous period) for 1 Sep 22 with the closing balance from your 2021/22 annual accounts return (AAR). To see examples of how to calculate this number using your AAR, statutory accounts, or an example from the academies model accounts, see our Scenarios  section below in our guidance.

7.7 Capital transfers and conversions (disclosure)

Include any transfer of capital assets and liabilities from local authorities (line 572) or an academy (line 573) into your trust. Use these lines to add in capital assets that have already been established within the incoming academy or local authority, and not new assets created by your current trust. New assets created by your current trust should be included within lines 601 – 606.

8. Other items

Normal asset and liability sign convention should be followed where net assets as positive numbers and net liabilities as negative numbers.

Quick links - other items
Impairment/gains and losses	Investments	Loans	Provisions	Depreciation/amortisation for the period

8.1 Cash

Line number	Title	Action
700	Cash at bank and in hand	Include all bank balances and cash balances, specifying the liquid cash balance. August balances should be as per your last audited financial statements.
701	Overdrafts	Include any bank or other overdrafts still in use at period end date.

8.2 Impairment/gains and losses

Line number	Title	Action
710	Gain/loss on disposal of fixed assets	Deduct the carrying amount of the asset and related selling expenses from the proceeds of the disposal. Losses entered as a credit and gains as a debit
712	Impairments	Impairment charge would be the reduction in carrying value of an asset

8.3 Investments

Line number	Title	Action
725	Investments	Include movement in investments, such as the purchase of new fixed income or equity investments
730	Investment liquidations	Include cash or cash equivalents received as a result of investment liquidations

8.4 Loans

Line number	Title	Action
780	Opening outstanding loans	Include any closing loans outstanding from the previous financial year. Specify in the comments section to whom the loans relate, the amounts specific to each, whether transferred on conversion, reason for loan and loan duration. This includes Salix loans.
785	Increase / decrease in outstanding loans	Include the value of any increase or decrease in outstanding loans. Specify in the comments box to whom the loans relate, the amounts specific to each, whether transferred on conversion, reason for loan and duration of loan. This includes Salix loans.

8.5 Provisions

Line number	Title	Action
736	Provisions increase	Include any new provision (which is a known liability, but the timing and amount of payment are uncertain) that have been created or increased in the year; an example of this would be an announcement of a future severance scheme. Enter as a positive figure.
737	Provisions release (enter as a negative value)	Include any reductions to the value of the provisions in the year. This must be a negative value
738	Provision utilisation	Include any payments made out against the provisions in the year. This must be a negative value. This is not a cost but is a cash payment.

8.6 Depreciation/amortisation for the period

Line number	Title	Action
715	Buildings depreciation	Include deprecation charges for buildings only, excluding depreciation relating to donated or other buildings during the year.
716	Other assets donated depreciation	Include depreciation charges for donated assets.
717	Other assets owned depreciation	Include depreciation charges for other assets, excluding buildings or donated assets, but include amortisation for intangible assets.

9. Reserves

In this section (lines 1000 to 1002) exclude pensions and capital reserves. Trusts will be required to provide an explanation if any of its academies are carrying a negative reserve balance along with the plan of action to bring the deficit fund to surplus. You can collect this information in the comments section of the worksheet and copy it across onto the online form.

GAG Pooling - If your trust GAG is fully pooled and reserves are totally held centrally click ‘Yes’. You will then not be required to input the balance for each Academy separately. If you don’t fully pool your GAG funding select ‘No’ and the list of your academies will appear for you to input the individual balances per academy (lines 800 to 899).

Line number	Title	Action
1001	Total trust reserves	This is a calculated field from lines 1000, 1002 and 800. This should equal line 430, however, it may not match due to any changes in the structure of your trust. For this line to populate, enter your figures into line 1000, 1002, or lines 800 depending on whether your reserves are held centrally or at academy level.
1002	Adjustments to reserve balances	Use this line if you need to adjust the reserve balances, for example, if you have new academies that aren’t included on the form and you have included financial data for them.
1000	Centrally held reserves	Pooled Funding Input the value of reserves held centrally. When GAG funding is fully pooled, this will be the trusts total reserves. Non-Pooled Funding If your GAG funding is not fully pooled, and you hold reserves centrally and at academy level, please enter the centrally held reserves in line 1000, and then the reserve balances for each academy within the 800 lines.
800-899	Individual academy reserves	The number of academies in the return should match the number of academy reserves. If there is no GAG pooling, MAT’s should separately report revenue reserves information, for each academy included in the return. Deficits are entered as a negative value. All trusts must provide an explanation along with the plan of action to bring the deficit fund to surplus, if any of its academies are carrying a negative reserve balance at the close of each academic year.

GAG Pooling - If your trust GAG is fully pooled and reserves are totally held centrally click ‘Yes’. You will then not be required to input the balance for each Academy separately. If you don’t fully pool your GAG funding select ‘No’ and the list of your academies will appear for you to input the individual balances per academy (lines 800 to 899).

10. Three year forecast

This section of the form is completed at a summary level as compared to the rest of the form. The first column is calculated from information previously input into the form. The forecast is needed to be input for the years:

• 2025/26
• 2026/27

This is input in four sections shown below:

10.1 Revenue

Line number	Title	Action
1990	DfE grant income	Maps to line 199. This includes all DfE income
2500	Other Income	Maps to line 250. All other income revenue streams (non-DfE)
2530	Surplus/deficit transfer into trust on conversion or transfer	Maps to line 212 and 215. Surplus transfers into the trust on conversion or transfer
2550	Transfer revenue to capital	Maps to line 255. Transfers from current year revenue into capital reserves. This usually reduces income but on occasion, there’s a transfer from capital to revenue
2980	Subtotal Income	No action - auto calculation
3100	Staff costs	Maps to line 310 to 325. Includes all appropriate staff costs
3300	Other costs	Maps to the ICT revenue cost lines (336 – 342) line 330, line 378 and 395. Includes all non-staff costs but excludes non-cash depreciation, pension provision movements.
3900	Assumed pay awards for teaching staff (% rate)	Please enter the percentage (%) rate used to forecast assumed pay awards for teaching staff. This figure should be between 0% and 100%. Please enter these figures as actual figures (For example for 1% enter ‘1’ or for no increase enter ‘0’).
3950	Assumed pay awards for support staff (% rate)	Please enter the percentage (%) rate used to forecast assumed pay awards for support staff. This figure should be between 0% and 100%. Please enter these figures as actual figures (For example for 1% enter ‘1’ or for no increase enter ‘0’).

10.2 Capital

Line number	Title	Action
5850	Transfer revenue to capital expenditure	Maps to line 585. Contra of 255 above – this is current year revenue transferred to capital or on occasion, is a reverse transfer
5500	Capital Income	Maps to lines 550 and 580. This should be all grant funding. Don’t include donated assets, ESFA Assets Under Construction (AUC) transfers or conversions. Only include genuine income
6500	Actual spend on capital expenditure	Maps to line 650. Don’t include donated assets, ESFA AUC transfers or conversions. Only include actual trust spend
5840	Asset disposals	Maps to line 584. Receipts on disposals
6600	Capital net	No action - auto calculation.

10.3 Other items

We collect forecasted depreciation to enable us to report the Capital department expenditure limit (CDEL) figure which forms part of the department’s treasury control line, with these figures subsequently being reported to HM Treasury. 

To calculate your forecasted depreciation, take your current years’ depreciation charge for the year and roll this forward for the next year. For any planned asset acquisitions, add in the depreciation charge relating to this when the asset is forecast to be capitalised. For any planned disposals, reduce the depreciation charge when the asset is due to be disposed of.

Line number	Title	Action
7200	Depreciation	Maps to line 720. All depreciation categories combined. Provide a brief explanation of the different strands of depreciation – buildings, donated assets and other
7100	Any other non cash costs	Maps to lines 736, 737,712, and 710. Only if known and planned. Don’t include pension. Include provision movements, impairments and gain/loss on disposal. Provide a brief summary of the costs included.
7000	Cash	Maps to line 700-701. Include bank balances and overdrafts combined.
9000	Pupil numbers (estimated)	Enter estimated pupil numbers for every year and without rounding.

We collect forecasted depreciation to enable us to report the Capital department expenditure limit (CDEL) figure which forms part of the departments treasury control line, with these figures subsequently being reported to HM Treasury.

To calculate your forecasted depreciation, take your current years’ depreciation charge for the year and roll this forward for the next year. For any planned asset acquisitions, add in the depreciation charge relating to this when the asset is forecast to be capitalised. For any planned disposals, reduce the depreciation charge when the asset is due to be disposed of.

10.4 Reserves

Line number	Title	Action
4100	Revenue Reserve opening balance b\f 1 Sep 2024/2025/2026	Maps to line 410. Opening revenue reserve balances.
4300	Revenue Reserve balance c\f 31 August 2025/2026/2027	Maps to line 430. Closing revenue balances – explain the circumstances where you’ve forecast any closing deficits.
8000	Trust reserves balances at 31 August 2025/2026/2027	Maps to 1001, which is the total of lines 800-899 and 1000. Only a single line entry is required for the entire trust. Provide further details where you’ve forecast a deficit in any one year.

11. Completing your form

This is the final section of the return that requires input from the preparer and approver of the return. If this is not the accounting officer, then it will ask for the accounting officer details. The declaration asks for confirmation that the accounting officer (or delegate) verifies that the information is supported by appropriate working papers and is accurate and complete.

All validations must have been cleared before the BFR can be submitted.

11.1 Summary declaration

This page allows for a final check on the total figures calculated based on the information entered into the form. 

It will also show those figures as they will be reported to ESFA without rounding to the nearest thousand pounds. This is to ensure that all trusts are rounding the figures input into the form. 

Tick the ‘Mark as complete’ statement to access the preparer and approver declarations.

11.2 Preparer declaration

If the approver is completing the return they will be able to skip this step and just submit to the ESFA.

You must complete the contact details. This will help us if we need to contact the Trust regarding the return. There is a comments box for any notes that you wish to pass on to the ESFA. Tick the declaration box to confirm you are content the return has been completed correctly and then press the “mark as complete” button. The return will then be made available to the Approver. Once the return has been sent to the approver the form will become read-only for all the preparer(s)/external preparer.

11.3 Approver declaration

The user with an approver role should complete this page. Provide contact details should there be a need to contact the person who approved the return. 

If you are the Accounting Officer select ‘Yes’ if you’re not the accounting officer, provide the details of the person who holds this role for the Trust. 

The approver must now confirm they are content to approve the return and submit to the ESFA. If the approver wants to make amendments to the form they can do or you can reject it back to the preparer for further amendments. 

If you want to provide any further comments with your return submission, enter them in the comments box. 

Once you are ready to submit press the “Submit to the ESFA” button at the bottom right-hand corner. Your return is now submitted and can’t be amended. You will receive an email to the address your DSI account is set up with. This email will confirm the time and date of your submission. If you haven’t received your email after a few hours, use the ESFA enquiry form to confirm that your return has been received.

11.4 Submission page

This is a confirmation page to show that your return has been submitted and received by the ESFA. Once you have submitted your return you will not be able to edit any of the figures. You are still able to download or print a copy of the form. This can be done from the link on the right-hand side of the dashboard screen. Should you discover any errors/omissions, contact the ESFA enquiry form.

12. Scenarios

12. 1 Incorrect academies in BFR form

Flowchart

12.2 GAG funding statements

To find out more about your funding statements you can read more here: Academies revenue funding allocations.

This shows an example of the GAG statements received by academies

Section 1 – Post opening Grant (Start up Grant) both elements should be allocated to line 105 of the BFR.

Section 3 – Breakdown of post 16-19 allocation (which is also shown on the 16-19 allocation statement) – only put the element that relates to the Academy Post 16 Bursary Funding (included as part of the Student financial support) in line 103 of the BFR.

The Total allocation (1+2+3) excluding the 2 specific allocations above should be included in line 102 as the GAG funding

12. 3 GAG pooling

The image shows what will happen if 'yes' or 'no' is selected for pooling your GAG funding

12.4 Revenue totals

This year, we have pre-populated the opening balance for revenue totals b/fwd Sep 22 (line 410) with the closing balance from the AAR return, using the below logic
Here is an example of where these figures can be found in the prior years’ AAR (Annual Accounts Return).

Example 1: AAR
Here we show an example of how you can calculate Line 410 in the BFR using the trusts balance sheet summary from the previous year’s accounts return. To find the balance sheet summary in your AAR, log into your trust’s accounts return and go to: Academies accounts return.

This image shows which lines you need to take from the annual accounts return to populate BFR line 410 (revenue total b/fwd from previous period)

Example 2: Mock statutory accounts
Here we show an example of how you can calculate figures for Line 410 using your academy trusts statutory accounts.

This image shows which figures to take from your trusts statutory accounts to populate BFR line 410 (revenue totals b/fwd from previous period)

Example 3: Model set of accounts from the academy accounts direction (AAD). Here is an example using the AAD (academy accounts direction) model accounts (Coketown) for revenue totals.

This image shows which figures to take as an example, from the academy accounts direction (AAD) model set of accounts, to populate line 410 (revenue totals b/fwd from previous period)

12.5 Capital totals

We have pre-populated the opening balance for capital totals b/fwd Sep 22 (line 670) with the closing balance from the 2022 AAR return, using the below logic
Here is an example of where these figures can be found in the prior years’ AAR (Annual Accounts Return).

Example 1: AAR

Here we show an example of how you can calculate Line 670 from the BFR using the trusts previous years accounts return. To find the balance sheet summary in your AAR, log into your trust’s accounts return and go to: Academies accounts return index > Summary > Balance sheet summary > Restricted funds (for the fixed asset fund) and Fixed assets (for the intangible assets and tangible assets).

This image shows which lines you need to take from the annual accounts return to populate your BFR line 670 (capital totals b/fwd from previous period)

This image shows which lines you need to take from the annual accounts return to populate your BFR line 670 (capital totals b/fwd from previous period) 

Example 2: Mock statutory accounts Here we show an example of how you can calculate figures for Line 670 using your academy trusts statutory accounts.

This image shows which figures to take from your trusts statutory accounts to populate your BFR line 670 (capital totals b/fwd from previous period)

Example 3: Model set of accounts from the academy accounts direction (AAD)
Here is an example using the AAD (academy accounts direction) model accounts (Coketown) for capital totals.

This image shows which figures to take as an example, from the academy accounts direction (AAD) model set of accounts to populate line 670 (capital totals b/fwd from previous period)

12.6 Gains and losses on endowments

Here is an example using mock statutory accounts for any endowment movements to input into line 220 from the SoFA.

This image shows which figure to take as an example, from a trusts statement of financial activities (SoFA) to populate line 220 (other income, including endowment revaluations and investment income).

Figure 1: Gain/(losses) on investment assets 2023: Endowment fund gain within the year: 200

Total for line 220 Other income, including endowment revaluations and investment income 2023: Endowment fund gain within the year: 200

13. Glossary of terms

Phrase	Explanation
Academy trust handbook (ATH)	Academy trusts must comply with this handbook as a condition of their funding agreement. It provides an overarching framework for implementation of effective financial management and control
Academy level	To do with an individual school(s)
Accounting officer (AO)	A senior employee whose overall responsibility is managing the financial resources of an organisation to ensure efficient and effective functioning of its operations
Accruals	The recognition of income and expenditure in the accounting period that they have been earned or spent
Amortisation charges	Depreciation charged on intangible assets
Approver	The accounting officer or designated representative who submits the return on behalf of a trust and can also prepare the return
Balance B/Fwd	Balance brought forward from the previous accounting period
Balance C/Fwd	Balance carried forward to the next accounting period
Capital	A term for financial assets, such as funds held in deposit accounts. While money is used to purchase goods and services for consumption, capital is more durable and is used to generate wealth through investment
Capital expenditure (CAPEX)	Payments made to buy or enhance a capital asset
Companies house	National register of company information within the UK that is available to the public
Consolidated return	An academy trust level return that covers more than one establishment, such as the BFRO
Declaration section	Part of the application or form that requires the user to enter sign off details
Devolved formula capital	Method used to calculate level of capital grant
Disposal proceeds	Income received when selling assets
DfE Sign In (DSI)	New registration portal for setting up and updating user role
Financial Management and Governance Self Assessment (FMGS)	For new academies, and those at the pre-opening stage, to help them ensure compliance with the requirements of the ATH
Fixed assets	Assets that are purchased for long term use and are not likely to be converted quickly into cash, such as land, buildings and equipment
Forecast deficit	A situation when expenditure exceeds income but in the near future
Funding agreement	The funding agreement provides the framework within which your academy or free school will operate
General Annual Grant (GAG)	Government funding for the school or trust to operate and will form a large part of academy funding
IDAMS	Registration portal for setting up and updating user roles. This portal is to be decommissioned and can no longer be used to access the BFR.
Impairments	A permanent reduction on the value of a fixed or intangible asset. It is when an asset’s market value is less than the asset’s book value
Intangible assets	Assets that cannot physically be seen, e.g. software, licenses, goodwill
Investment income	Income received from investments
Investment liquidations	Either selling the investment or bringing it to a form that can be easily converted to cash
Looked after children pupil premium	Similar to pupil premium but this is aimed at children in the care of the local authority (LA). Money is paid through a virtual school head that works in the LA
Organisation details	Details of the establishment in question, normally things like UPIN and trust type
Post 16 allocations	Grant allocations for post 16 education
Predecessor local authority	The local authority an academy was previously maintained by
Preparer	The person who fills in the return with data then submits to the approver
Private Finance Initiative (PFI)	Where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects
Provisions	Financial or other arrangements for future eventualities or requirements
Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA)	Annual publication of information on government spending
Pupil premium and service premium	Pot of ring-fenced money paid to schools, can be used just for children or whole school activities that would benefit targeted children
Regional School Commissioner (RSC)	Each region has a team that looks after academies during and after conversion
Reserves	Money held for emergencies or future projects. Some may be ringfenced for capital works for example or paying for staff expense contingencies
Residual unspent net capital income	Capital income received and not spent on capital expenditure
Revenue grants	Grants received for revenue expenditure
Risk protection agreement (RPA)	An alternative to commercial insurance for academy trusts. Under the RPA, the UK government covers the losses instead of commercial insurance
Surplus and deficit	Monetary term denoting a value in a plus or negative state. Surplus budget is a situation where income exceeds expenditure, and a deficit budget is a situation when expenditure is more than its revenue
Tangible assets	Fixed assets that are held by a trust for a long period of time and are easily identifiable i.e. land, buildings and equipment, as opposed to software or licenses (see Intangible assets)
Trading activities	Activities undertaken to earn income from the school which are non-educational activities e.g. room/hall rental
Trust level	To do with all academies in the group i.e. represented as one entity
Unwinding of the discount	Term generally used when the future liability is fixed/certain (e.g. loans or leases) and you undo (unwind) the process to find out the discount in the said fixed future liability as against its relative present value (e.g. interest to its relative present value)
Validation messages	Alert or warning that highlights an error that requires attention