Academies finance and assurance steering group: terms of reference
Updated 7 December 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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1. Role of the Steering Group
1.1: The Academies Finance and Assurance Steering Group (Steering Group) has been created to enable the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), Department for Education (DfE) and academy trusts to work collaboratively to develop / maintain the financial governance, reporting and assurance framework for academy trusts, including a number of finance and assurance products, and to provide a forum for ESFA and DfE to consult on its wider strategic aims. The Steering Group will drive improvements to meet the needs of the academy sector in ensuring high standards of accountability and transparency in the use of public funds. The Steering Group will operate on the basis of these agreed terms of reference.
2. Objectives of the Steering Group
2.1: The Steering Group will:
- contribute to the development of the academy trusts’ financial governance, reporting and assurance framework and lead the development of improved financial returns, consolidation and sector reporting, and risk assurance requirements to minimise administrative burdens on academy trusts
- focus on improving school resource management and balancing minimum administrative requirements with the need to ensure accountability and assurance to academy trusts and ESFA
- act as the sector body responsible for nominations to the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board, including its subcommittees and consider LGPS issues affecting the academies sector
- take account of relevant requirements of other stakeholders including HM Treasury, the National Audit Office and bodies responsible for the Local Government Pension Scheme
- horizon scan to consider the implications of new areas of policy and delivery and the long term aims of academy trust reporting.
3. Scope of the Steering Group’s work
3.1: The Steering Group will encompass all activities required to deliver an agreed programme of work; and will provide governance and decision making for the successful collective delivery of the agreed work plan in its entirety.
3.2: The Steering Group will make recommendations to ESFA and DfE and will:
- receive and disseminate advice on matters affecting finance and financial assurance within the academy sector
- provide advice on the practical implications of policy development within the academy sector
- advise on proposals for the simplification of financial oversight
- comment upon strategic matters relating to finance and assurance within the academy sector
- agree and monitor a work programme to achieve continuous improvement
- set up Working Groups, which include named representatives from ESFA and DfE to focus on specific areas of work, for example the Academy Trust Handbook, Academies Accounts Direction and Accounts Return, which will be brought to the Steering Group for comment and recommendation for approval. Also to focus on LGPS issues.
- maintain reporting and communication lines with Working Groups, through Working Group chairs, supported by ESFA and DfE nominated leads
- enable Working Groups to make recommendations to ESFA and DfE, through the Steering Group
- take ownership of issues that are escalated from Working Groups
- approve any changes to the governance and scope of the work programme.
4. Membership
4.1: The Steering Group includes academy trust chief financial officers, an academy trust executive principal and representatives from overarching academy collaborative bodies currently including:
- Association of School and College Leaders
- Catholic Education Service
- Church of England Education Office
- Confederation of School Trusts
- Institute of School Business Leadership
- National Association of Head Teachers
- National Governance Association
4.2: The Steering Group members are:
| Representative | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Mike Antoniou (WG1 chair) | Harris Federation |
| Amanda Bennett | Great Heights Academy Trust |
| Karen Bromage (WG2 chair) | Delta Academies Trust |
| Adrian Brook (Chair) | Education and Skills Funding Agency |
| Susan Fielden | Confederation of School Trusts |
| Emma Harrison | Association of School and College Leaders |
| Christine Fischer | Catholic Education Service |
| Robyn Ford | Church of England Education Office |
| Ian Hartwright | National Association of Head Teachers |
| Sam Henson | National Governance Association |
| Jennifer Jewitt (WG2 vice chair) | The Education Alliance |
| Richard Lane (WG4 vice chair) | Twyford Church of England Trust |
| Stephen Lester MBE | School Resource Management Advisor and Institute of School Business Leadership |
| Charity Main (WG4 chair) | Anglian Learning |
| Ian May | Baker Dearing Educational Trust |
| Stephen Morales | Institute of School Business Leadership |
| Margo Muris (WG1 vice chair) | Alec Reed Academy |
| James Nicholson | The Park Academies Trust |
| Amanda Rawson (WG3 chair) | Great Heights Academy Trust |
| Stuart Tinsley | Hockerill Anglo-European College |
5. Working Groups
5.1: Working Groups will take forward detailed areas of work as directed by the Steering Group, to achieve the overall work programme. The work programme will take account of the publishing timetable for framework documents. Working Groups include academy representatives from across the academy sector.
5.2: The Steering Group has four working groups to support its work programme in 2023 to 2024, membership of each working group is outlined in the annex.
Working Group 1
5.3: Focusing on development of the Academy Trust Handbook, having regard for the simplification of financial oversight, fraud awareness and cyber security, engagement with wider DfE policy developments affecting the financial management and governance framework, including school resource management, and identifying areas for sector guidance.
Working Group 2
5.4: Focusing on the academies financial online form’s development and collections (Accounts Return, Chart of Accounts, Budget Forecast Returns, Land and Buildings Collection Tool), plus associated digital infrastructure and financial reporting as required.
Working Group 3
5.5: Focusing on the development of the Academies Accounts Direction, reviewing outcomes from the main strands of ESFA assurance work, development of sector guidance and liaison with DfE and ESFA to improve capability and financial awareness amongst trusts seeking to grow.
Working Group 4
5.6: Focusing on supporting EFSA’s LGPS operational policy development and developing and publishing best practice guidance for Academy Trusts. Supporting academy sector representatives in their roles with the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board and increasing LGPS knowledge and engagement across the academy sector.
Dependencies between the working groups
5.7: Each working group will have regard to the interdependencies with the other groups’ work plans (e.g. the links between the Accounts Direction and the reporting requirements in the Accounts Return for the purposes of preparing a Sector Annual Report and Accounts).
5.8: The Working Groups’ plans will also be complementary to the activities of wider groups across ESFA and DfE, particularly those convened to inform work on school resource management.
5.9: The Working Group chairs, Steering Group chair and ESFA and DfE leads will ensure that their groups have adequate sight of this wider work.
5:10: Group members are available to be consulted on matters affecting other working groups where appropriate.
6. Conduct
Transparency and openness
6.1: The Steering Group will ensure that all matters are discussed in an open and constructive way. Members will be responsible individually for having an up-to-date declaration of interests lodged with the secretariat and for declaring any interests at meetings.
Confidentiality
6.2: Members will not share any information to which they have access through their membership of the group with other parties, other than as agreed with the chair (ESFA Deputy Director).
Meetings
6.3: Steering Group members should avoid delegating attendance at meetings unless it is unavoidable. Where deputies attend, they will be expected to have authority to represent their organisation.
6.4: Additional attendees may be asked to contribute to Steering Group meetings to provide specialist advice within their area of expertise. Requests for non-Steering Group members to attend Steering Group will be at the discretion of the Steering Group chair.
6.5: The Steering Group will meet 4 times a year to coincide with the programme of work. Meetings may be convened on a more regular basis at the discretion of the chair. There will be a focus at meetings on both strategic policy developments and operational impact, as appropriate. The chairs and leads of the working groups will meet with the Chair of the Steering Group to discuss and agree an agenda for each Steering Group meeting.
6.6: Meetings will include:
- welcome from the chair and summary of key objectives for the meeting
- declarations of interest
- review of progress from each Working Group
- decisions needed
- any other business.
6.7: If a member does not attend 3 consecutive meetings without sending apologies, they will be asked if they wish to continue as a member.
6.8: If a member of the Steering Group or a Working Group changes role, they should advise the appropriate Chair of the change. The Chair will then consider whether the individual’s membership should continue.
6.9: These attendance protocols shall also be applied to the Working Groups.
7. Expenses
7.1: Steering Group and Working Group members may claim reasonable travel expenses for attendance at any meetings which are held in person and should ensure that claims are submitted to ESFA within 2 months of expenses being incurred.
7.2: ESFA will reimburse claims on receipt of an invoice detailing the claimant’s name, academy details and travel expenses incurred.
7.3: Claimants should ensure that reasonable costs are incurred, ensuring value for money, for example when travelling by rail you should travel by 2nd class, using the most cost-effective route, pre-booking your tickets in advance. Contact one of the ESFA working group leads to make a claim.
8. Reporting and secretariat
8.1: The Steering Group will receive an agenda, minutes and any supporting papers for information or decision. Following Steering Group meetings, minutes and actions will be issued to Steering Group members and other stakeholders as required. Steering Group members will receive 5 working days to comment on the minutes. Minutes from Working Group meetings will be distributed to Steering Group members.
8.2: The secretariat plays a key role in the smooth running of meetings and supporting the work of the Steering Group. The secretariat will be undertaken by ESFA to ensure:
- an agenda is agreed by the chair 5 working days in advance of the meeting
- papers are circulated to all attendees 3 working days in advance of the meeting
- draft minutes, action points and any other relevant papers are circulated to the attendees and relevant stakeholders within 10 working days following the Steering Group.
Meeting dates 2023 to 2024
| Month | Steering Group | Working Group 1 | Working Group 2 | Working Group 3 | Working Group 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | - | - | - | - | - |
| October 2023 | - | - | - | Thursday 26 | - |
| November 2023 | Tuesday 14 | Thursday 9 | Tuesday 7 | - | Monday 6 |
| December 2023 | - | - | - | - | - |
| January 2024 | - | - | - | Thursday 25 | - |
| February 2024 | - | Thursday 9 | - | - | Monday 5 |
| March 2024 | Tuesday 5 | Thursday 14 | Monday 4 | - | - |
| April 2024 | Thursday 25 | Thursday 30* | Thursday 18 | Monday 15 | |
| May 2024 | - | - | - | - | - |
| June 2024 | Thursday 20 | Thursday 6 | Monday 3 | Tuesday 11 | Monday 10 |
| July 2024 | - | - | - | - | - |
| August 2024 | - | - | - | - | - |
*meeting only if required
Annex: Working Group Membership
Table 1 – Working Group 1
| Representative | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Olu Alalade | Skinners’ Academy, Hackney |
| Craig Alderson (WG1 lead) | Education and Skills Funding Agency |
| Mike Antoniou (chair) | Harris Federation |
| Louise Bridgett | PKF Francis Clark (chartered accountants) |
| Angela Cox OBE | Catholic Education Service |
| Catherine Dottridge | TENAX Schools Trust |
| Emma Harrison | Association of School and College Leaders |
| Jim Farquhar | Nicholas Postgate Academy Trust |
| Sam Henson | National Governance Association |
| Lee Hughes | Peterborough Diocese Education Trust |
| Julie Kendall | Together Learning Trust |
| Stephen Lester MBE | School Resource Management Advisor and Institute of School Business Leadership |
| Alison Moon | Veritas Multi-Academy Trust |
| Margo Muris (vice chair) | Alec Reed Academy |
| Diane Slack | Westbourne Primary School |
Table 2 - Working Group 2
| Representative | Organisation |
|---|---|
| James Brown | Harris Federation |
| Michael Bithell | National Society (Church of England) |
| Karen Bromage (chair) | Delta Academies Trust |
| Paul Edmond | Heart Academies Trust |
| Robyn Ford | Church of England Education Office |
| Sunil Gandhi | Wembley Multi-Academy Trust |
| Tom Hart (WG2 lead) | Department for Education |
| Jennifer Jewitt (vice chair) | The Education Alliance |
| Chris James | Britannia Education Trust |
| Kelly Johnson | University of Brighton Academies Trust |
| Chris Jones | The White Horse Federation |
| Gary Lee | Northern Education Trust |
| James Nicholson | Park Academies Trust |
| Philip Scott | University of Wolverhampton Multi-Academy Trust |
| David Smy | Catholic Education Service |
Table 3 - Working group 3
| Representative | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Gemma Archer | Mercia Group (training providers) |
| Chloe Bilby | Crowe (auditors) |
| Tim Borton | Bishop Fleming (auditors) |
| Joe Brownridge | E-ACT |
| Mark Brunet | Diocese of Arundel and Brighton |
| Andy Jones | Cooper Parry (auditors) |
| Richard Lane | Twyford Church of England Trust |
| Richard Lewis | RSM (auditors) |
| Gumayel Miah | Buzzacott (auditors) |
| Louise Molnar (WG3 lead) | Education and Skills Funding Agency |
| Simon Oxenham | Southend High School for Boys / Institute of School Business Leadership |
| Sean Preston | Hamwic Academy Trust |
| Amanda Rawson (chair) | Great Heights Academy Trust |
| Phil Reynolds | Island Learning Trust |
| Carina Ralfs | MHA MacIntyre Hudson (auditors) |
| David Smith | Azets (auditors) |
| Rob Stokes | Optimum Professional Services (accountancy and audit services provider) |
| Stuart Tinsley | Hockerill Anglo-European College |
| Ben Waterman | Outwood Grange Academies Trust |
| Michelle Woolley | Spencer Academies Trust |
Table 4 - Working Group 4
| Representative | Organisation |
|---|---|
| Robert Bilton | Scheme Actuary Representative |
| Sarah Graham | Oasis Community Learning |
| John Hunt | London Southeast Academies Trust |
| Richard Lane (vice-chair) | Twyford Church of England Trust |
| Charity Main (chair) | Anglian Learning |
| Richard Mayfield | Three Spires Trust |
| Jennie Mulrooney (WG4 lead) | Education and Skills Funding Agency |
| Sudhi Pathak | The Eden Academy |
| Steve Smith | E-ACT |
| Simon Taylor | Pension Fund Representative |
| John Wiffen | The Green School Trust |
| To be confirmed | Employee Sector Body Representative |
Table 5 - Other attendees to the Steering Group as required
ESFA Provider Market Oversight
- David Massey (Head of Financial Frameworks)
- Craig Alderson (Working Group 1 lead)
- Louise Molnar (Working Group 3 lead)
- Jennie Mulrooney (Working Group 4 lead)
- Matt Smith (Working Group 1 deputy lead and secretariat)
- Kashif Khan (Working Group 3 deputy lead and secretariat)
- Ross Calbraith (Working Group 4 secretariat)
DfE Corporate Assurance and Academy Returns
- Tom Hart (Working Group 2 lead)
- Rachel Walton (Working Group 2 secretariat)