Guidance

College financial planning handbook and CFFR

Guidance for sixth-form and further education colleges on preparing and submitting their College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR) and supporting commentary.

From:
Department for Education
Published
13 May 2013
Last updated
7 May 2025 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

College financial planning handbook 2025

PDF, 319 KB, 24 pages

College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR)

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 2.46 MB

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College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR): user guide

PDF, 423 KB, 20 pages

College financial planning handbook 2024

PDF, 340 KB, 27 pages

Standard cash flow template

Ref: Version 1.7

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 172 KB

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Details

College financial planning handbook

The College financial planning handbook (CFPH) specifies the financial outturn requirements for the financial year 2024 to 2025. It also specifies the financial planning requirements for the financial years 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, and applies to:

  • sixth form and further education college corporations
  • designated institutions
  • entities funded by the Department for Education (DfE) that conduct or control a designated institution unless that designated institution itself is required to submit accounts to DfE

Compliance with this handbook is a requirement in college accountability agreements with DfE and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

College Financial Forecasting Return

The CFPH requires that all colleges submit a College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR) by 31 July 2025 using the College financial data (CFD) service.

This return should include a:

  • completed CFFR for colleges
  • supporting document that explains the assumptions your forecast years have been based on in the CFFR return

Submission of information in draft or test versions of the CFFR will not be accepted.

The accounting officer must sign this return to confirm the review and approval of the 2025 to 2026 budget by the governing body.

Guidance and support on completing the CFFR is available in the CFFR user guide found above. Further support is available through the DfE customer help portal and your DfE Place Based Team caseworker.

The ‘College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR)’ and ‘standard cash flow template’ are not accessible because of missing alternative text, tables with complex structures and hard to read text contrast. This means they do not meet web content accessibility guidelines success criteria 1.1.1 non-text content, 1.3.2 meaningful sequence and 1.4.3 contrast.

Our teams are working to fix this or provide an alternative which should be available by 15 June 2026.

Updates to this page

Published 13 May 2013
Last updated 7 May 2025 show all updates

  1. Added 'College financial planning handbook 2025'. Updated 'College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR)' and 'College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR): user guide'.

  2. Updated the 'College financial planning handbook 2024' to clarify how documents should be submitted.

  3. Added 'College financial planning handbook 2024'. Updated 'College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR)' and 'College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR): user guide'.

  4. We have published the college financial planning handbook for 2023, along with an updated College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR) user guide and template.

  5. We have published the college financial planning handbook 2022. A list of what's new in this version of the handbook can be found in the summary. We have also updated the college Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR): user guide and have published a new CFFR template.

  6. We have updated the standard cash flow template.

  7. We have updated paragraph 9 of the college financial planning handbook 2021 to clarify the financial returns required of corporations which are being monitored because they are in receipt of Restructuring Facility, Exceptional Financial Support, Emergency Funding and Exceptional Restructuring Funding. We have also updated the dates by which these returns must be received.

  8. Updated version of the College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR) document has been uploaded to the page. CFFR Updater document also added to the page.

  9. We have published a user guide for colleges completing the College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR).

  10. College Financial Forecasting Return (CFFR) excel document added to the page.

  11. We have published details of the college financial forecasting return (CFFR). The deadline to make a return is 31 July 2021.

  12. We have published guidance and a cash flow template for colleges to complete as part of the April cashflow financial return.

  13. We have updated the integrated financial model for colleges guidance.

  14. We have published an updated version of the College Financial Planning Handbook which provides guidance on how the new finance record should be completed, as well as some minor changes to our approach to assessing and moderating college financial health. The changes to the document are outlined in the document.

  15. We have published information and a template for the COVID-19 November financial return.

  16. We have published information for colleges on completing the COVID-19 July financial return, along with a financial health calculator, a standard cashflow template, and completed examples of both.

  17. We have updated the common issues with the integrated financial model for colleges (IFMC) document, to provide further help for colleges completing the IFMC.

  18. We have published an example version of the IFMC to show colleges what a completed version looks like.

  19. We have updated the submission arrangements for the integrated financial model for colleges (IFMC).

  20. We have published the latest version of the integrated financial model for colleges (IFMC).

  21. We have published a guide outlining common issues with the integrated financial model for colleges (IFMC).

  22. We have updated the college financial planning handbook and published details of the integrated financial model for colleges.

  23. We have updated the cash flow forecast template.

  24. We have published the submission arrangements for colleges to submit their financial plan and supporting commentary.

  25. We have updated the college financial planning template and the cash flow forecast template.

  26. We have updated the college financial planning template. The changes are detailed in the 'Contents' tab.

  27. We have published the college financial planning handbook 2019: financial planning requirements for sixth-form and further education colleges.

  28. We have made minor amendments in the college financial plan template, details of which can be found on the contents tab of the template

  29. Updated College financial planning handbook 2018 and template have been added for 2018.

  30. New versions of the Financial planning handbook, College financial planning template and Financial planning template guidance uploaded on 14 June 2017.

  31. Revised version of College Financial Planning template uploaded on 17 June 2016.

  32. New version of College Financial Plan Template uploaded on 13 June 2016.

  33. New files titled College financial plan template and Financial planning template guidance uploaded on 13 May 2016.

  34. Financial planning handbook for 2016 to 2018 published.

  35. Published June 2015: Financial planning template

  36. Published June 2015: Financial Planning Handbook 2015 to 2017

  37. First published.

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