Integrated curriculum and financial planning: your board's role

Integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP) is a process that helps your trust ensure value for money. Find out what you should expect your central trust team to do, and use our questions to help you challenge the process.

Last reviewed on 14 April 2023
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 40842
Contents
  1. What is it? 
  2. Ask your CFO if it's happening
  3. Get up to speed on the common terms and the process
  4. What to request from your CFO
  5. Questions to ask your CFO

What is it? 

Integrated curriculum and financial planning (ICFP) is a management process that helps your trust (and schools) design and plan the best curriculum for your pupils with the funding you have available. 

The goal is to:

  • Balance efficiency with educational outcomes
  • Release funds to invest in additional improvement

It's not a requirement, but the Academy Trust Handbook encourages you to use it (see section 2.13) as it'll help you ensure value for money. 

Who's involved and what's the process?

Your chief financial officer (CFO, or the equivalent) will likely use it, with the senior and middle leaders in each school feeding into the process. 

There's no one way to do ICFP, but it should include an analysis of: 

More detailed information on the process As part of ICFP, your CFO should: Analyse your current curriculum and financial position e.g. the breadth of the curriculum, teacher deployment and associated