Financial transparency: requirements for maintained schools

Get up to speed with the financial transparency regulations for maintained schools. Find out what your school is required to do, so you can monitor compliance.

Last reviewed on 23 April 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 37797
Contents
  1. Submit a 3-year budget forecast to your LA
  2. Record and declare related party transactions (RPTs)
  3. Submit a recovery plan to your LA if your deficit rises above 5% 
  4. Publish the number of individuals earning over £100k
  5. Publish a link to the 'schools financial benchmarking' website 

Submit a 3-year budget forecast to your LA

When: between 1 May and 30 June of each year – your local authority (LA) will determine the exact date. 

This is usually separate from your school's annual budget (read more in section 4.3 of this DfE guidance on schemes for financing maintained schools).

The DfE doesn't prescribe a format for these documents, so your school should check with your LA how it should: 

  • Complete the 3-year budget forecast and annual budget
  • Submit both documents to the LA

Your LA will let your school know how it intends to use the 3-year budget forecast. It may use it for more than just confirming whether your school is carrying out effective financial planning (for example, to support its assessment of the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS)).

This is set out in