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Annual governance statements

An annual governance statement is required for an academy and good practice for a maintained school. Get guidance on what yours needs to contain, and take a look at examples of statements from other schools.

Last reviewed on 22 May 2025
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 4774
Contents
  1. Who is this article for?
  2. Requirements for academy trusts
  3. Put your statement together
  4. What to include
  5. Examples from trusts
  6. Good practice for maintained schools
  7. Examples from maintained schools

Requirements for academy trusts

Academy trusts are required to submit their annual report and financial statements to the Department for Education (DfE) by 31 December every year. The aim is to demonstrate that your trust is appropriately managed and is looking after public money properly.

The annual report must include a governance statement. It must signed by a trustee (usually the chair) and accounting officer – usually the CEO of your trust.

This is set out in the DfE guidance, academies accounts direction (paragraph 1.17). 

This requirement applies to all types of academy trust with a funding agreement with the secretary of state, and an open academy at any point during the accounting period.

Put your statement together

It's a good idea to assign a couple of trustees to work on this together at the beginning of