Finance policies
Your school isn't required to have a finance policy, but it can be a way to keep some mandatory information or helpful procedures in one place. See examples of finance policies from primary and secondary schools.
- You're not required to have a finance policy
- Examples from schools
The Department for Education (DfE) withdrew its guidance on Statutory Policies for Schools and Academy Trusts on 7 March 2024.
Details of statutory policies have now been incorporated into the new governance guides for maintained schools and academies. Take a look at our summary of the new governance guides.
We’ve reached out to the DfE to clarify some of the detail on the statutory policy list in the new guides, and we will update our related articles with any updates in due course. Select ‘save for later’ at the top of this page to be notified when this article has been updated.
You're not required to have a finance policy
However, you do need certain policies related to finance:
- A charging and remissions policy (both maintained schools and academies)
- A teachers' pay policy (maintained schools only)
- A governors’ allowances and expenses document (maintained schools only)
This is covered in the list of statutory policies from the Department for Education (DfE).
Academies are also required to have an investment policy. This isn't included in the DfE's list above, but the requirement is set out in the Academy Trust Handbook (paragraph 2.22).
Some schools choose to present these policies in one finance policy document.
Examples from schools
- Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust (MAT) in Wolverhampton consisting of 10 schools, has a finance policy that covers:
- Financial planning
- Budget management
- Purchases
- Cash management
- Computer systems
- Keelby Primary Academy in Lincolnshire uses a finance policy from its MAT. Scroll down to find it under 'Trust Policies'. It covers areas such as:
- Financial planning
- Payroll
- Debt management
- Cash management
- Clockhouse Primary School, a community school in Havering, has a finance policy that includes:
- A section on the governing body
- Pecuniary interests
- Leasing arrangements
- Petty cash
- Conduct, bribery and corruption
- Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School, a foundation school in Kent, has a finance policy that includes:
- The key financial principles the school will follow
- How financial issues are delegated
- Monitoring arrangements
- Information about the school's voluntary fund
- What to do if there are irregularities