News Items A-Z
BSi Accreditation for Bursar and Support Desk Services (No.FS 504841)
- School Private Funds - new dedicate page
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The recent Internal Audit inspection of schools' financial systems reminded them that: "Despite this compliance check, schools still have poor control over the asset inventory. At several schools, recommendations surrounding the need to formally report inventory checks and discrepancies to governors were made. At a further number of schools, recommendations were made regarding lack of evidence that any inventory checking had been undertaken. Additionally, a number of recommendations were made on the timeliness of the updating of the inventory, with newly acquired assets not being recorded".
Schools are reminded of the requirement to maintain an up to date inventory of Assets.
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Following Internal Audit's review of Financial Management in Schools some of their recommendations have been published on the Sheffield City Council website together with further help and information.
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Best Value in Schools
Schools are not Best Value authorities, but are required to apply the principles of Best Value. A guide on Best Value in Schools is now available via the DCSF VfM website: where a 'pdf' or word document is available to download for more information.
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BSi Quality Management System Award:
Congratulations to our Finance Support Desk on being awarded the "BSi Quality Management System Award" (Certificate No. FS504841) for "the provision of financial support services to schools", in addition to that already held by our Bursar Service. Our schools can gain reassurance from this that our Financial Support and Bursar services systems are tightly controlled and fully audited for quality.
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The Government has passed new legislation regulating the operation of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) that came into effect on 6 April 2007. Schools with a delegated budget will be outside of the new CIS for all construction work where the head teacher or governing body contracts for the construction work.
All payments made on or after 6 April 2007 must be paid from the school's own bank account as a normal invoice, and not sent to Liberata Creditors Section.
For more information on this change, you may wish to visit the HMRC website.
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Since the beginning of the 2008/09 financial year, we have continued to record comments about the Service on our 'HEAT' call logging system.
Three of these comments have been negative, with one referring to concern over possible duplication of CAS and FMSiS requirements and two concerning the level of carry forward balances on spending plans.
In each of these cases, we have investigated and resolved the issues, discussed with staff concerned and contacted the complainant directly where possible.
Additionally, we have received four positive comments, two relating to the personal element of service delivery, one to the promtness of response and one re the handling of multi-party meetings .
We propose to publish details of any further negative (and positive) feedback at appropriate intervals.
Should you have any feedback you wish to give us about our service, we will be pleased to hear it and you may do so either by ringing us on the Support Desk telephone number (2736270) or via our feedback form.
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A letter was sent to all schools asking them to return their annual Statement of Internal Controls and Best Value Statement. This should have been returned to Financial Services by 31st March 2008. This statement is intended to give confidence to parents, stakeholders and the local authority that schools’ finances are properly controlled.
Further guidance provided by the Local Authority and Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) can be found on the Sheffield City Council website
Copies of the Controls Assurance and Best Value Statement template and the Pre-Certification Checklist (for Head Teachers and for Governors) can be downloaded from the leaf Financial Services Useful Documents page.
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We offer a customer liaison visit to all schools wishing to discuss service issues. The purpose of this visit is to ensure you are satisfied with the services you receive from us and to discuss any areas for service improvement or additional help that could be provided.
Please note: if you feel you would like a visit and have not yet had one, please contact us directly and we will arrange one for you.
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Often, setting a balanced budget can prove to be a difficult task for schools. The Local Authority recognises this and has set in place processes for assisting those schools that have not set or returned a balanced budget.
Accordingly, the useful documents page provides further information on the Local Authority processes for supporting schools with Deficit or large Surplus Balances.
Deficit Balances - The process for schools with a deficit budget requires that schools unable to set a balanced budget engage with the Authority at the earliest opportunity and work with it to avoid potential formal intervention measures. The downloadable document referred to above sets out the detailed process for school engagement and gives information on the role of the Authority in challenging and supporting schools experiencing financial difficulties.
Large Surplus Balances - The downloadable document in this case provides details of the process to be followed for schools holding surplus balances in excess of the limit set by The Scheme for Financing Schools. The relevant limit relates to the level of uncommitted surplus balances that a school can hold, that may potentially be clawed back where a school was unable to evidence the purpose for which they are held, so it is important to ensure that the process is fully understood and adhered to.
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A letter has been sent out on behalf of the Council's Energy Unit informing schools of the likely increase in electricity prices.
Please be aware, this represents a significant increase in prices and could be as much as 75% in some cases. Should you have any queries on the contents of the letter, please contact the Council's Energy Unit directly via: Lynn.Mapley@sheffiled.gov.uk
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Background
The Education Act 2002 gave school governing bodies the powers to provide community facilities that would benefit the school and local community.
Governing bodies cannot provide services that might interfere with their main duty to educate pupils or their responsibility to promote high standards of educational achievement at the school.
Extended school activities are carried out under the Governing Bodies community facilities powers, the Sheffield Scheme for Financing Schools (section13) sets out the statutory requirements placed on schools wishing to exercise these powers.
Accounting for Extended Activities
You must account for all income and expenditure relating to community focused extended school activities separately from the school’s delegated budget share.
The Education Act 2002 requires extended school activities to be self financing, expenditure incurred in providing extended facilities cannot be met from the school budget share except where the activity benefits the education of the pupil (e.g. study support, before and after school clubs, evening English language classes for pupils, parents and guardians).
From April 2006 however, schools will be allowed to use the Schools Standard Grant to support extended school activities including those that benefit the wider community as well as those benefiting the education of the pupil.
Extended Activities can be provided directly by the school or as commissioned provision through a third party. Where a third party is the provider they will have responsibility for the financial management of the activity.
Further information may be found on our Extended School Activities page and also via the DCSF Value for Money website.
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A reminder, as raised in the Annual Report on School Internal Audits:
OFSTED state “ The governing body should establish a register of business interests of governors, the headteacher and any other staff who influence financial decisions. This should be open to examination by governors, staff, parents and the Local Authority”
All people involved in spending public money must be able to demonstrate that they do not benefit personally from any decisions that they make.
By keeping a register of staff who may have a conflict of interests the school can ensure that they are not involved in any part of the decision making process when awarding large contracts or making high cost purchases.
Please see our Useful Downloads page for more information, links and downloads.
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FMS 6.100 - New Backup Feature
FMS (Sims Finance Module) Version 6.100 onwards will allow users to create a backup from within the module. The route users need to take is Tools|FMS Transactions Backup. This creates a backup file and stores it on the school server.
For users to be able to access these backups, so they can get a copy to the leaf Finance Team or Audit Team, the folder where the backups are created needs to be shared.
The Backup folder can be found at:
D:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.n\MSSQL
Where MSSQL.n is the number of the instance of SQL that FMS is installed under.
Right click this folder & select Sharing and Security….
Share the folder with name of FMSBackup and give Full Access to the required users.
Create a shortcut to the Backup folder and place it on the desktop of the people who need access to it.
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The updated FMSiS website was released on April 30th. The main improvements include a combined assessment tool and a number of new and updated resource documents.
Please note that the Standard itself has not changed.
In June 2004 the DfES released the schools Financial Management Standard and Toolkit. A CD version of the standard and toolkit was provided to all Sheffield schools and a number of briefing sessions were held. The standard and toolkit have previuosly been featured in the financial management training courses offered to schools.
The standard sets out what a school needs to achieve if it is to be managed well financially, it was accompanied by a supporting toolkit that pulled together a wide range of documentation providing schools with advice and guidance on achieving the financial management standard and good financial management.
On the 21st July 2005 the Government announced its expectation that Secondary Schools would be meeting the financial management standard by March 2007 and Primary and Special Schools would all have met the standard by 2010. Schools will be externally assessed to see if they are meeting the standard and if successful will receive a certificate from the DCSF.
In addition, it is understood that Ofsted is planning to include meeting the standard as one of their statutory requirements in the self-evaluation forms. A school failing the standard will not be able to achieve an excellent rating on Leadership and Management.
Update - from DCSF website:
Date: 08-Mar-07The DCSF have confirmed that they have a Ministerial decision and agreement to a phased timetable for the implementation of the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) to Primary and Special School sectors.The timetable is for: 40% of Primary and Special Schools to have met the Standard by March 2008; A further 40% of Primary and Special Schools by March 2009; and All remaining schools by March 2010.Since the FMSiS was added to Schemes for Financing Schools in October 2006 through directed revisions, meeting the Standard is now a legal requirement for schools subject to the timetable set out locally.We, as a Local Authority will have to consider the most appropriate way of selecting which schools are to be addressed when within the three year phased approach. Factors influencing such a decision may include: budget size, geographical location, volunteers and those schools which may have inherent concerns.
Full details of the standard, the latest toolkit and guidance on the proposed self-assessment and external assessment processes can be found at www.fmsis.info .
Schools can also download copies of the talk given by Andrew Webster (DCSF) at the recent Financial Services Money Talks conference.
Those schools that bank with Yorkshire Bank should have recently received a letter from them offering the facility to view the school’s bank account(s) on-line and to print statements. This will give those schools an earlier opportunity to complete the month-end reconciliation exercise and meet return deadlines. It will be particularly useful for those who have a leaf peripatetic bursar, as it will give more flexibility with dates for visits. For more information, please contact Chris Blanksby at Yorkshire Bank on 07802 919 653.
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We have added a range of downloadable modelling tools for access by subscribing schools (login password required) designed to help you plan and explore various scenarios. Models include a Class Organisation Planner, a Financial Self Evaluation Assesment and Curriculum Planner.
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We have noticed that some spending plans are incorrectly showing that they are a 3-16 school and this is reducing the amount of I01 funding the school is shown to receive when the pupil number basis is selected, as it fails to build in an amount for fair funding.
This potential misleading result may occur where ‘Base Funding on …’ is set to ‘Pupil Number Input’, and can best be avoided by checking that the 'school information' sheet ensures that the appropriate school type (‘Level’) is selected.
File path = Spending Plan Model: - Main Menu / Variable Factors / School Information
For further guidance on the use of the Multi Year Financial Planning Software, please see the next news item and the downloadable documents a the foot of the page.
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In order to assist schools with the completion of their 3-Year Financial Plan, we have prepared a set of complementary Guidance Notes. There are notes for Primary, Secondary and Special Schools that can be accessed via the downloadable documents below. Each note is a step-by-step guide that includes the information and full instructions that you will require to complete the Plan.
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The National Bursars Association is announcing the launch of the National Awards for School Support Staff 2008. For the fourth year, Head Teachers and Governors are invited to nominate those members of their school support staff who “give that little bit extra” to their role and thereby contribute to the teaching and learning processes in their schools.
Please see the full press release in the downloadable document in the Useful Documents for Schools page or directly via the National Bursars Association website.
Note: Closing date for nominations = 9 May 2008.
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Note: Schools can read more information on our payments to individuals page - along with downloadable forms e.g. Pre-Employment Questionnaire and Employee Status Indicator guidance. Additionally, you may wish to visit the HMRC guidance on ESI (Employment Status Indicator) for further details.
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Potentially Bogus Invoices:
Update: Barnsley schools have recently experienced cases of companies offering to place adverts in what appear to be genuine (e.g. community or social services) websites or magazine publications, but which are in fact not the genuine websites or quality publications they purport to be. Schools have then been invoiced for the (in reality, 'worthless') adverts and in some cases, monthly charges have run into £'000s. Beware - check out any deals like these before you commit... e.g. ask for references from other schools.
Previously, another District Council's Internal Audit investigations discovered two companies issuing potentially bogus invoices (together with subsequent threatening letters due to non-payment) purportedly charging for advertisements in publications that had not been ordered. The two companies are:
Children's Community Fund, Clifford House, 7-9 Clifford Street, York Y01 9RA, and
Raise a Smile Campaign, Waterfront House, New Brunswick Street, Wakefield, WF1 5QW.
Instances of such invoices being paid to one or more of these companies have occurred, having been previously authorised by the 'purchaser'.
The company had contacted the purchaser regarding a full-page display / advert. At a later date he was again contacted them, saying that he had agreed to pay for a full-page advert / display. The 'purchaser' disputed this and when told that the call had been recorded, asked for a transcript. No transcript arrived.
When the purchaser was informed that he had authorised an invoice for payment, he advised Internal Audit that it was not possible for him to check every invoice he has to sign, as he is very busy and can often have a number of documents to sign. This is of concern particularly as, by his own admission, he had actually disputed the agreement to pay for a display / advert. It would appear that this was a successful attempt to obtain payment without providing a legitimate service, with the invoices being authorised without proper consideration, resulting in a financial loss to the council.
Please remind your staff to be vigilant in dealing with these or any other suspicious organisations and contact Internal Audit if unsure.
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The recent Internal Audit inspection of schools' financial systems reminded them that: "The Sheffield Schools Finance Manual states that ‘official, pre-numbered orders should be used for all goods and services except utilities, rents, rates and petty cash payments. Where urgency requires an oral order, this should be confirmed by a written order.’ Raising an order in this manner helps protects the school’s financial position because it commits the expenditure against the appropriate budget".
Internal Audit was concerned to note that in many schools, the ordering process control mechanism contained within the local accounting system (SIMS) had not been properly utilised for all appropriate purchases; and, in some schools, the process of obtaining quotes and selecting successful suppliers had not been clearly documented, particularly in instances when suppliers contacted had failed to supply quotes.
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The Department for Children, Schools and Familes (DCSF) has decided not to proceed with its proposal for a redistribution of 5% of all positive school revenue balances for the time being.
The official position can be found at the Teachernet - School Revenue Balances website.
Further information may be found via our Council - Sheffield Schools Forum website page.
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It's speedy! It's simple! It's here! ... It's what you have been asking for!
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It's speedy! It's simple! It's here! ... It's what you have been asking for!
Remote Access is a new facility that simplifies support assistance and saves you time, by allowing the leaf Finance Team to access your PC from our offices. You may use this facility where you feel it would be helpful for us to be able to see and work on your screen.
Instructions on how to use remote access are detailed on the new page on the selection menu on our website, which can be seen by clicking on the highlighted link for Remote Access. If you have used this before, you may now logon as before, and if you are new to this service then I would recommend you give it a go next time you feel you would benefit from our 'hands on' presence!
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The annual NI update is now available and we have updated the formula driven calculations for 2009/10 and 2010/11.
Accordingly, we require you to send us the latest version of your Spending Plan by the end of July (via CD or Memory stick)and we will return it to you for the start of Autumn Term.
Following consultation with schools the 2008/09 Sheffield Scheme for Financing Schools was approved by Schools Forum in February.
The scheme is available as a downloadable document on the Sheffield City Council website at the following address:
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We have now published revised rates for 2008/09.
PLEASE NOTE:- the 2008/09 New Claim Form (to be used for sickness claim periods commencing on or after 1st April 2008) is now available.
Note: A consultation with schools on the existing policy is proposed during 2008/09 as we will then have a full three year's figures of costs and benefits for each insured category. We are also looking into developing a secure version in an electronic format for future use.
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Here is a link to the Sheffield schools' Standards Fund Manual. This shows the 2005/6 details, but the new 2006/7 manual should be completed very shortly and will also be available via this link.
The administration of Standards Fund for Sheffield schools is undertaken by the External Funding Team, which is part of the Budget Development Service, within the Children & Young People's Service. The External Funding Team has an overall co-ordination role in relation to Standards Fund with specific responsibility for the process of distributing Standards Fund cash to Sheffield schools.
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