Terrorism, Elections and School Finance

Whilst there are some important deadlines for schools, recent events require schools to consider their place within the wider community. Proposals and arguments will rage in this pre-election period, whilst terrorism in Europe brings the duties that schools may have under the latest Security Bill into focus. Your views are being sought this week – read on!   EFA Planner With the start of a new year, the EFA have advised they have updated their Business Planner. We will continue to refer to this in our blogs – summarising what is coming up in the next month. But if you need to print off the full planner follow the link. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/efa-business-cycle We Know You Have These Covered

• School Census day was 15 January – the submission must be made by 11 February. https://www.gov.uk/school-census
• Annual Accounts Return needs to be submitted by 31 January (Revised template published in December https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-august-accounts-return-template-and-guide)
• Audited Accounts & Value for Money Statements need to be on your website by 31 January
• A new Schools Admission Code came into force on 19 December – follow link for details. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2

Counter Terrorism and Security Bill With the sad events in Paris and Belgium, schools are reminded that there is a Bill currently before Parliament that will place a duty on specified authorities, which will include schools, to undertake actions to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. Draft guidance is currently being consulted upon. Follow the link for further details - consultation closes on 30 January 2015. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/prevent-duty Fighting The School Business Manager Corner In his recent blog Stephen Morales, Executive Director of NASBM, asked Business Managers to forward their concerns about cost pressures and funding cuts within their schools. Stephen is engaging with the political parties in the run up to the election, and putting the case to protect school funding in interviews with the BBC and other media. Stephen would love to hear your story - http://www.nasbm.co.uk/News-and-Forums/Executive-Director-Blog.aspx Changes To Childcare Vouchers A new scheme to help parents with child care costs is being introduced in the Autumn of 2015. Existing voucher schemes will not close, but will only be available to parents registered with them before the new scheme comes into operation. For further information on how you or your parents might be affected go to: http://www.tax-free-childcare.info/ School Finances Whilst keeping the day to day tasks rolling on, it is always good to think about how today's discussions might effect future school finances. Those schools using SBS Online will be aware that you can create as many budget scenarios as you could possibly think of, to test future income and expenditure projections. You can learn more about this tool at http://www.sbsonline.org.uk/.