Is your school considering online payments for parents?

With a steady decline in the use of cheques, schools are becoming increasingly concerned with the growing amounts of cash being handled on school premises. Not only is this an obvious burden for school administrative staff, it also represents a substantial risk to a school’s security, which results in an increase in insurance coverage. There is not a better time to consider an alternative cashless payment mechanism that parents can use to settle costs for school trips, uniforms or other school related items.

Regardless of the number of transactions your school makes, you can benefit from becoming a cashless school. The benefits of an online payment portal direct to schools include: the reduction of administrative burden, no duplicate entries, fully auditable payments, and a reduction in the costs of security associated with handling cash and cheques on school premises. Hours can be saved by not having to count, report and bank cash or cheques received from pupils and parents. In addition, payments can be easily reconciled to give an up-to-date picture of who has paid for items and those with amounts outstanding.

Many schools are considering converting to an academy. With the prospect of greater financial freedom, coupled with flexibility in curriculum delivery and increased autonomy, becoming an academy looks like an attractive proposition. But what benefits do academies secure over schools, and is there truly greater financial freedom?

An obvious place to start is the freedom afforded to academies in the delivery of the school curriculum. Changes do not need to be approved by the Local Authority (LA) since decisions are made by school leaders to best meet the needs of their pupils. They can also offer a range of other qualifications, above and beyond those offered by LA schools. This means that academies can choose to specialise in one or two subject areas, such as Science or Languages, to reflect their expertise.

Commencing September 2011, the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) will be implemented in some schools. This will change the way in which schools financial management is audited and the individuals accountable for audit. School Governors will have increased responsibility to ensure that all expenditure represents good value and public money is safeguarded. Governors should also ensure that they have an affiliated representative with adequate financial experience and knowledge who can work closely with the Head Teacher or Bursar / School Business Manager.

The SFVS consultation asks: ‘Does the school have an accounting system that is adequate and properly run and delivers accurate reports, including the annual Consistent Financial Reporting return?’ and ‘Does the school have adequate arrangements for audit of voluntary funds?’

Do The Data Protection Act & Freedom of Information Act in Education apply to you? It depends on who you are, where you are and how you are funded. A simple answer is that all schools in the UK have to comply with the Data Protection Act. It’s a reserved power.

Even this simple answer is complicated by whether you are a state funded school in Scotland in which case the work will be done for you by the local council.

In Scotland state schools have a Parent Council which doesn’t have the status of a Board of Governors in England. In Scotland schools do not have to notify - the local council handles it. In England the Board of Governors is responsible for compliance with all law not just information related law.