Smarter banking: How Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust increased their annual interest income to over £1 million

School logo and centralised banking icons

David Leane, Chief Financial Officer, shares how Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust has benefited from reviewing their banking arrangements. When I joined Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust twelve years ago as a small trust of just four schools, managing our …

Helping schools find better banking options: a simple approach to saving money

Chris McGunnigle

Managing a school's finances effectively has never been more important. With a focus on getting maximum value for money to best deliver for children, we want to make sure schools have the best possible tools and information to make informed …

Using the DfE’s Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) tool to get essential insights into managing your school’s resources

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Michele Lavelle

Michele Lavelle, CFO at Campfire Education Trust (CET) in Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire, shares how using the DfE’s Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP) tool has helped to transform the trust’s planning. As the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of …

Plan Technology for Your School: Free support for planning, implementing and using technology

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In this blog post, Lara le Court de Billot, Senior Policy Advisor in the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Technology Services team, shares insights into plan technology for your school — a free, practical service designed to help schools make …

DfE launches School Estate Management Standards to support all schools to manage their estates effectively

The new School Estate Management Standards provide a clear framework to help school leaders and estates management professionals manage their school estates well. In this blog David Fugurally, Head of School Estate Management Standards, Competencies & Skills, explains how they …

How Academy Transformation Trust saved over £500,000 through better contract management

Phot of Tony Diaram

Tony Diaram, Project Manager at Academy Transformation Trust, shares how specialist contract management training has helped deliver significant savings across his trust. Academy Transformation Trust is a not-for-profit charitable trust of 22 schools across central England, including primary, secondary, special, …

Embracing flexible working in schools and trusts

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Sarah Sarll, Chief Financial Officer at Pioneer Educational Trust, shares how flexible working has boosted staff wellbeing and retention while transforming school culture. Her experience offers valuable insights for educational institutions looking to modernise their working practices. Evidence-Based ImplementationWhen we …

Introducing DfE Connect: bringing key information for schools into one place

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Image of Charlotte Dowd

In our latest blog post, Charlotte Dowd, Policy advisor and sector engagement lead, introduces us to DfE Connect. What is DfE Connect?DfE Connect is a free service from the Department for Education designed to make life easier for school business …

Update for schools and trusts on Procurement Act 2023 - are you ready?

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Hannah Mears is a Commercial Lead for Get help buying for schools, the DfE’s free supported buying service for schools and trusts. In this blog post, Hannah updates on the latest advice around the Procurement Act 2023, and how schools can get ready for the new regulations that come in February 2025.