Finance support and advice options

Direct finance and business support options

With our extensive expertise and knowledge, EducationFinance is able to provide support to schools and educational establishments in periods of absence of key staff which will ensure the duties continue for short or long periods.

Our team can deliver support at different levels from administration support up to school business manager support.

We will be able to cover the school and meet each individual need dependant on the situation, one of our management team will work with you to consider specific requirements and tasks you want to be completed, we can deploy staff to assist with directed duties or have a more flexible support approach which would be directed by your leadership in school or establishment. 
This service maybe beneficial when considering any structural solutions to give time to plan for the future, we would work with you over an agreed timescale.

This service could be delivered onsite or from a central location.

Finance and administrative duties

We can be on hand to complete those more structured tasks of month end and bank reconciliations or support where there may be gaps in expertise. We will be able to support entire finance process allowing you to utilise our expertise with financial procedures and systems.

In addition, we would be able to support with more administrative duties including those systems such as Pupil Asset and Sims. Our service would complement processes already used.

School business manager support

Our team would work with your setting to identify the specific requirements, and in what areas this support could operate. We can deliver the full range of duties, financial management, premises management, health and safety, and team management duties.

This service is available to all schools from the smallest primaries who may require regular assistance in a particular field to High schools that may need support for a specific project or circumstance.

Our support would be tailored to your individual need, we could include a support service that would operate across a group of schools or clusters if this may be more cost effective.

Community packages

We offer a wide range of community packages which enhance the subscriptions services your educational establishment may want to purchase. This package is aimed primarily at those settings that require their funds be separated from the main school budgets. Typical examples would include clusters, childcare provision (daycare) and teaching schools. 

The package can be purchased with three different tiers.

• Level 1 - Would include all required financial management systems and telephone support for all aspects of financial management.
• Level 2 - Would include all required financial management systems and telephone support for all aspects of financial management plus 6 hours of targeted support. These hours can be used in combination with a school visit.
  If hours are to be purchased as a separate visit, the hours will be assigned as a 3-hour block.
• Level 3 - Would include all required financial management systems and telephone support for all aspects of financial management plus 12 hours of targeted support. These hours can be used in combination with a school visit.
  If hours are to be purchased as a separate visit, the hours will be assigned as a 3-hour block.

Assistance with recruitment 

We have a wide range of experience in supporting schools and educational establishments with the recruitment of leadership, finance, and administrative staff.

We can provide support in the review of job/person specification for administrative and finance staff, school business managers and senior leaders with responsibility for budgets and financial management.

We can also assist with attendance at interviews, be part of the interview panel and provide a suitable recruitment test.

• School leadership posts - Attendance at shortlisting/interview or provide a recruitment test/task from a financial perspective.
• Finance and administration posts - Attendance at shortlisting/interview or provide a recruitment test/task from a financial perspective.

Attendance at governors' meetings

We can provide financial support of up to 2 hours at your meetings, to discuss items such as funding implications, review the school budget, School Financial Value Standard guidance, re-organisation impact, items of a financial nature which your governing board may need further clarification on. The attendance can be for Committee or Full board meetings, the requirements of which can be discussed with our team.

For all your EducationFinance enquiries please ring our designated Finance helpline number 01603 307758 or email finance.support@norfolk.gov.uk.