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Overview

All academy trusts which have an open academy must complete the self-assessment checklist each year.

The checklist helps governing bodies and trust boards to:

• check they have appropriate financial management and governance arrangements
• check they are meeting the right standards to achieve a good level of financial health and resource management
• identify areas for change to make sure resources are used to support high-quality teaching and the best education outcomes for pupils

As well as helping trusts to identify areas for potential improvement in their resource management, the checklist provides assurance to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) that trusts have the right processes, systems and structures in place to help them to achieve a good level of financial health and resource management.

The checklist was previously part of the school resource management self-assessment tool (SRMSAT).

Who needs to complete the self-assessment checklist

All academy trusts which have an open academy on 31 December 2023 must complete and submit a 2023 to 2024 self-assessment checklist.

Local authority maintained schools should use the schools financial value standard.

Complete your checklist

The checklist covers 6 areas:

• governance
• trust strategy
• setting the annual budget
• staffing
• value for money
• protecting the public purse

As youre completing your self-assessment checklist, you may find it useful to refer to:

• the 2023 to 2024 checklist support notes (PDF, 524 KB, 34 pages)
• the Academies Trust Handbook
• the governance handbook
• guidance on operating an academy trust as a going concern
• information on integrated curriculum and financial planning
• guidance on good estate management in schools
• the school resource management collection

Self-assessment dashboard

The self-assessment dashboard helps trusts to complete their checklists. To find your self-assessment dashboard:

1. Search for your school(s) on the schools financial benchmarking service.

2. Click on start a comparison.

3. Click on self-assessment dashboard.

Guidance on completing the self-assessment dashboard is available.

The dashboard provides red, amber or green (RAG) ratings against a schools data. This indicates how its spending and characteristics compare with similar schools or nationally recognised bandings and includes possible follow-up actions.

The dashboard was previously part of the SRMSAT.

Contact us

Send feedback on the checklist and guidance to school.resourcemanagement@education.gov.uk.

If youd like to receive occasional updates from DfE on school resource management, sign up to our school business professional contact list.