Extended School Provision
1
Introduction
1.1
The Education Act 2002, gives schools the power to provide facilities or services for the
community, where:

the services or facilities are not prohibited by the law, including a number of other
documents produced under the law such as a school's Instrument of Government and
schemes for financing schools produced by Local Authorities; and

the school's governing body has regard to the advice provided by:
- their Local Authority (LA), following consultation with the LA; and
- the Secretary of State, via the guidance issued by the DCSF.
1.2
A number of Staffordshire Governing Bodies have indicated that they wish to ensure that their
local community, including pupils at their school, have access to appropriate child care by
delivering or facilitating the delivery of such a service.
1.3
Staffordshire County Council and the DCSF acknowledge the need for such provision and
support its introduction. However, it is important to note that Governors and Governing Bodies
could be personally liable if the provision does not comply with the law or is delivered
negligently. Therefore, this advice has been produced and distributed to Staffordshire schools
in order to assist Governing Bodies that are considering this matter.
2
Delivery of the Service
2.1
As the Governors’ responsibilities depend upon how, and who, manages the provision, the
Governing Body must decide whether the provision will be :

part of the school, and therefore directly managed by the school as a community activity;
OR
run by a separate legal entity, whereby the management of the care club will be
completely independent of the school.
Independent of the School (including Voluntary Management Committee (VMC))
2.2
The provision may be viewed as independent of the school where some, any or all of the
following apply :

It operates under a separate governing document, constitution and as an independent
business or limited company. Examples of governing documents for Voluntary
Management Committees can be obtained from the Charity Commission website
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publications/ccpubs3.asp reference publication
document CC22.

It employs its own staff (see section 4.2 for further information on this area).

It has significant independent representation on its management committee, i.e. limited
number of school staff/governors, who should not attend as representatives of the school,
but in a personal capacity.

It operates as a separate legal entity, whereby no liability falls on either the school or the
County Council, (this includes any entitlement to redundancy payments).
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
It arranges its own insurance cover, including employers liability and public liability, to
cover any legal liability tahat may attach to them. This should be evidenced by the school
as part of the licence agreement (see next bullet point). Furthermore, school journey
insurance does not extend to children in independent provision, including VMC.

It uses the school’s premises under a hire agreement , licence or lease (required where
the letting is for more than four years) from the school. Please note that all licence
agreements need to be completed by the Legal Services Unit.

The operation is not managed within SIMS/SAP, i.e. it has a separate bank account and
accounting records.
2.3
If schools are in any doubt as to whether they are operating independently of the school, they
should contact the Legal Services Unit on 01785 276191 or 276196.
2.4
The County Council can provide a payroll service for independent providers, which is subject
to a signed contract and a fee (details available from the JFU).
Run by the School (Governor Run Extended School Activity)
2.5
If the provision is not run independently of the school, by default the operation is deemed to
be directly delivered as an extension of the school (i.e. Governor Run).
2.6
One of the key aspects of recent DCFS guidance in relation to directly delivered extended
services is their wider interpretation of what qualifies as “pupil focussed” extended school
activity that is deemed to be for the educational benefit of pupils and can, therefore, be
funded from and managed through a school’s delegated budget. Previously, this was limited
to study support. The DCSF are now indicating that governors have wider discretion to
determine if an extended school activity they are delivering is considered to be “pupil
focussed” and, therefore, eligible to be funded from its delegated budget and have provided a
decision tree to help governors to make that assessment. In setting up a governor run
extended school activity governors need to determine if it is to be classed as “pupil focused”
or “community focused” based on this decision tree (below).
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EXTENDED SCHOOL ACTIVITY - FLOW DIAGRAM
EXTENDED SCHOOL ACTIVITY
YES
YES
Is the activity for pupils registered at the
school?
Does it directly support the curriculum
(e.g. study support)?
YES
NO
Will it bring an educational benefit to
pupils?
NO
Is the activity for pupils registered at
another maintained school?
NO
YES
YES
Is the activity for parents or carers of
pupils?
NO
NO
Activity can be funded from delegated
Activity delivered under community
facilities power, so cannot be funded
budget share
from delegated budget share
Pupil Focussed Extended
School Facility
Community Focussed
Extended School Facility
2.7
The table provided at Appendix 1 illustrates the organisational and funding implications of the
governor run extended school provision being deemed “community focused” or “pupil
focussed” and will therefore help governors in deciding how the activity should be established.
Further advice can be sought from your Childcare Development Officer.
2.8
Having gone through this review and considered the particular criteria outlined in Appendix 1,
the school might conclude, for example, that a parenting class was eligible for funding from
the delegated budget because it was helping the parents/carers of pupils to support their
learning; but that an adult fitness class was not eligible for funding from the delegated budget
because, although it would improve the health of adults from the local community and could
include the parents and carers of pupils at the school, it would not bring any educational
benefit to pupils. It might also conclude that a breakfast club for pupils held during term
time was eligible for funding from the delegated budget because it helped to ensure that
pupils were in class on time and ready to learn; but that a play scheme during school holidays
was not eligible for funding from the delegated budget as its purpose was childcare, and
therefore a “community focussed” activity. The key point is that Governors determine if the
extended school activity is deemed “pupil focused” or “community focused” based on the
decision tree presented above.
2.9
It is important for schools to establish a clear distinction between those of its extended
activities that are eligible for funding from the delegated budget (Pupil Focussed Extended
School Facilities) and those that are not eligible for funding from the delegated budget
(Community Focussed Extended School Facilities), as this distinction has implications for
the way that spending on the activities are managed and reported (see section on financial
management below).
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3 Financial Management
3.1
The schools’ accounting procedures need to distinguish between Pupil Focussed Extended
School Facilities that can be funded through the delegated budget and Community
Focussed Extended School Facilities that must be funded from outside the delegated
budget. Current finance scheme guidance states that Community Focussed Extended
School Facilities that cannot be funded from the delegated budget must be separately
accounted for, but there is no requirement from central government that separate bank
accounts be used and the authority would actively encourage schools not to use separate
bank accounts. The key principle is that the school’s financial management and reporting
should identify separately spending on those activities that are deemed Community
Focussed Extended School Facilities and not eligible for funding from the delegated
budget. In Staffordshire this is done by managing these activities on cost centres (****92 &
****96) that sit outside of the school’s budget.
3.2
Pupil Focussed Extended School Facilities, because they meet the ‘purposes of the
school’, can be treated alongside other core school activities, and not require separate
identification. However, the authority recommends as good practice that schools manage any
Pupil Focussed Extended School Facilities on separate cost centres (****78 & ****79)
within their school budget accounting structure. The Joint Finance Unit can advise schools in
this regard.
3.3
Your JFU Support Officer can advise on setting up the equivalent funds in SIMS, the range of
expenditure and income codes that need to be attached to the fund and setting up the
required budgets. However, the JFU must be advised of all related funds set up in SIMS
before transactions are processed against them in order that they can be set up the interface
with the County Council’s SAP financial system.
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3.4
The headteacher and governing body will need to ensure that due care is taken not to
compromise the financial position of the school’s delegated budget whilst extending the
provision of services. In particular, schools need to ensure that:

They can demonstrate a clear audit trail confirming their decisions to undertake individual
extended activities and their sources of funding, including whether such activities were
eligible or ineligible for funding from the delegated budget.

There is a robust process for fully costing all extended activities, including the
apportionment of schools’ fixed costs or overheads as appropriate as well as the
identification of direct costs, and as such there is a clear and transparent process for
agreeing and making all relevant charges.

The school has all the appropriate systems, processes and controls in place to support a
charging regime
3.5
Schools will want to ensure that their existing systems, processes and controls are robust
enough to support the financial management of the provision of extended services.
3.6
Any central funding allocations for extended school activities, e.g. from Sure Start grant, will
be made to the contingency line on the relevant cost centre. Schools should then vire this
allocation to the appropriate expenditure budget line within the cost centre. Any fee income
should similarly be included as a budget allocation and vired to the appropriate expenditure
budget line. This will create a “working” budget for the extended school activity. SIMS
schools will need to use the virement request form for the JFU to action such virements. SAP
schools can action the virements directly in SAP.
3.7
Staff directly employed to work on the extended school activities should have separate
contracts of employment and be coded to the relevant cost centre. Short codes are also
available for coding temporary staff costs to the provision via additional hours claims.
3.8
All direct expenditure and income should be coded to the relevant cost centre. Please ensure
cheques are payable to “Staffordshire County Council”, not the title of the care club.
3.9
Relevant indirect expenditure, e.g. energy costs, should also be coded to the relevant cost
centre, either by split coding invoices or journal transfer (your School Support Officer will
advise you on how to complete journal transfers).
3.10
Income from parents/guardians is VAT exempt (coded as AO (outside the scope)) and,
therefore, the gross amount will be credited to the school. Other income and expenditure
processed through the provision is liable for VAT as appropriate.
3.11
For SIMS schools, separate auto-reconciliation files and tabulations will be run for the care
club fund and the latter made available via Datastore. It is important that you ensure that the
budget reported on the Datastore report is as held in SIMS and that the JFU is advised of any
required virement in order to match the two.
3.12
Where schools use a separate bank account for their provision, schools shall provide the JFU
every six months with a summary statement, in a form determined by the JFU, showing the
income and expenditure for the school arising from the activity for the previous six months
and on an estimated basis, for the next six months.
3.13
The JFU can provide advice and guidance on the financial management of extended school
provision as part of its SLA arrangements with schools.
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4
4.1
Personnel Management
Contractual arrangements
4.1.1 The following section contains generic advice only. It is essential that the legal and
employment status is established before any action is taken with regard to the determination
of pay and conditions of service.
4.1.2
If it is intended to use existing County Council employees in the provision of the After Care
Club/Wraparound provision, advice should be obtained from your Childcare Development
Officer as a first point of contact before any formal offer is made.
4.2
Independent of the School (separate legal entity)
4.2.1
Where it is agreed that provision is being provided independently of the school the following
should apply:
4.3

Those employed to provide care are not regarded as County Council employees.
Consequently, the Management Committee will need to determine the employee’s pay,
conditions and terms of service that comply with current employment and pay
legislation.

The Management Committee of the facility will be responsible for the administration of
all aspects of recruitment and employment documentation.

The Management Committee is responsible for the relevant medical and screening
requirements of prospective appointees through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to
ensure the safety of children covered by the provision. Advice and guidance on all
aspects of recruitment and appointment can be obtained through the C&LL HR Unit,
subject to an appropriate charge.

There will be no access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Payment of salary can be arranged through the County Council’s Payroll Services,
subject to an appropriate charge.
Provision as a community activity managed by the school – where a school is a
Community, Voluntary Controlled, Community Special or maintained Nursery
School.
4.3.1
Where it is agreed that the provision is being provided as a community activity as an
extension of the school a full advisory and administrative service will be provided by the C&LL
HR Unit in accordance with the provisions of the SLA with Schools.
4.3.2
The LA is the legal employer and is therefore responsible for ensuring compliance with the
requirements of employment and equal pay legislation.
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4.3.3 Teaching staff :
In accordance with Staffing Guidance under sections 35(8) and 36(8) of the Education Act
2002 , where it is decided to recruit a new teacher, the post should be advertised1 unless it is
decided to accept a teacher already working at the school.
Appointment should be made in accordance with:


the prevailing School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document and the guidance
provided on School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions.
The Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales (“the Burgundy
Book”)
Guidance on the responsibilities of Governors in relation to the determination of school
teachers’ pay is available in the Governors Guide to the Law.
4.3.4 Support Staff :
The Governing Body is responsible for deciding:




Who should be appointed to a post
The hours of work in the case of those who are required to work part-time
The duration of the contract, and within certain parameters,
The grading and remuneration
4.3.5 In accordance with the Staffing Regulations, (under sections 35(8) and 36(8) of the Education
Act 2002) there is no legal requirement to advertise support staff posts.
4.3.6 However, the Governing Body, or Headteacher under delegation, must decide on any
appropriate steps to bring such posts to the attention of suitable candidates. 2
4.3.7
The Education HR Unit should be consulted about issues of pay and grading and we will work
with schools to find a solution that will both meet the needs of the school and be consistent
with the authority’s legal obligation. The following guidelines should be considered when an
appointment of a member of support staff is being considered:
 A job specification should be produced
 Hours of work should be specified
 Duration of appointment should be considered
 Grading level and pay should be determined
Full guidance on the use of fixed term contracts in schools is available on the Staffordshire
Learning Net.
4.3.8
In making recommendation on pay and grading, Governing Bodies should have regard to the
responsibilities of the post and to the pay scales, terms and conditions applicable to similar
roles or work through the LEA. It is recommended that support staff are appointed on any
one of the grades currently in use by the LEA so long as that grade is justified by the
responsibilities.
It is recommneded that schools use normal recruitment processes, including advertisement in the County council’s Jobs
Bulletin, and have regard to the County Council’s policies on equal opportunities.
2
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4.3.9
Conditions of service are governed by the National Joint Council for Local Government
Services ( the “Green Book” ) and arrangements agreed locally with Trade Unions. It is
strongly recommended that the Teaching Assistant/Nursery Staffs grading structures are
applied pending the outcome of the County Council Job Evaluation programme once agreed.
4.4
Provision as a community activity as an extension of the school – where a school
is a foundation, voluntary aided or foundation special school
4.4.1
The Governing Bodies of the above schools are in general the employers of the school’s
teaching and support staff (although the LA may employ some support staff directly).
4.4.2
It is recommended that the guidelines set out in paragraph 3 are followed for the
appointment of staff providing childcare.
4.5
Implications for staff of the change of existing arrangements
4.5.1
Where a governing body of a school elects to outsource extended school provision which is
currently being run by the school, specific attention should be given to the implications for
staff currently working in the provision. It is strongly advised that advice is sought from the
C&LL HR Unit in such cases.
4.5.2
Where a governing body elects to manage a community activity currently undertaken by an
independent provider, care should be taken to ensure that the transfer of business takes into
account TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) regulations. Further
advice should be sought from your Senior HR Advisor prior to entering into any formal
discussions.
4.6
Health, safety and well-being
4.6.1
It is a principal duty of Governing Bodies to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the
staff employed in schools. Full guidance on the statutory requirements is available to
Headteachers through the intranet site: http://www.staffs-ed.net/secure/default.asp
4.6.2
It is the responsibility of the LA to monitor standards of health and safety management in
schools. Policy, advice and guidance are available through the HR Unit as part of the SLA
arrangements with Schools.
5
Contacts for Further Information
On financial management, please contact your School Support Officer.
On HR management, please contact Jann Russell on 01785 278800.
On legal issues, please contact the Legal Services Unit on 01785 276191 or 276196.
On general advice about the management of the provision, please contact Your Childcare
Development Officer.
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Extended School Provision – Governor Run Provision
Community Focused



Pupil Focussed
Governing Bodies looking to introduce
Community Focussed Extended School Facilities
must consult and take into account advice from
their local authority over any plans they have
to provide extended activities under the
community facilities power. The consultation
arrangements with the authority are currently
under review given the pending full
implementation of the C&LPs, but in the
interim all consultation should continue to be
actioned through the school’s Early Years
Childcare Development Officer.

Schools looking to introduce Pupil Focussed
Extended School Facilities are advised to
consult with the authority prior to introducing
any such facilities for advice on appropriate
financial management arrangements and the
scope for collaborative provision under
Community Learning & Partnerships.

Pupil Focussed Extended School Facilities can
be funding from the delegated budget,
because they meet the ‘purposes of the
school’.
Local authority schemes for financing schools
may also place some restrictions or prohibitions
on governing bodies undertaking community
facilities, though they may not actually veto
any plans a Governing Body has. Such
prohibitions or restrictions should be designed
to ensure the financial interests of the
authority are protected and could include (for
example) requiring a governing body to
undertake the activity via the vehicle of a
limited company or that the governing body
obtains indemnity insurance for risks
associated with the activity in question. The
full details of the ‘Community Facilities’
provisions contained in the Staffordshire
Scheme for Financing Schools are provided in
Appendix 2.

The delegated budget of a school may not be
used to fund community focused extended
school activities - either start-up costs or
ongoing expenditure, including shared costs,
e.g. heating/lighting - or to meet deficits
arising from such activities.

Where they cannot be afforded from the
delegated budget alone, schools may wish to
consider if it would be appropriate to make a
charge for such activities, or to ask for
voluntary contributions.
However, it should be noted that there are
some activities that may not be charged for
including pupil’s education outside school hours
if it is part of the National Curriculum, or part
of a syllabus for a prescribed public
examination, or part of religious education.
Schools are encouraged to provide study
support free to pupils, but pupils can be
charged for any other education or noneducation services outside school hours. Any
additional charges for the provision of
materials, books, instruments, or other
equipment provided can only be charged for by
agreement with the pupil's parents. Schools
should also consult with parents where a
voluntary contribution is sought. A key
requirement is that for a school to introduce a
charging regime, the governing body must
Appendix 1
Applies to Both

The governing body is a ‘body corporate’ and
has a legal identity separate from the individual
governors. Decisions that have been made
properly will be binding on all the governors.
As long as governors act honestly and
reasonably and within their powers when
carrying out their functions, any liability arising
from a community activity will fall on the
governing body, rather than on individual
members.

However, as the Governing Body is responsible
for its activities any mismanagement could be
grounds for suspension of the Governing
Body’s right to a delegated budget.

The extended school activity can be managed
by a governor committee, draft terms of
reference for which are attached as Appendix
3.

The County Council’s Financial Regulations,
Contract Standing Orders and other governing
documents apply to the management and
operation of the activity.

Staff must be employed by the school under a
separate contract of employment.

County Council terms & conditions of
employment will apply to all staff employed on
the activity and redundancy costs, if they
become appropriate, will be met by the County
Council.

The school’s insurance will cover the activity.
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

But from April 2006, schools can use their
School Standards Grant to support Community
Focussed Extended School Facilities that are
ineligible for funding from the delegated
budget. This is ongoing funding to support
schools in sustaining extended school activities.
However, it is likely that charging will be the
main source of ongoing funding for many
Community Focussed Extended School Facilities
as they are ineligible for funding from the
delegated budget. Schools therefore need to
consider and establish an appropriate charging
regime for such services.

Schools may retain all net income derived from
the running of the activity and carry any
balances over from one financial year to the
next as a “community facility” surplus, or,
subject to the agreement of the County Council
at the end of each financial year, transfer all or
part of it to its budget share balance.

If the school is a community or community
special school, and the County Council ceases
to maintain the school, any balances relating to
the activity revert to the Authority, unless
otherwise agreed with a funding provider.

If there is a deficit on community facilities and
the County Council needs to recover funds to
meet third party liabilities it may do so from
any community facilities surplus. If this is
insufficient, with the exception of the
delegated budget share, schools must use
other sources of funding which are available to
them for “community facilities”, for example
Schools Standards Grant (which may include a
first commitment on future allocations, if
necessary), to meet any residual liabilities/
deficit on their "community facility" extended
school activities.
have a charging policy that includes a
remissions policy setting out the circumstances
in which they would remit, in whole or part,
any charges and subsidise participation from
the delegated budget.


Other children, their parents, adults, families,
clubs and businesses can be charged for
participation in community activities or services
arranged by the school, as long as the
governing body have drawn up a statement of
general policy on charging.
Any surplus or deficit balances relating to pupil
focussed extended schools activities are
deemed to be part of the school’s delegated
balances and will be treated accordingly,
including where the school closes.

All health and safety provisions in the Scheme
for Financing Schools apply.

The governing body is required to set up
procedures for dealing with all complaints
relating to its activities and the facilities and
services provided directly by the school, and to
publicise the procedures to all users.

Schools must grant access to their records
connected with the activity, in order to
facilitate internal and external audit of relevant
income and expenditure.

There are grant funding streams to local
authorities that are specifically targeted at the
development of extended school services, such
as the Standards Fund grant for Extended
Schools and General Sure Start Grant
allocations. This funding is aimed at
supporting the establishment of all types of
new extended services, and as such is ‘start up’
funding for activities that should in time
become sustainable from other sources of
funding, such as charging where that is
appropriate. This funding will be managed
through the Community & Learning
Partnerships and schools allocated this funding
must comply with the terms and conditions of
the respective grant.
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Appendix 2
SECTION 13 : COMMUNITY FACILITIES
13.1
Introduction
Schools that choose to exercise the power conferred by s.27 (1) of the Education Act
2002 to provide community facilities will be subject to a range of controls. First,
regulations made under s.28 (2), if made, can specify activities that may not be
undertaken at all under the main enabling power. Secondly, the school is obliged to
consult with the County Council, and others, and have regard to its advice. Thirdly, the
Secretary of State issues guidance to governing bodies about a range of issues
connected with exercise of the power, and a school must have regard to that.
However, under s.28(1), the main limitations and restrictions on the power will be
a. those contained in schools’ own instruments of government, if any; and
b. prohibitions, restrictions and limitations contained in the County Council’s
overall scheme for financing schools.
This section of the scheme does not extend to joint-use agreements; transfer of
control agreements, or agreements between the Authority and schools to secure the
provision of adult and community learning.
The budget share of a school may not be used to fund community facilities – either
start-up costs or ongoing expenditure - or to meet deficits arising from such activities.
Any mismanagement of community facilities funds can be grounds for suspension of
the right to a delegated budget.
13.2
Consultation with the County Council – Financial Aspects
Before introducing any community facilities, governing bodies must consult the County
Council and have regard to any advice given.
In order that both schools and the County Council are alerted to any potential financial
and operational liabilities, the County Council has adopted a formal procedure for
considering schools’ proposals. This should ensure that both parties are aware of all
relevant issues before any resources are committed. This procedure includes
reasonable requirements as to timeliness and the amount of information that schools
must supply in seeking County Council advice. This procedure will be published to all
schools and schools will be advised of any revisions that may be necessary.
The County Council will provide its advice within six weeks of being consulted.
Schools are required to inform the County Council of any action taken in response to
its advice.
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13.3
Funding Agreements – County Council Powers
The provision of community facilities in many schools may be dependent on the
conclusion of a funding agreement with a third party which will either be supplying
funding or supplying funding and taking part on the provision. A very wide range of
bodies and organisations are potentially involved.
Any such proposed agreement with a third party (as opposed to funding agreements
with the County Council itself) should be submitted to the County Council for its
comments at least six weeks prior to the start date of the agreement in order that the
County Council has sufficient time to review and advise upon the proposal. However,
the County Council does not have a right of veto on such agreements, either directly
or through requiring a right to countersign the agreement. If the third party requires
County Council consent to the agreement for it to proceed, such a requirement and
the method by which the County Council’s consent is to be signified shall be a matter
of consultation between the County Council and the third party, not for the scheme.
Schools should be aware that if an agreement has been or is to be concluded against
the wishes of the County Council, or has been concluded without consulting the
County Council, which in the view of the County Council is seriously prejudicial to the
interests of the school or the County Council, that may constitute grounds for
suspension of the right to a delegated budget.
13.4
Other Prohibitions, Restrictions and Limitations
Although the County Council does not have a right of veto either to funding
agreements with third parties, or for other proposed uses of the community facilities
power, it may reasonably direct the governing body to make arrangements to protect
the financial interests of the County Council by either carrying out the activity
concerned through the vehicle of a limited company formed for the purpose, or by
obtaining indemnity insurance for risks associated with the project in question, as
specified by the County Council.
Section 28 provides that the exercise of the community facilities power is subject to
prohibitions, restrictions and limitations in the scheme for financing schools. The
Authority may, if it wishes, propose other scheme provisions that it believes are
necessary. This option will be kept under review and where the County Council
considers additional provisions are required to safeguard the financial position of the
County Council or school, or to protect pupil welfare or education, it will apply to the
Secretary of State for this scheme to be duly amended.
13.5
Supply of Financial Information
In order to allow the County Council to advise the Governing Body on the Community
Facilities use in line with paragraph 28(5)(b) of the legislation, schools shall provide
the County Council every six months with a summary statement, in a form determined
by the County Council, showing the income and expenditure for the school arising
from the community facilities in question for the previous six months and on an
estimated basis, for the next six months.
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The County Council may, on giving notice to the school that it believes there to be
cause for concern as to the school’s financial management of the community facilities
project, require such financial statements to be supplied every three months. If the
County Council sees fit, it may also require the submission of a recovery plan for the
project in order that it may advise the school.
These provisions do not preclude the insertion of other provisions in specific funding
agreements between schools and the Authority as to the financial reporting
requirements arising from the funding in question.
13.6
Audit
Schools must grant access to their records connected with community facility projects,
in order to facilitate internal and external audit of relevant income and expenditure.
Schools, in concluding funding agreements with third parties pursuant to community
facility projects, must ensure that such agreements contain adequate provision for
access by the County Council to the records and other property of third parties held on
the school premises or elsewhere insofar as they relate to the project, in order for the
County Council to satisfy itself as to the propriety of income and expenditure on the
project.
13.7
Treatment of Income, Surpluses and Deficits
Schools may retain all net income derived from community facilities, except where
otherwise agreed with a funding provider, whether that be the County Council or a
third party.
Schools may carry such retained net income over from one financial year to the next
as a separate community facilities surplus, or, subject to the agreement of the County
Council at the end of each financial year, transfer all or part of it to the budget share
balance.
If the school is a community or community special school, and the County Council
ceases to maintain the school, any accumulated retained income obtained from a
community facilities project reverts to the Authority, unless otherwise agreed with a
funding provider.
If there is a deficit on community facilities and the County Council needs to recover
funds to meet third party liabilities it may do so from any community facilities surplus.
If this is insufficient, with the exception of the delegated budget share, schools must
use other sources of funding which are available to them for “community facilities”, for
example Schools Standards Grant (which may include a first commitment on future
allocations of SSG, if necessary), to meet any residual liabilities/deficit on their
"community facility" extended school activities.
13.8
Health and Safety Matters
All health and safety provisions in the Scheme for Financing Schools apply to
community facilities projects.
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13.9
Criminal Records Clearance
The governing body is responsible for the costs of securing Criminal Records Bureau
clearance for all adults involved in community activities taking place during the school
day, but are free to pass on such costs to a funding partner as part of an agreement
with that partner.
13.10 Insurance
It is the responsibility of the governing body to ensure adequate arrangements are
made for insurance against risks arising from a community facilities project. Such
insurance should not be funded from the school budget share.
In principle, the insurance issues arising from use of the community facilities power
are the same as those that already arise from non-school use of school premises.
However, a school proposing to provide community facilities should undertake an
assessment of the insurance implications and costs. All schools are required to seek
the County Council’s advice before finalising and insurance arrangements for
community facilities.
The County Council can undertake its own assessment of the insurance arrangements
made by a school in respect of community facilities, and if it judges the arrangements
to be inadequate, make arrangements itself and charge the resultant cost to the
school. Such costs cannot be charged to the school’s budget share.
13.11 Taxation
Schools should seek the advice of the County Council and the local VAT office on any
issues relating to the possible imposition of Value Added Tax on expenditure in
connection with community facilities, including the use of the local authority VAT
reclaim facility. In general, schools may only make use of the County Council’s VAT
reclaim facility for expenditure on community facilities when this is from County
Council funds and not expenditure sourced from third party funds.
If any member of staff employed by the school or County Council in connection with
community facilities at the school is paid from funds held in a school’s own bank
account (whether a separate account is used for community facilities or not), the
school is likely to be held liable for payment of income tax and National Insurance, in
line with Inland Revenue rules.
Schools should follow County Council advice in relation to the Construction Industry
Scheme where this is relevant to the community facilities project.
13.12 Banking
Schools can utilise the County Council’s banking arrangements, which will allow an
adequate separation of community facilities funds from the school budget share and
other County Council funds. Alternatively, schools can maintain a separate bank
account for community facilities or, where they operate under the Local Chequebook
Scheme, a combined account but with adequate internal accounting controls to
maintain separation of funds.
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Community facilities balances held in the authority’s bank accounts will attract interest
in accordance with the County Council’s scheme for Interest on Balances. The
arrangements made for the payment of interest will seek to ensure that the funds
allocated to schools attract the most beneficial rate.
The arrangements contained in the County Council’s Local Cheque Book
Management Scheme apply as regards the banks/building societies that may be used,
the titles of bank accounts, signing of cheques, the contents of bank mandates (except
that such mandates may provide that funds for community facilities not provided by the
County Council are not the property of the County Council) and similar matters.
Schools may not borrow money without the written consent of the Secretary of State.
This requirement does not extend to monies lent to schools by the County Council.
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Appendix 3
Governor Committee Draft Terms of Reference
(to follow ….)
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