All coronavirus guidance for educational settings can be found in one place on GOV.UK. We recommend that you sign up to receive updates directly from gov.uk
Core funding allocations
Schools continue to receive their core funding allocations, as determined by the LA for maintained schools and through the general annual grant (GAG) for academies.
For early years settings, the dedicated schools grant (DSG) continues to be paid by the LA for provision of free entitlement. Where parents access hours beyond the free entitlement, early years providers should continue to charge in the normal way.
DfE financial support
The DfE has issued a set of sector specific guidance that outlines the funding and financial support available for education, early years and childcare settings. It was last updated on 21 May 2021 with guidance on financial support for education, early years and children’s social in state funded schools. As and when further guidance is issued after the budget, this will be updated.
The Government has also announced a new £700 million education plan which lays out further aspects of the education recovery package to help young people in England catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic.
Fraud risk
Periods of instability bring an increased risk of fraud. Fraudsters will actively exploit these difficult times and will target vulnerable areas for financial gain.
ActionFraud reported a 400% increase in reports of coronavirus related fraud in March 2020. The reported frauds are varied and include:
- charity fraud
- online shopping fraud
- phishing emails
Periods of instability also lead to increased pressure, which may lead to reduced internal controls and management oversight. This might make schools more vulnerable to fraud risks. During these periods, busy school staff can be more susceptible to targeted attacks from fraudsters, particularly around changes to payment details. Remember, fraudsters can be very convincing: they are exploiting organisations and will have prepared thoroughly.
Organisations should continue to follow all usual business processes and procedures designed to protect them from fraud.
Schools should ensure that they:
- maintain effective governance and financial management oversight.
- remind all staff about the need to implement and comply with internal controls.
- maintain strong internal controls and retain and implement clear policies and procedures.
- provide further training on these policies and procedures where required.
- maintain and promote strong anti-fraud controls.
- review internal control risk assessments and fraud risk assessments.
- ensure that staff know how to report suspected fraud.
- undertake internal audits to monitor internal controls (and segregation of duties) to ensure they are operating effectively.
Further guidance on reducing fraud risks is also available (this was produced for academies but may be helpful to all organisations).
Cyber crime
This is an increasing risk to the education sector so the DfE have published specific guidance on cybercrime. We recommend that you engage with this.
Scam alerts
We know that some parents have received emails asking them to send their bank details if they are entitled to free school meals and want to continue receiving support. This is a scam. Please remain vigilant and continue to support parents to understand this.