A to Z Glossary

A collection of terms commonly used in the services designed and built by the Service Delivery Division ( SDD ).

# A

• Academies and Maintained Schools Directorate ( AMSD ): AMSD delivers ESFA’s remit with open academies and maintained schools. They are responsible for identifying and managing financial management and governance risks in academies, free schools and local authority maintained schools.

AMSD is made up of:

• Academies Operational Delivery Teams
• School resource Management Division (SRM)
• Performance, Operational Policy and Strategy (POPS)
• National Programme and Projects Division (NPPD)

• Academies Financial Handbook ( AFH ): Also known as the Academy Trust Handbook (ATH), academy trusts must comply with this handbook as a condition of their funding agreement. It provides an overarching framework for implementation of effective financial management and other controls, consistent with their obligations as publicly funded bodies. You can view it online.
• Academy: a publicly funded independent school. They operate outside the local authority control. Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an academy trust. A local authority school can convert to become an academy school.
• Academy order ( AO ): a document that the Department for Education ( DfE ) gives to a school to signify that the DfE is content, in principle, for the school to convert to an academy.
• Academy transfer: when an academy moves from their exisiting trust to a new trust. There are different types of transfers:

• voluntary transfer is when the academy chooses to transfer
• intervention transfer is when an academy is forced to transfer usually because it’s not performing well under the current trust.

• Academy trust ( AT ): a charitable trust that establishes and operates academies and free schools
• Articles of association: this document sets out the charitable purpose of the trust and its governance structure. This includes information about:

• what the trust exists to do
• appointing and removing trust members
• establishing committees and local governing bodies
  The articles also provide a framework for trusts to act within company and charity law.

# B

• Briefing automation tool ( BAT ): Used by AMSD caseworkers, the BAT shows trust financial and governance information to be used in financial analysis and prevention work.
• Budget Forecast Return ( BFR ): Academy budget documentation. 1yr and 3 yr versions. Data is pulled from Identity and Access Management Service (IDAMS) using a Power-BI BFR tool.

# C

• Case: In AMSD concerns this is essentially a conversation with a trust around a concern or multiple concerns that they are being helped with.
• Caseworker: a named contact within the Academy and Maintained Schools Directorate (AMSD) who manages casework relating to concerns about a school, particularly financial concerns.
• Church Supplemental Agreement ( CSA ): this is a document that gets signed during an academy conversion or academy transfer. It is an agreement between the Diocese linked to the school or academy and the new trust taking on the school or academy.
• Commercial transfer agreement ( CTA ): a document that is signed by the school and the trust and sets out how any contracts (like staff contracts) will transfer to the trust when the school converts to an academy.
• Companies House number: a seven digit reference number for trusts, registered for the legal entity of the trust and can be found on the Companies House website.
• Concern: Something related to non educational performance (finance, governance, safegarding , irregularity) that the Dept wants to tackle at a Trust.
• Conversion support grant: funding given to a school to pay for the costs of a conversion. It is £25 000 and can only be spent on specific things like legal advice, costs of software, TUPE advice, re-branding costs and expenses from setting up an academy trust.
• Converter: one of three ways a school can become an academy. Higher performing schools can apply using the Apply to become an academy service.
• Converter academy: once a local authority maintained school has converted to an academy, it is known as an ‘converter academy’.
• Customer Relationship Manager ( CRM ): Used by caseworkers to manage correspondance with trusts and academies via email, and details of cases.

# D

• Data and Reporting Tool ( DaRT ): A system that the Academy and Maintained Schools Directorate (AMSD) caseworkers use to record information about cases relating to concerns, safeguarding incidents, whistleblowing, and Decisions within trusts and academies. It is due to be decommissioned soon.
• Delivery Officer ( DO ): the main users for the academy conversion and academy transfer internal service. They handle the internal applications for schools converting to academies, academies transfering to another trust and academies making changes. They are the lead contact for schools and trusts throughout the conversion process. They can also sometimes be called ‘project leads’ or ‘delivery leads’.
• Deed of Variation ( DoV ): this document is required when there is a change on the funding agreement of the trust or academy. For example, if the trust’s name changes.
• Desktop review tool ( DRT ): Used by caseworkers to identify areas of saving or areas of concern within a trusts finances.

# E

• Education and Skills Funding Agency ( ESFA ): the ESFA is a combination of the previous Education Funding Agency (EFA) and Skills Funding Agency (SFA). It’s now a single agency accountable for funding education and skills for children, young people and adults. Within the conversion service, the ESFA handles financial concerns with schools and trusts and makes sure a school’s finances are in a good position to become an academy.

# F

• Financial benchmarking: A tool used by schools to benchmark their pay with similar sized organisations and to identify any savings a trust could make.
• Financial deficit: academies are expected to recover from a financial deficit within 3 years. When a school converts to an academy or transfers to a new trust, the delivery officer needs to check the school does not have a financial deficit. If the financial deficit is too much, the school might not be able to convert.
• Fraud tool: Used by the fraud team to register cases of fraud.
• Free school meals ( FSM ): schools can offer students free school meals and during a conversion or transfer a delivery officer should check the percentage of free school meals that the school offers.
• Funding agreement ( FA ): the funding agreement provides the framework for academies or free schools to operate in. Funding agreements can consist of a master funding agreement (MFA) and a supplemental funding agreement (SFA).

• the MFA is for a trust and used in application to form a new multi-academy trust
• the SFA is for each of the schools joining new or exisitng trust

# G

• Government Digital Service (GDS): Part of the Cabinet Office working on delivering platforms, products and services that help government to become joined-up, trusted and responsive to user needs.
• Get Information About Schools ( GIAS ): this is a register of schools and colleges in England. You can use GIAS to search for and download information on establishments, establishment groups (such as a local authority, trust or federation) or governors.

# H

• Headteacher board ( HTB ): advise the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) on decisions about conversions, transfers and making changes to an academy. They consist of a group of people with experience in governing and running schools and academies. They have an advisory role only.
• Headteacher board papers or documents: once the HTB template is signed off, the HTB secretariat will prepare HTB papers to go to the HTB meeting. For a conversion, these can include the HTB template, a trust template and an academy order.
• Headteacher board template ( HTB template ) (sometimes called project template): this is a template the delivery officers need to fill out and take to an HTB meeting. The information they put into these templates is about the school and the trust and why the reason for the conversion. They will also include any risks and issues to the conversion so that the HTB can make the right decision about if the school should become an academy.

# I

• Identity and Access Management Service ( IDAMS ): Trusts can use this portal to submit their financial data such as Accounts Return, BFR and BFRO.

# J

# K

• Knowledge and Information Management ( KIM ): the tool currently used for academy management. It will be decomissioned soon.

# L

• Land questionnaire: this should be filled out by the school or trust’s solicitors during a conversion. It’s used to establish how the school’s land is currently managed and how it will transfer from the local authority or owner of the land to the trust. It needs to be completed after the HTB meeting when the conversion has been approved.
• Land and Buildings Collection Tool (LBCT): The land and buildings collection tool collects information about all of the land and buildings used by academy trusts and their academies. It’s a snapshot of the trust’s land and assets.
• Legal Advisor’s Office ( LAO ): this team can give delivery officers advice if they are dealing with a conversion or transfer that has complex legal issues.
• Local authority ( LA ): local government administration, when a school converts to an academy the local authority needs to be involved so that things like land and finances can pass to the new trust that is taking on the academy.
• Local authority information template ( LA proforma ): this template is sent to the local authority right at the beginning of the conversion process. The LA is expected to fill it out and send it back to the delivery officer. The delivery officer will use the information from the LA to make sure the information provided by the school is correct.
• Local authority maintained school: maintained schools are those that are funded and controlled by the local education authority.

# M

• Multi-academy trust ( MAT ): a multi-academy trust is a trust that runs multiple academies. These can be a mix of primary and secondary schools, and can span multiple local authorities and regions.
• Trust or sponsor template ( MAT template ): this is a document, usually completed by a delivery officer, that contains info about a trust like finances and educational health. This is usually maintained by the trust relationship manager (sometimes the delivery officer and the trust relationship manager are the same person)
• Management Information ( MI ): Data collected from DaRT and other systems and fed back to management for analysis.

# N

• National programmes and projects division (NPPD): help academy trusts and maintained schools realise good financial health and robust governance through the delivery of national programmes and services.

The NPPD comprises 3 G6 led units:

• National Delivery Unit (NDU)
• University Technical Colleges national team (UTC)
• Academy Complaints and Customer Insight Unit (ACCIU)

• Notice To Improve (NTI): When a case becomes very serious for a trust, a Notice To Improve is issued. If the conditions laid out are not met, the trust could be closed down.

# O

# P

• Performance Operational Policy and Strategy (POPS): develop and deliver operational policy for academy financial and governance oversight, provide data charting the directorate’s performance, and lead the governance of the ESFA as an organisation.
• Post academy order ( post AO ): this is the phase of the academy conversion process that comes after the Secretary of State issues a school with an academy order.
• Pre and post headteacher board (HTB): there are two stages to SDD’s academy conversion and transfer services.

• Pre HTB is everything that happens from when the school sends in their application form up until the HTB meeting.
• Post HTB is everything that happens from when the conversion gets approved at HTB up until when the school opens as an academy.

The whole process can take up to 6 months but sometimes longer depending on the complexities. Pre and post HTB can also be called pre and post AO (academy order).

• Private finance initiative ( PFI ): a school or an academy may have a PFI scheme in place which can make the conversion or trnsfer more complicated. A PFI scheme is a way of using private sector finance and expertise to deliver public sector projects. PFI schools can get new buildings and facilities that are maintained by PFI companies. If there is a PFI scheme in place, there will be more paperwork to complete and it is a real pain point for delivery officers.
• Project lead ( PL ): project leads handle the internal application for schools converting to academies, academies transfering to another trust and significant change applications. They are the lead contact for schools and trusts throughout the conversion process. They should now be referred to as ‘delivery officers’ or ‘delivery leads’.
• Provider Market Oversight ( PMO ): This team reviews budget forecast returns (BFRs) every year and raise issues if required. Department financial experts.
• Published admission number (PAN ): the published admission number is the number of pupils in each year group that the admission authority has agreed will be admitted without causing problems for the school.

# Q

# R

• Regional delivery directorate ( RDD ): RDD is led by the National Schools Commissioner (Dominic Herrington) and delivers services to schools. RDD operates across 8 regions in England with each region having an in depth local knowledge.; There are 8 regions in RDD, each region has a regional schools commissioner (RSC). The regions are:

• North of England
• East Midlands and the Humber (EMH)
• Lancashire and West Yorkshire (LWY)
• West Midlands (WM)
• South-West England (SW)
• South-East England and South London (SEESL)
• North-West London and South-Central England (NWLSC)
• East of England and North-East London (EENEL)

• Regional Schools Commissioner ( RSC ): the 8 regional schools commissioners work with school leaders to promote and monitor academies and free schools. The RSC has the power to make decisions on if conversions, transfers and significant changes can go ahead. They will make these decisions at the HTB meetings. The RSC can also get involved in the conversion or transfer process if there are complicated issues that need to be resolved.
• Risk Assessment Tool ( RAT ): Used to assess the level of risk at a trust or academy and flag potential issues that may need to be investigated.
• Risk Protection Arrangement ( RPA ): the risk protection arrangement (RPA) is an alternative to commercial insurance for academy trusts. Under RPA, the UK government covers the losses instead of commercial insurance.

# S

• School Resource Management Advisor ( SRMA ): A school management expert who is paid to go into a trust/academy and advise on how they can be more efficient.
• School Resource Management Division (SRM): Four teams who help schools improve outcomes for pupils by making every pound count. Includes practical support and guidance for schools and academies to help reduce costs on regular purchases and recruitment, so they can invest their resources into areas that improve pupil outcomes.
• School System Infrastructure Directorate ( SSID ): Responsible for managing policy in the running of academy trusts.
• Service Delivery Division ( SDD ): The Service Delivery Division is responsible for ensuring we make it easy for a school leader to manage and run their school, by building user-centred and data-driven services.
• Single academy trust ( SAT ): a single academy trust is a trust that only runs 1 academy.
• Single list: A list of cases of concern that may be of interest to the minister. Also known as the Joint Risk Report.
• Single worksheet ( SWS ): this is a document that delivery officers have to fill out at the end of a conversion or transfers. It gets signed off to show that everything has been completed and the school or academy can now convert or transfer.
• Sponsor: an organisation or person who has received approval from the Department for Education (DfE) to support an underperforming academy or group of academies, this is most often a multi-academy trust (MAT). One or more MATs can sit under the same sponsor.
• Sponsored: one of three ways to become an academy. Lower performing schools are encouraged to join a multi-academy trust (MAT) with sponsorship capabilities
• Sponsor ID: a five digit number referring to sponsor, for example SP12345

# T

• Team leader ( TL ): a team leader will be responsible for a team of delivery officers. They will assign conversion and transfer projects to delivery officers and plan work within their team.
• Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) ( TUPE ): the TUPE process protects employees’ rights when they get a new employer. For example, when an academy transfers from one trust to another, the academy’s staff will be employed by the new trust instead of the old trust. The TUPE process will protect their employment rights when they transfer.
• Trust: A legal entity that manages one to many academies.
• Trust and Academy Management Service ( TRAMS ): the Service Delivery Division (SDD) wide service that will replace KIM and various other tools. It will be used by delivery officers to look up information on academies and trusts.
• Trust Financial Forecasting Tool ( TFF Tool ): Uses Budget Forecast Return (BFR) data to predict the financial position of a trust for the next 3 years and identify if a trust may need assistance.
• Trust reference number: a five digit number referring to a trust, for example TR01111

# U

• Unique reference number ( URN ): a six digit number to refer to a school or academy

# V

• Viability assessment: delivery officers have to check if the school applying to convert to an academy is viable. This involves checking the school has been accepting more than 85% of its pupil capacity. The school’s pupil numbers are closely linked to its finances and if there are not enough pupils, this could lead to a financial deficit which is why delivery officers need to check this.
• Voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school: schools are clasified into 4 types:

• voluntary aided schools
• voluntary controlled schools
• community schools
• foundation schools

In a conversion, the land of a school will pass to the trust in different ways depending on what type of school it is.

# W

# X

# Y

# Z