Yes. The Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) must be completed each year by maintained school governing bodies. (Academies do not have to complete it.)
The SFVS is a checklist that helps boards check they are following good financial practices and managing resources effectively.
It must be approved by the full governing body.
Doesn’t the SFVS document say it can be approved by a committee?
No, not in the sense of a normal governor committee with delegated power.
The first page of the SFVS document asks schools to record the date it was approved by either the full governing body or the “management committee”.
“Date SFVS agreed by full governing body/management committee.”
Schools Financial Value Standard
A “management committee” is not a standard governor committee with delegated power, for example a finance committee or an educational standards committee.
A management committee is the equivalent of the full governing body in a pupil referral unit (PRU). If you look at documents like Keeping Children Safe in Education they refer to governing bodies and “management committees” when they talk about the full board of maintained schools.
Therefore, in all maintained schools the SFVS needs approving by the full board. It cannot be delegated.
Who should complete the SFVS?
It is up to each board to decide who actually fills out the SFVS form before the full board approve it.
In the schools I have worked for either the chair or finance link governor might come into school to complete the form with the help of the school business manager.
Alternatively, governors who sit on the finance or resources committee have completed the form together before scrutinising it carefully at their committee meeting and recommending approval to the full board.
Questions on the SFVS remain similar from year to year so it’s helpful to check the answers to last year’s SFVS before completing the new one.
What is the deadline for submitting the SFVS?
It is usually 31 March each year, but check the DfE website to be sure. Your LA may set a slightly earlier deadline which your school business manager (or equivalent finance officer) should know.
Does the SFVS need to be signed?
Yes. The first page of the SFVS asks for a signature from the chair of the governing body (or the chair of the management committee in a PRU) to confirm the full board have approved the document.