Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School DfE notice explained

Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School has been issued with a Notice to Improve by the Department for Education, with the GOV.UK page published on 5 June 2026 and the letter itself dated 11 May 2026. If you are a parent, pupil or member of staff, the first thing to know is that the document is about finance and governance rather than teaching quality. (gov.uk) In its letter, the Department for Education says it recognises positive action already taken by the trust and the cooperation shown in discussions with officials. Even so, it says concerns remain because of the trust’s weak financial position and weak financial management, governance and oversight. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The sharpest concern is laid out plainly in Annex A. The department says the trust failed to tell it that it had entered an overdraft position and did not have enough funds to pay outstanding creditors and payroll. It says this amounted to multiple breaches of the Academy Trust Handbook, including duties around board accountability, financial sustainability, realistic budgeting, taking timely action on budget variances and getting DfE approval before borrowing. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) **What this means:** the government is saying that the people responsible for overseeing public money at the school did not show strong enough control, and that the problem is serious enough to move from support and dialogue into formal intervention. DfE guidance says a notice to improve is used where there are concerns about an academy trust’s financial management or governance. (gov.uk)

Once a notice is issued, some financial freedoms are removed. Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School must now get advance approval from the department for a range of transactions, including special staff severance payments, compensation payments, writing off debts and losses, certain guarantees, some fixed asset disposals, some land and buildings agreements, and some decisions involving unspent grant funding. The letter says that asking for retrospective approval would itself count as a breach. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) For readers outside school finance, this is the practical sign that the trust is under much tighter watch. The board still has to run the school, but it no longer has the same room to make certain financial decisions on its own while the notice remains in place. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The department has set out a detailed list of tasks before the notice can be lifted. The trust must produce a board-approved financial recovery and improvement plan covering planned savings, cost reduction measures, use of School Resource Management Advisor recommendations, evidence of Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning, stronger internal controls and regular reporting to both the board and the department. According to the notice, that plan had to be submitted by 1 June 2026, with monthly updates after that. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The trust must also appoint a suitably qualified and experienced chief financial officer, keep the department updated through the recruitment process, and then send a summary of the chosen candidate’s qualifications and experience within 10 working days of appointment. The new CFO must take part in the DfE School Business Manager mentoring programme, with mentoring to be agreed by 29 June 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The notice goes further than balancing the books. Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School must create an action plan to deal with risks identified in its management letter and internal scrutiny report, and it must take part in an External Governance Review. The review had to be commissioned by 15 June 2026, and the trust must then send the department an action plan within two weeks of receiving the full report. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The trust must also consider joining a strong Church multi-academy trust in line with the expectations of the Diocese of Brentwood, with termly evidence of that work and a first update due no later than 17 July 2026. Alongside that, it must keep sending monthly management accounts, cashflow reports, debtor and creditor reports, plus trust board and finance committee minutes. It must also submit audited accounts and budget forecast returns on time, and publish the notice on its own website within 14 days of publication on GOV.UK until the notice is lifted. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

DfE guidance helps put this in context. A Notice to Improve is a formal step used when the department has concerns about financial management or governance at an academy trust. The guidance says trusts under a notice may lose delegated authorities, must provide evidence against set conditions, and are usually expected to remain under the notice for at least nine months so a full cycle of financial returns can be checked. If a trust fails to comply, DfE can move towards stronger intervention, including a termination warning notice, structural change, or referrals to bodies such as the Charity Commission or Insolvency Service. (gov.uk) **What it means for your school community:** this notice does not say lessons stop or that the school closes. What it does say is that the trust now has to prove, month by month, that it can manage money properly, strengthen governance and rebuild confidence. For parents, staff and pupils, the key things to watch are openness, stable leadership, clear board reporting and whether the trust meets the deadlines the Department for Education has set. (gov.uk)