Annual report and accounts: what to publish on your school website
If your school is an academy, your website needs a link to your trust's annual report and audited accounts, which the trust publishes in full on its own website.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
By 31 January each year
Accounts for the year to 31 August.
What's needed
Link to the trust's annual report and audited accounts from the statutory information or finance page on your website, and publish the full accounts on the trust's website by 31 January each year.
In this requirement
Section 1 of 2
Link from each academy
An academy's website must link to or publish the trust's annual report and audited accounts, which contain a governance statement, what the board has delegated, which internal scrutiny option is used, a reserves policy and plan, and the statement on regularity, propriety and compliance.
- Academies: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
The register sets this section for academies only.
What it must contain
5 parts- Includes a governance statement in the annual reportMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says what the board has delegated to committees, local committees or governing bodiesMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says which internal scrutiny option is used and why, in the governance statementMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Explains its reserves policy and plan for managing reserves in the annual reportMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Includes a statement on regularity, propriety and compliance in the annual reportMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 3 official sources:
What academies must publish online
Academy trusts must publish their audited annual report and accounts on their website by 31 January each year. Guidance is available in the academy trust handbook .
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Annual reports and accounts > What academy trusts must publish
Academy Trust Handbook
1.44. The trust must provide details of its governance arrangements in the governance statement published with its annual accounts, including what the board has delegated to committees and, in trusts with multiple academies, to local committees or governing bodies.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 1.44
2.8. The board of trustees must : – ensure that financial plans are prepared and monitored, satisfying itself that the trust remains a going concern and financially sustainable – take a longer term view of the trust’s financial plans consistent with the requirement to submit three-year budget forecasts to DfE – set a policy for holding reserves, and explain it in its annual report, including a clear plan for managing reserves
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 2.8
Show 4 more from this source
4.1. The academy trust must maintain adequate accounting records and prepare an annual report and accounts in accordance with the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice ( SORP ) and DfE ’s Accounts Direction.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 4.1
4.4. The audited report and accounts must be: – submitted to DfE by 31 December – published on the trust’s website by 31 January – filed with Companies House by 31 May – provided to every member and to anyone who requests a copy
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 4.4
4.12. An accounting officer’s statement on regularity, propriety and compliance must be included in the academy trust’s annual accounts. This is a declaration by the accounting officer that they have met their responsibilities to DfE ’s accounting officer and to Parliament for the resources under their control during the year.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 4.12
3.19. The trust must confirm in its governance statement, accompanying its annual accounts, which of the internal scrutiny options it has applied and why.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 3.19
Academies accounts direction 2025 to 2026
ensure a governance statement is included in the annual report, which provides a conclusion on whether the academy trust has an adequate and effective framework for governance, risk management and control (paragraph 2.48)
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Introduction, 'What an academy trust must do' (page 6); see also Table 2 and paragraph 2.48
Section 2 of 2
Full accounts on trust website
The trust must publish the full accounts, not a Companies House link, on its website by 31 January, including a governance statement, which internal scrutiny option is used, the statement on regularity, propriety and compliance, and trustees' pension, expenses and related party deals.
- Academies: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
The register sets this section for academies only.
What it must contain
7 parts- Links to the full annual accounts, not only to the Companies House websiteMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives details of its governance arrangements in a governance statement published with the annual accountsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says which internal scrutiny option it has applied and why, in the governance statementMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives a statement on regularity, propriety and complianceMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives the amount of employer pension contributions paid for each trusteeMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Details any central charges made to its academies, when the trust runs more than oneMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Discloses agency arrangements, including the 16 to 19 bursary fund, in the accountsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 1 official source:
Academies accounts direction 2025 to 2026
31 January 2027 Publish accounts, in full, on the academy trust’s website. Publishing a link to the Companies House website is not sufficient.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Table 1: Timetable for submission and publication of accounts (page 12), paragraph 1.13
publish the full accounts on the academy trust’s website by 31 January 2027 (paragraph 1.13)
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Introduction, 'What an academy trust must do' (page 6)
Show 3 more from this source
In addition to disclosure of trustees’ remuneration, the financial statements must also disclose: • the amount of employer pension contributions paid in respect of trustees • the number of trustees who have had their expenses reimbursed and the total amount of expenses reimbursed • any other related party transactions with trustees including payments for services under commercial contracts (for example payments for goods and services to a company owned by a trustee)
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Paragraph 2.184 (page 60)
Academy trusts with multiple academies (only) must include an additional note to their financial statements detailing any central charges that the academy trust made to its constituent academies during the year [see model accounts note 11].
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Paragraph 2.160, Disclosure of central services (page 56)
Agency arrangements must be disclosed in the note to the financial statements including an accounting policy note. Illustrative text for 16-19 bursary fund notes is as follows:
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Paragraph 3.132, Agency arrangements (page 98)
Questions schools ask
Do academies have to publish their annual accounts?
Link from each academy: The official sources we check set nothing for maintained schools. Academies must. Full accounts on trust website: The official sources we check set nothing for maintained schools. Academies must.
What do the trust's annual report and accounts need to include?
Includes a governance statement in the annual report; Says what the board has delegated to committees, local committees or governing bodies; Says which internal scrutiny option is used and why, in the governance statement; Explains its reserves policy and plan for managing reserves in the annual report; Includes a statement on regularity, propriety and compliance in the annual report; Links to the full annual accounts, not only to the Companies House website; and 6 more parts listed above.
When do the annual accounts need to be published?
By 31 January each year. Accounts for the year to 31 August.
Where does the requirement for the annual report and accounts come from?
It is set out in What academies must publish online, Academy Trust Handbook and Academies accounts direction 2025 to 2026.
Recent changes to the official guidance
Updates to the official sources that affect this requirement, newest first.
15 July 2026 · Academy Trust Handbook
The DfE published the Academy Trust Handbook 2026, which takes effect on 1 October 2026.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official wording that does not apply to schools (2)
By 31 January each year, FE colleges must publish their annual report and audited financial statements in an easily accessible location on their website and retain them there for 2 years.
– What academies and further education colleges must or should publish online
Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4