Modern slavery statement
A yearly slavery and human trafficking statement, approved by the board, signed by a director and linked prominently from the homepage, which organisations with a turnover of £36 million or more must publish. Whether this applies to academy trusts is not settled.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- Every school and trust website
- School type
- Academies
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Only applies to
- Organisations with turnover of £36,000,000 or more
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When is it due?
- How often
- Every financial year
- Due by
- 1 February each year
Accounts to 31 August must be published by 31 January.
What's needed
Publish the modern slavery statement for the latest financial year, approved and dated by the board, with a prominent link from the homepage footer.
What it must contain
9 parts- Links prominently to the slavery and human trafficking statementMust
- States the steps taken during the financial year to prevent slavery and traffickingMust
- Says the statement is approved by the board and signed by a directorMust
- Describes the organisation's structure, business and supply chainsGood practice
- Lists the organisation's policies on slavery and human traffickingGood practice
- Describes its due diligence on slavery and trafficking in its supply chainsGood practice
- Says where the risk of slavery and trafficking lies in its business and supply chainsGood practice
- Says how effective its steps against slavery and trafficking have beenGood practice
- Describes the training on slavery and trafficking available to staffGood practice
What the official sources say
Set out in 1 official source:
Modern Slavery Act 2015 s54 (transparency in supply chains)
b include a link to the slavery and human trafficking statement in a prominent place on that website's homepage.
Must§ s. 54(7)(b)
A commercial organisation within subsection (2) must prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year of the organisation.
Must§ s. 54(1)
Show 4 more from this source
If the organisation has a website, it must— a publish the slavery and human trafficking statement on that website, and
Must§ s. 54(7)(a)
An organisation's slavery and human trafficking statement may include information about— a the organisation's structure, its business and its supply chains; b its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking; c its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains; d the parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk; e its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as it considers appropriate; f the training about slavery and human trafficking available to its staff.
Good practice§ s. 54(5)(a)-(f)
A slavery and human trafficking statement for a financial year is— a a statement of the steps the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place— i in any of its supply chains, and ii in any part of its own business, or b a statement that the organisation has taken no such steps.
Must§ s. 54(4)(a)-(b)
A slavery and human trafficking statement— a if the organisation is a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership, must be approved by the board of directors (or equivalent management body) and signed by a director (or equivalent);
Must§ s. 54(6)(a)
Questions schools ask
Does every school have to publish the modern slavery statement?
The official sources we check set no requirement for academies. The official sources we check set no requirement for maintained schools. It only applies to organisations with turnover of £36,000,000 or more.
When does the modern slavery statement need to be published?
How often: Every financial year. Due by: 1 February each year. Accounts to 31 August must be published by 31 January.
What must the modern slavery statement include?
Links prominently to the slavery and human trafficking statement; States the steps taken during the financial year to prevent slavery and trafficking; Says the statement is approved by the board and signed by a director; Describes the organisation's structure, business and supply chains; Lists the organisation's policies on slavery and human trafficking; Describes its due diligence on slavery and trafficking in its supply chains; and 3 more parts listed above.
Where does the requirement for the modern slavery statement come from?
It is set out in Modern Slavery Act 2015 s54 (transparency in supply chains).
Changes to the official sources
The sources for this item do not publish dated change notes. Their current versions are listed above.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
Is this on your school's website?
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4