Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust Governors' Briefing Pack

40  Annual external and internal audit requirements are centrally managed, including pension audits  A support network for school business managers, including training  Central team supports schools with the requirements of the Academy Trust Handbook  One Gift Aid account with HMRC to recover gift aid claims, one registration for the Trust  Centralised VAT recovery on behalf of the schools, again one registration  SRMSAT submitted by Trust based on data from the common finance system  Support for GDPR, H&S, Procurement (including economies of scale across multiple schools), Net Zero programme, risk management (support & advice on risk registers) Human Resources  Support with the TUPE and onboarding process for existing staff  Support from our team of HR professionals who know each school and are able to provide consistent advice and guidance on all aspects of HR (policies, recruitment, restructures, disciplinary, appraisal etc)  Trust (through its centrally appointed payroll provider) issue employment contracts, at the request of schools who lead on local recruitment  Membership of the Teacher Pension Scheme and Local Government Pension Scheme ensures staff retain pension benefits  Wellbeing helpline and resources (Health Assured) Data Protection  ODBST has one registration with the ICO on behalf of all its schools and one central Data Protection Officer Health and Safety  Our professional Health & Safety Competent Advisor engages regularly with schools to assure their legal duties,statutory requirements are carried out, offer training, ensure the school is safe and secure, and undertake an annual site inspection. Admissions  The Trust Board is the admission authority, and the policy is written for schools centrally  Support for School Admissions and Appeals is provided by the Diocese Capital Projects  Large-scale capital projects are funded through School Condition Allocation (an allowance managed by the Diocese on behalf of the Trust) rather than through an annual application process into the DfE  Devolved Formula Capital continues to be managed by the Local Governing Body, but is required to be authorised through the approved purchasing limit guidelines Thank you for considering us as you think about your future plans. If we can help you in anyway, we will. Please feel free to contact us with your questions. Academies within ODBST predominantly receive support from Trust officers and, for some specific areas, from colleagues from Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE). This support is funded through a central service change, which is retained by the Trust from the funding provided to the school from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The central service charge reviewed annually. There are some mandatory systems, which may or may not be covered by the service change. Please note, the details are subject to change.