Year end procedures

School revenue balances

Updated school balances will be circulated at the end of May.

• Schools' year-end balances for 2024-25 (xlsx format, 23 KB)

Closedown

Please take care during period 12 (March) to ensure transactions are entered into the correct period.

Schools must complete closedown tasks as early as possible and not process any accounting transactions (raise purchase orders, pay invoices, process journals etc.) after 31 March. 

Payroll, purchasing card transactions and other end-of-month payments for March, which are processed through the IBC will be made in schools’ accounts and posted into, what will be at that time, the previous financial year.

Schools don’t need to account for year-end accruals (expenses or income relating to the current financial year that have not been paid or received). 

Other council service areas which supply services (meals and cleaning costs) to schools have been asked to make sure their charges are processed into school accounts before the end of the financial year or, if not significant, carried over into next year. Therefore, can you prioritise any internal trading documents and process them promptly.

It is expected schools’ balances will be compiled and provisionally confirmed before the end of May. Schools will continue to have access to their historical financial records and will be able to include a near exact balance in their budget plans for 2026/27, before any confirmation of the figures is issued by the council.

The following returns/actions are needed:

Capital return

The capital return pre-populated from your SAP account will be available w/c 23 March. Schools should only notify graham.clare@oxfordshire.gov.uk if there is a discrepancy with their figures reported in the School Capital Template by no later than 31 March 2026.

• The schools’ capital template will be provided soon.

Lease return

All maintained schools must complete and submit a lease return form, to confirm that they hold no leases or to provide details of any leases entered into during the 2025/26 financial year.

The deadline for submitting this return is no later than Friday 24 April 2026.

• School year end lease return 2025/26 (xlsx format, 49 KB)

If you experience any issues completing the form, please contact accounts@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Local Expenditure Accounts

Schools are required to reconcile expenditure in this account and make sure the account is topped up before year-end.

P11D

You must complete an annual non-pay benefits return (P11D return). The IBC submits an annual return to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) showing all non-pay benefits provided to employees fall IBC partners including Oxfordshire County Council. 

• Common non-pay benefits (docx format, 38KB)

Details of all benefits, and the employees who received them, need to be provided, using the form in the link above. This information should be sent to payrollsupport@hants.gov.uk by 31 March 2026

Voluntary Funds

Any voluntary funds or special purpose accounts held outside of the IBC - where either the governing body or a member of staff form part of the administration of the fund - must be included in an annual submission to your school’s named finance adviser in the Education Financial Services (EFS) team. The information must include the audited accounts and a management letter. This should be done no later than 30 September 2026.

Key dates

If you have any problems or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your school’s named Finance Adviser, Education Financial Services (EFS), Hampshire County Council.