IPPN

Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) – Roll out & Operation

Published: 14 September 2017

Main Role of FSSU:

Provide advice and support to schools on financial governance primarily online and via phone support
Development of financial templates for use by schools internally for monitoring monthly income, expenditure, budget management, cash flow etc. The use of this template is optional and schools may continue to use IPPN’s Airgead Bunscoile or any accounting practice currently in place
Production of a standardised national template for the submission of annual accounts to the FSSU (prepared by an external accountant/auditor) to meet the legislative requirement of schools to make their accounts available to the Minister for inspection. This requirement is in addition to any specific requirements of the Patron in relation to the submission of annual accounts. Submission of annual school accounts to the FSSU in the correct format and by the relevant deadline will also satisfy the financial reporting obligations placed on schools by the Charities Act 2009. This practice will be mandatory for the school year 2018/2019
Additionally, the 2018/2019 school year will see the implementation of a standardised national approach for the provision of summary financial information to parents

Transition of Services into NCSE – Update

Published: 14 September 2017

Work is now underway to establish regionally-based teams, comprising of the professional staff in the service, and a policy and practice development unit in NCSE Head Office. This will inform practice and assist in ensuring consistency of work practice across the service.

Services provided by these three former agencies will continue to be provided and expanded by the NCSE service regionally, through Visiting Teachers of the former Visiting Teacher Service as well as advisors and staff of the former NBSS and SESS. This is in addition to the work of NCSE’s Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), which will also continue as normal.

Departmental email addresses for visiting teachers are now redundant and replaced with NCSE versions. They will take the form of firstname.lastname@ncse.ie. Visiting Teacher phone contact details will remain the same.

Contact details for former NBSS and SESS aspects of the NCSE Service, along with those for SENOs and NCSE Head Office in Trim, all remain the same.

NCSE – New Resource Model Appeal Process

Published: 14 September 2017

The NCSE have recruited an additional 20 advisors to join the Inclusion Support Service. This brings the number to over two hundred, excluding the NEPs psychologists, to support schools in the coming year. It is intended that following their training period, advisors will be available for staff CPD and also to work with schools on a regional basis. For the first time primary schools will have access to the National Behaviour Support Service, which is now part of the Inclusion Support Service. If schools are experiencing serious difficulties with any of their SEN pupils, then they can make immediate contact with SESS to seek support. They will continue to provide a service until the regional teams are finalised.

Financial Support Services Unit

Published: 14 June 2017

Rollout of Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) at primary level from September 2017

The FSSU was set up in 2006 to provide a support mechanism for all voluntary secondary schools in relation to financial governance matters.

The expansion of the FSSU to include primary level was referenced in the Governance Manual for Primary Schools 2015-2019 and is included in the Department of Education & Skills Action Plan for 2017.

5 key points to note:

The Department will publish a Circular in September 2017 which will outline the arrangements for the roll out and operation of the FSSU service.
The FSSU will be an important source of advice and support for primary schools on financial governance matters - primarily provided via on-line and telephone support. In this regard it is envisaged that from September 2017 onwards the FSSU will develop templates for use internally by schools for monitoring monthly income, expenditure, budget management, cash flow etc. The use of the FSSU internal templates will be optional for schools who may if they so wish, continue to use the IPPN Airgead Bunscoile/Financial Template, CPSMA Accounts templates etc. for their internal use.
The FSSU will also be focussed on facilitating the phased introduction of a standardised national template for school accounts at primary level. The national template will be the standardised way for accountants/auditors to prepare school accounts in accordance with the requirements of Section 18 of the Education Act 1998. The following is the envisaged timeline for same:
2017/18 school year: FSSU to focus on provision of advice and support as part of preparations for the phased introduction of the standardised national template for school accounts.
2018/19 school year: This will be the first year for school accounts to be prepared using the standardised national template. This will be the required format for schools to fulfil obligations under Section 18 of the Education Act 1998.
End February 2020 (6 months after end of 2018/19 school year): This will be the latest date for school accounts for the 2018/19 school year to be submitted to the FSSU.
The standardised national template for school accounts will be consistent with the format of the FSSU internal templates referred to at 2 above. Therefore, use of the internal FSSU templates may result in lower accountancy fees for certifying or auditing school accounts (as required under Section 18 of the Education Act 1998) as the information presented to an Accountant will be in a format that will facilitate relevant data for the school accounts to be extracted more readily.
This update should be brought to the attention of School Principals and Boards of Management.