From 1 September 2025, the Department for Education’s new Academy Trust Handbook becomes the rulebook for every trust in England, setting out the statutory requirements (“musts”) and minimum good practices (“shoulds”) across governance, finance, estates, internal scrutiny and safeguarding. Compliance remains a condition of each trust’s funding agreement.
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Below is a board-level digest of the “What has changed” section, focusing on what it means for chief executives and the immediate actions that keep you compliant and future-ready.
Main changes and actions
1. Sustainability moves from aspiration to obligation
What’s new? A direct link to DfE guidance requires every trust and school to have a named sustainability lead and a fully costed climate action plan in place by 2025.
CEO action-list
- Embed carbon, resilience and social-value KPIs into your strategic plan.
- Commission a baseline audit of estate energy use and pupil/staff travel.
- Ring-fence budget for quick-win efficiency projects and public-funding bids.
Gather community feedback on climate action – a structured climate survey (for example, the Edurio Climate and Environmental Action template) captures staff, governor, pupil and parent views, giving the new sustainability lead a trusted baseline for your plan.
2. Digital & technology standards, six non-negotiables by 2030
What’s new? Boards must understand their current position and progress towards the six core ICT standards (broadband, network switching, wireless, cybersecurity, filtering/monitoring, and digital leadership and governance).
CEO action-list
- Task your CIO, or appoint one, to run the DfE self-assessment this term.
- Align capital plans to hit minimum bandwidth, Wi-Fi 6 and NCSC cyber baselines.
- Report progress to the board twice yearly; escalate funding gaps early.
Capture classroom digital habits with the Edurio Technology Usage and Attitudes survey. The results spotlight training gaps before you report on progress towards the six ICT standards.
3. Estates management gets boardroom elevation
What’s new? Expanded signposting reminds boards that they are corporately liable for safe and well-maintained buildings.
CEO action-list
- Refresh your estates risk register, including RAAC, concrete, asbestos,and fire safety.
- Stress-test Life-Cycle Fund reserves against the next five-year works schedule.
- Reconfirm insurance cover for catastrophic building failure.
4. A sharper lens on Accounting Officer duties
What’s new? Updated definitions of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility plus explicit references to the AO’s duty to raise concerns with DfE.
CEO action-list
- Re-issue an AO assurance statement to your board each term.
- Document an escalation flowchart, from school to DfE, inside your financial procedures manual.
5. Procurement, best value under the spotlight
What’s new? Fresh guidance (paras 2.24-2.26) reinforces that procurement must be transparent, competitive and aligned to the new Public Procurement Act.
CEO action-list
- Map all contracts over £30k and schedule re-tenders against expiry dates.
- Build social value scoring and modern slavery checks into tender templates.
- Train budget-holders on the “pipeline, planning, publication” cycle.
Give procurement teams audit-ready proof for social value scoring by gathering stakeholder voice evidence through the Edurio Effective Local Governance survey, which maps process efficiency, strategic alignment and governor capability.
6. Executive pay, board accountability clarified
What’s new? The board must explicitly set and minute executive pay decisions
CEO action-list
- Provide the remuneration committee with external benchmarking data.
- Publish a clear rationale for total reward packages in the annual report.
7. Internal scrutiny thresholds tied to the latest audited income
What’s new? Trust size (and therefore the required scrutiny route) is now measured against latest audited accounts, closing a common loophole.
CEO action-list
- Re-check which assurance option (internal audit / supplementary programme) now applies.
- Update the audit & risk committee terms of reference accordingly.
8. Delegated authorities, watch the “repercussive” price tag
What’s new? Cost alone can make a transaction “novel, contentious or repercussive”, triggering prior DfE approval. Links to Managing Public Money are supplied.
CEO action-list
- Add a repercussive-cost test (impact on sector, media or government) to your business-case template.
- Seek legal/DfE advice before committing to unusual funding models or exit charges.
9. Cyber resilience and intervention powers
What’s new? A blanket ban on paying ransomware demands; DfE clarifies its right to recover losses and removes educational performance as grounds for a Notice to Improve.
CEO action-list
- Ensure cyber-incident response plans categorically forbid ransom payments.
- Join the Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus certification pathway.
- Brief trustees on the changed NtI triggers and your current risk ratings.
The Governance takeaway
The handbook’s 2025 tweaks may look technical, but together they tighten the board’s grip on future-proofing: from digital resilience to transparent reward, from estates safety to ethical procurement. Governors who exceed these expectations will protect pupils, public funds, and the trust’s reputation simultaneously.
The leadership takeaway
The 2025 Handbook doesn’t just tighten financial nuts and bolts; it nudges trusts towards strategic maturity in climate governance, digital infrastructure, and cyber defence, while doubling down on transparency around pay and procurement. CEOs who treat these shifts as drivers of value and resilience, not mere compliance, will put their trust on the front foot for the rest of the decade.
Practical Next Steps
- Schedule a handbook deep-dive – build a governor training session around the main changes outlined in this blog, and agree on owners for each action.
- Refresh your risk register – add explicit risks for ransomware response, tech standards delivery, and executive pay challenge.
- Commission a rapid estates and digital audit – so the board sees the true cost and timeline of compliance early in 2025-26.
- Review your whistle-blowing, procurement and pay policies against the new wording before the policy cycle begins.
- Report progress publicly – brief members, staff and parents on how the board is implementing the changes to reinforce trust in governance.