ICFP stands for Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning. It helps a school use resources as effectively and efficiently as possible. It does so by systematically analysing all aspects of the educational provision within a school setting to ensure that financial planning process effectively balances the allocation and expenditure of resources.

ICFP uses a reasonably simple set of metrics that assist with collaborative decision-making across the leadership triangle, requiring involvement from school business professionals, senior pedagogical leaders and governors/trustees.

You can read more about ICFP in the ISBL Approach to ICFP.

The ASOT tool uses readily available and easy-to-access data. On inputting this data, the tool calculates the essential diagnostic metrics that SBPs find easy to understand and use for analysing the efficiency and effectiveness of their resource use, enabling them to investigate potential areas of inefficiency and make more informed evidence-based, strategic decisions.

The ASOT:

• Uses the ISBL Approach to ICFP.

• Guides you step-by-step to enter your school’s data.

• Calculates the 12 Key Metrics for you not only for the current year but the previous two years as well as the future two year forecasts, based on year-specific thresholds.

• Applies a RAG rating system to all of the metrics to indicate which areas may be of concern and require further investigation.

• Provides separate thresholds for region-specific metric comparisons (National/Fringe and Inner/Outer London).

• Assesses the potential size and financial impact in every metric area by comparison with  national threshold benchmarks.

• Quantifies inefficiencies by translating the variance into the potential value of resources being inefficiently used and indicating the possible resource efficiencies to be made

• Identifies possible reasons / causes of inefficiencies.

• Allows SLT to assess its structure’s efficiency.

• Provides a summary sheet of all of the key values.

• Is supported by accompanying documentation to help you understand the 12 Key Metrics and the calculations used.

• Guidance is provided about how to gather the data from your MIS and other sources that are needed for the data inputs into ASOT.

• You enter your schools data into the ASOT – you can differentiate between region-specific metric comparisons (National/Fringe and Inner/Outer London).

• The ASOT calculates the ICFP metrics for your school.

• The Primary or Secondary thresholds are then applied to your data, providing you with a RAG rated dashboard which:

  • Calculates year-specific thresholds for all years analysed

  • Calculates five years’ worth of key staffing and balance metrics based on year-specific thresholds

  • Assesses the potential size and financial impact in every metric area by comparison, with the green (expected) national threshold benchmarks showing typical variance to these

  • Quantifies inefficiencies by translating the variance into the potential value of resources being inefficiently used and indicating the possible resource efficiencies to be made

  • Indicates how to identify possible causes of inefficiencies, including some reasons/causes for the calculated metrics being larger or smaller than expected.

  • Uses the school’s size to provide indicative effective leadership and management structures and costings for secondary and primary settings, so the SLT can assess its structure’s efficiency.

• You are provided with a summary sheet of all the key values to export into your reporting mechanisms to share with your senior leadership team (SLT), governors, trustees and other external audience.

The ASOT applies either Primary or Secondary thresholds to your schools data to produce the RAG rated dashboard. These thresholds are reviewed and updated twice a year, making our ICFP tool one of the most up-to-date available.

The thresholds used in the RAG rating are based on DfE statistical data and have been developed through our experience of applying ICFP to a wide range of schools’ data through insights from the ISBL School Resource Management Advisers. The Green thresholds are, from our experience, where schools should ideally aim for with consideration to their own strategic aims and context.

The ASOT should be used alongside a thorough understanding of how to use and implement ICFP in your school/trust. Context is key when interpreting ICFP metrics and there may be good reasons why your school falls into another threshold band. You should use the information from the ASOT to further investigate and diagnose possible areas of concern before moving ahead with any recommendations.

The ASOT is suitable to use with primary and secondary maintained, SAT, MATs and independent schools.  The current version of the ASOT can be used to calculate the metrics for special schools, however since the context of a special school can vary enormously, there is not a RAG rating available for this school type.

The ASOT only calculates the metrics for one school, and so if you want to use it in the context of multiple schools, you will need to calculate the metrics for each individual school and then self-aggregate the results.

NOTE: WE ARE LOOKING TO DEVELOP AN AGGREGATION ADD-ON TOOL FOR USE BY MATS IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. THEREFORE MATS ARE RECOMMENDED TO PURCHASE THE ASOT RATHER THAN ASOT ESSENTIALS

Another version of ASOT called ASOT Essentials is also available. ASOT Essentials incorporates all of the features of ASOT but DOES NOT include the following elements:

• Quantifies inefficiencies by translating the variance into the potential value of resources being inefficiently used and indicating the possible resource efficiencies to be made

• Identifies possible reasons / causes of inefficiencies.

• Allows SLT to assess its structure’s efficiency.

If you would like to access information on ASOT Essentials then click here.

Alternatively you can purchase the threshold data sheets that are used in ASOT separately from the tool. Click here for more information.

ASOT is being offered as a non-supported tool, however:

• All metrics and thresholds are correct at the time of purchase.

• The thresholds used within the ASOT are reviewed and updated twice a year. Existing customers will then be issued with an updated version of the ASOT.

• The ASOT will be updated and developed over time, existing customers may be offered the opportunity to upgrade their ASOT version which may be at cost or free of charge.

• The ASOT is an Excel based ICFP tool. We recommend that you use Excel 2013+ or 365 on Windows. Some of the more advanced functionality in the ASOT is currently not supported for Macs.

• Via a support webpage you can access a user guide, video tutorials and other documentation to help support you to use the ASOT in calculating the metrics you need.

We run a range of ICFP training. What level of ICFP training you require will depend on your knowledge and experience of ICFP to-date.

If you are new to ICFP, we recommend that you attend this ICFP Fundamentals webinar to gain an understanding of the principles of ICFP and how it can be used. If you already have some knowledge and experience of ICFP, we recommend that you consider our intermediate training: Using ICFP accurately and effectively in your school webinar series