Judith Haste, Chief Financial Officer at St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi Academy Trust, made up of 21 primary schools in Suffolk, explains how switching to a deposit savings platform has more than doubled its interest-generated income - bringing in more than £100,000 a year that goes straight back into supporting children's education.
Our money was sitting still and losing out
Our money was sitting in a standard current account earning very little interest. I knew the rates were not competitive and we could do much better.
I’d got experience of using a savings platform from a previous trust, and in particular the Department for Education (DfE) approved Insignis platform. The service lets you move funds into higher-interest accounts quickly and easily all in one place, without opening separate accounts with different providers.
Before platforms like this existed, moving money around was a real headache. You needed board approvals for every account you wanted to open. It was slow and impractical. These platforms changed all of that.
I chose the Insignis platform again because it offered clear, transparent pricing. That mattered to me. When you are working with public money, you need to know exactly what you are paying and what you are getting back.
What we actually do each month
At the start of each month, our General Annual Grant (GAG) funding arrives. I look at what we need to keep back for payroll, HMRC payments, and any other known costs.
Then I look at where to place other funds based on the frequency of access, and where we will get the best return. For example, I will place some into an instant access account, some goes into a 30-day notice account for a better rate, and some we fix for a full year, because we don’t expect to need access in the near future.
We think of it as layering our funds. Each layer earns a better rate the longer it can be left. It takes a small amount of time at the start and end of each month and that’s it.
We also set up something called sweeping on our current account. Every day, any surplus automatically moves into our instant access account. If we need the money back, it pulls the other way.
Nobody has to do anything, it’s automated and means we are always earning interest on ‘idle’ cash with little impact on our time.
What this has meant in real terms for our trust
The numbers speak for themselves. We now earn around £4,500 to £5,000 a month from the returns, plus another £1,000 to £2,000 a month from our instant access sweeping.
Before, we were earning around £1,000 to £2,000 a month in total. We have more than doubled our interest income. St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan MAT now brings in over £100,000 a year in extra interest. This is a significant sum that could fund additional staff, resources or support directly for pupils.
The platform isn't free, but the returns we've achieved make the fee negligible by comparison, and the financial benefit to the school speaks for itself.
I understand why some people feel nervous; treasury management can sound complicated. But you can manage the risk sensibly and spreading funds across providers actually reduces risk compared to leaving everything in one account.
It works for schools and trust of all sizes
Our trust wrote a clear investment policy. It sets out the credit ratings we require and confirms that all deposits must be United Kingdom-based. This gives our trustees the confidence they need and gives me a clear framework to work within.
You do not have to be a large trust or school to benefit and the interest earned can run into tens of thousands of pounds a year.
It is worth exploring the platform, it’s easy and straightforward to use. Onboarding is simple and the Insignis helpdesk is there when you need it. And once you are set up, it really does run itself.
My honest advice to other school business professionals - this is not complicated. Make sure you have a good investment policy, trustee support, and the willingness to take that first step.
If I had one tip for anyone not yet doing this, it would be this: start with sweeping. It is the easiest win available. Set it up once and it works for you every single day, without any effort at all.
Any savings, benefits and outcomes described in this blog were provided by St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan MAT and reflect its specific experience and circumstances. Individual results will vary between schools and trusts.
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