The Department for Education has published its academies planning calendar for 2026 to 2027, setting out the census dates, funding milestones and reporting deadlines that trust finance teams need to build into the year ahead. For finance leads already managing tighter margins and increased scrutiny, the calendar is worth reading alongside the revised academy trust handbook, which takes effect in October 2026 and brings a heavier reporting and compliance burden with it.

Academy trust accounts deadline: 31 December 2026 submission, 31 January publication

Trusts have until 31 December 2026 to submit their audited financial statements, the auditor’s management letter and the annual summary internal scrutiny report, together with the accounts submission coversheet. That’s a tight turnaround from the 1 October school census, and it leaves little room for a late-starting audit. Multi-academy trusts then have until 31 January 2027 to publish those audited accounts, plus a summary statement of financial arrangements, on their own website – a public-facing deadline that governors will want visibility on well before Christmas.

Companies House filing follows separately: statements are due within nine months of the accounting year end, which puts the deadline at 31 May 2027.

Academy trust funding 2026/27: £700m uplift alongside a tighter trust handbook

Academy trusts are set to receive an additional £700 million in 2026/27 funding, a welcome uplift after several years of squeezed budgets. But it arrives alongside a revised academy trust handbook with tighter reporting and compliance requirements – a pattern finance leads will recognise: more funding tends to travel with more oversight, not less. Trusts that treat the calendar’s reporting dates as a compliance floor, rather than a target, will be better placed to absorb whatever the October handbook changes turn out to require in practice.

Full list of academy trust action deadlines for 2026/27

  • 1 October 2026 – Autumn school census day
  • 1 October 2026 – Admissions consultation window opens for September 2028 entry (required if changing arrangements, or if the trust hasn’t consulted in the past 7 years)
  • October 2026 – Academies in scope submit estimated pupil numbers for 2027/28
  • 28 October 2026 – School census return deadline
  • 5 November 2026 – School workforce census day
  • Early November 2026 – Academies accounts return (AAR) online form available
  • 4 December 2026 – School workforce census return deadline
  • 31 December 2026 – Audited financial statements, auditor’s management letter, annual summary internal scrutiny report and accounts submission coversheet due
  • 21 January 2027 – Spring school census day
  • January 2027 – School resource management self-assessment checklist online form available
  • 26 January 2027 – Academies accounts return submission deadline
  • 31 January 2027 – Audited financial statements published on trust website; MAT summary financial arrangements statement published; admissions consultation must be complete
  • 10 February 2027 – Spring census return deadline
  • 28 February 2027 – Admission arrangements for September 2028 must be agreed; admission appeals timetable for 2027 published
  • 15 March 2027 – Admission arrangements published on trust website and sent to local authority
  • March 2027 – School resource management self-assessment checklist submission deadline
  • 20 May 2027 – Summer school census day
  • 31 May 2027 – Audited financial statements filed with Companies House (9 months from year end)
  • June 2027 – Budget forecast return form available; trusts agree PNA (pupil number adjustment) recovery repayment plans for 2026/27
  • 16 June 2027 – Summer census return deadline
  • 1 August 2027 – Deadline to inform the local authority of in-year admissions co-ordination intentions for 2027/28
  • 8 August 2027 – Deadline to provide the local authority with admissions arrangements information for the composite prospectus
  • August 2027 – Budget forecast return complete and submitted
  • 31 August 2027 – Deadline to publish own in-year admissions information (if not using the local authority scheme)

Academy trust payment dates to track through the year

  • October – Q2 pupil premium; UIFSM for newly eligible academies; post-16 NICs grant; ITT general mentor grant; EYTPG payments
  • November – PE and sport premium; SBSG26; free breakfast clubs grant arrears (summer term) plus first fixed 2026/27 payment; 16–19 TPSECG
  • December – National school breakfast club programme; ECTE funding; ECTPM funding
  • January – Q3 pupil premium
  • February – Positive early PNA payments
  • March – Free breakfast clubs grant arrears (autumn term) plus second fixed payment; free school meals expansion payments
  • April – Q4 pupil premium; inclusive mainstream fund (new/growing schools); SBSG26 (new/growing schools); pension recoveries
  • May – SBSG26 payments (April–August); free school meals expansion payments (April–August)
  • June – Free breakfast clubs grant arrears (spring term) plus third fixed payment
  • July – UIFSM (2026/27 final and 2027/28 provisional); Q1 pupil premium 2027/28; main PNA positive payments; inclusive mainstream fund; 16–19 TPSECG

Academy admissions consultation deadlines for September 2028 entry

Trusts planning to change admission arrangements for September 2028, or that haven’t run a consultation in the past seven years, can open public consultation from 1 October 2026. That consultation must run for a minimum of six weeks and close by 31 January 2027, with arrangements agreed by 28 February and published – with a copy to the local authority – by 15 March 2027. Finance and governance teams working closely together on this timeline avoids the scramble that tends to happen when consultation gets left to the autumn term.

Land and buildings collection tool delay: what it means for academy trusts

The land and buildings collection tool, previously expected in autumn 2026, has been delayed. The DfE has said it will provide an update before the end of the calendar year – worth a diary note for trusts with estates work in progress, since it may affect capital planning timelines.

Building the DfE academies calendar into your trust’s audit and reporting cycle

For trust finance leads, the value of this calendar is less in any single date and more in mapping it against internal board and audit committee cycles early in the academic year. Trusts that build their own reporting calendar around the DfE’s statutory dates – rather than working backwards from them under time pressure – tend to have a smoother audit season and fewer late surprises at year-end.

Get in touch

If your trust wants a clearer view of how these deadlines line up against your own audit and reporting cycle, our academy trust audit partner, Tor Stringfellow, is happy to talk it through. Contact Tor at our Manchester or Liverpool office, or via our academy trusts page, to arrange a conversation ahead of the busy autumn reporting period.