Report fraud or financial irregularity to DfE
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-12)

Report suspected fraud or financial irregularity in academy trusts, colleges and independent training providers.

Make a report

You can report fraud or financial irregularity, including suspicions, by emailing xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

You should include, where possible:
- your contact details
- the name of your school, college or training provider (be specific)
- the names of any individuals involved
- full details of what has happened (include dates, if known)
- how much money has been lost, if known
- the measures taken to prevent it happening again
- whether the matter was referred to the police (if it was not reported, tell us why)
- whether insurance or the risk protection arrangement (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/join-the-risk-protection-arrangement-rpa-for-schools) has offset the loss
We will not disclose your identity without your permission unless there is a legal requirement to do so. If you make your report anonymously, we may not be able to investigate.

What to report

Report any knowledge or suspicions that an academy, college or training provider has:
- claimed funding from the Department for Education (DfE) or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) through deception
- broken the funding rules
- not delivered education or training funded by DfE or ESFA
Our indicators of potential fraud in educational organisations (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/indicators-of-potential-fraud-learning-institutions) page lists some of the things that might suggest fraud or financial irregularity is taking place.

What not to report

We will not usually consider concerns about:
- the quality of education or leadership – see the schools inspection guide for parents (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspections-a-guide-for-parents)
- discrimination – you should raise a complaint with the Equality Advisory Support Service (http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/)
- data protection – you should raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/)
- exam malpractice or maladministration – you should raise a complaint with the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual) or the relevant awarding body
- child protection and safeguarding issues – you should report concerns to your local council (https://www.gov.uk/report-child-abuse-to-local-council)
- employment or contracts of employment for individual staff – these should be directed to the individual’s employer
- contractual disputes between employees and employers, or complaints about managers, including bullying and harassment – these should be directed to the employer
This list is not exhaustive.

After making a report

If you shared your contact details, we:
- will acknowledge your report
- may get in touch to ask for more information
We may not be able to share an outcome of our investigations.

If we cannot handle your report, we may refer it to another body.

Why make a report

Fraud takes away taxpayers’ money that should be used for education. By reporting proven or suspected cases, we can:
- launch an investigation
- take appropriate action
- recover any lost money
Read about some of the things you can do to protect your organisation and help in reducing fraud in the education sector (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reducing-fraud-in-the-education-sector).

You can also read reports of previous academy investigations (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-investigation-reports).

Whistleblowing

You may be protected as a whistleblower (https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing) if you report something to DfE as an employee of a school, college or independent training provider.

Find out to blow the whistle to the Department for Education (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/blowing-the-whistle-to-the-department-for-education).

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