The Charities Act 1993 required School Funds to be registered with the Charity Commission (www.charity-commission.gov.uk) where the charitable income was more than £1,000 per annum. Also Voluntary Aided, Voluntary Controlled and Foundation schools were classified as charitable organisations and were exempt from registration.

However, under changes implemented as part of the Charities Act 2006, only funds where the charitable income exceeds £5,000 per annum require registration. Also, an amendment to the Act that come into effect on 1 October, 2008 removes the exemption from registration previously applied to VA, VC and Foundation schools.

Determination of Charitable Income
The School Fund account serves 5 main purposes:

a)	It is a holding account for monies paid of donated in advance fro school visits and journeys.
b)	It is a banking account for monies raised for specific charities by pupils, parents and staff.
c)	It may be a trading account fro the sale of items of uniform, photographs or stationery etc.
d)	It may be a holding account for a variety of other activities eg book sales, retirement collections.
e)	It may be a holding account for monies raised by fund-raising events or otherwise, either generally for educational purposes or for special projects eg the purchase of a mini-bus or computer or for covering the cost of a field trip.

The legal position is that part of the school fund that holds monies raised for education purposes (ie e) above) is charitable, but that the other elements are not.
Further Action
Headteachers should check the level of their own School Fund that can be deemed charitable income, to ascertain whether or not it exceeds £5,000 p.a. If so, they should contact the Charity Commission for further guidance.