Entering School Director details in Arbor

This article guides you through how to enter the details of your School Directors into Arbor. EU regulations require organisations that receive payments to demonstrate that the person or people they declare as directors do indeed hold a director role at the organisation. 

These regulations require schools to verify a person as ‘School Director’ in order to process payments. The regulations are in place to protect organisations against illicit activities like fraud, corruption, and identity theft.

Permissions

• You will need the Finance: Administer permission to enter School Director details

If you don't have the relevant permissions, ask your admin team to give you permission using these instructions.

Who is a School Director?

The School Director is any senior individual responsible for managing the business, or any individual with governing responsibility codified in your school’s formal governing or incorporation documentation.

The director is a named person(s), and doesn't need to verify changes or actions. You can name up to five directors in this section, and it’s mandatory to include the Headteacher.

Who classifies as a ‘School Director’?

• Headteacher (mandatory)
• Executive Headteacher
• Principal
• CEO
• Chair of Governors
• Chair of Trustees

Roles that do not classify as 'School Directors':

• Business Manager
• Administrator
• Office Manager
• Financial Accountant

You will need the following details for the director:

• Their exact job title
• Legal first and last names
• Date of birth
• Work email address
• Their home address (important: not the school’s address)
• An attestation completed and signed by a school representative

Entering School Director details

In your MIS, head to Payments Setup > Card Payments > Accounts for Card Payments. Click on your school name, and a slideover will appear.

 Enter your School Director details into Arbor using the +Add button:

Enter the School Director's details:

Any directors you add are listed in the School Directors section and can be clicked to be reviewed. If you need to make any edits:

• Click on the director's name
• Edit their information on the slideover as needed
• Click Save Changes to confirm your change or Delete to remove the entry completely

Ensuring you enter the right details

You must include the details of at least one director - the Headteacher. The address you included must be the director’s home address, not the school’s address.

Include all of the following information for the director:

• Exact job title
• Legal first and last names
• Date of birth
• Work email address
• The Director's home postal address (not the school's address). The address fields below are required:
  • Home address line 1
  • City/town
  • Postcode
  • Country

Avoiding issues with School Director details

The most common problems with Director details are related to the address you enter for them. These issues are not always apparent until later in the setup, so it is worth taking the time to get this right.

The address used in this step must be the director's personal home address (not the school's address).

• The address must be a valid, physical address. 
• Ensure this address is accurate and exists; if in doubt, verify its existence using a tool like Google Maps before proceeding.

Please also avoid using abbreviations or shortening words. Examples:

• Use 'Street' instead of 'St', 
• Use 'Wiltshire' instead of 'Wilt'.