Guidance

How to complete the 16 to 19 tuition fund: 2021 to 2022 form

Updated 15 December 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 11 May 2023

We have withdrawn this page as the information is now out of date.

Applies to England

1. Introduction

The 16 to 19 tuition fund was first provided for the 2020 to 2021 academic year and is being extended beyond 2021 to 2022 for a further two years into the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

These instructions provide guidance so you can opt in to, or out of, the 16 to 19 tuition fund for the academic year 2021 to 2022.

Through this form you’ll also provide details of any 2020 to 2021 funding that you need to carry over into 2021 to 2022.

1.1 About the fund

The fund provides additional funding for schools, colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help with the disruption to learning caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

It’s for small group tuition in English, maths and other subjects that have been disrupted, including vocational and/or academic learning.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund is ring-fenced funding for schools, colleges and all other 16 to 19 institutions who receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education.

1.2 Considerations for students

Although the actual tuition does not need to be for GCSE English or maths, it’s only for students who:

• have not achieved a grade 4 or 5 in English and/or maths
• have a grade 4 or above in English and/or maths, are from an economically disadvantaged background and would need catch-up support
  • these are defined as students from the 27% most economically deprived areas of the country based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation

All supported students must be on a 16 to 19 study programme and have had their learning disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Make sure you consider the needs of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly where they’ve experienced additional disruption.

For more information, read the 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance.

2. When to complete your submission

The deadline to complete this form is 23:59 on 14 January 2022.

3. Accessing the form

Access the 16 to 19 tuition fund: 2021 to 2022 form to opt in, opt out or confirm any funding you intend to carry forward from the 2020 to 2021 tuition fund.

3.1 Before you start

Make sure you have:

• read this guidance document
• a DfE Sign-in account
• the amount of any 2020 to 2021 funding that you need to carry over into 2021 to 2022
• a concise statement explaining how you will use the funding in 2021 to 2022 and the specific webpage where this is published
  • you’ll need this if you are opting in to receive the funding 2021 to 2022

3.2  Accessing the form: 

Log in to your DfE Sign-in account:

1. Access the 16 to 19 tuition fund 2021 to 2022 form.
2. Log in to DfE Sign-in using your account information (username and password). Please try your DfE sign-in credentials as soon as possible to avoid any issues with submitting your form.
3. Choose the organisation for which you are completing the form.
4. The next page will display the details we hold about the organisation you selected when you logged in. This will show the name, address, and URN or UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) of the organisation, as well as the name and email address of the person who logged in via DfE Sign-in.
5. If these details are correct, select ‘continue’ to move to the next page.
6. If you believe they’re incorrect then please complete the ESFA enquiry form and we’ll investigate.
7. Complete the form as instructed in the following sections.

Your account must be connected to the organisation you’re registering interest for.

You do not need to add any services in DfE Sign-in. It’s used for authentication only and the form will not appear in your list of services.

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account

You’ll need to create one: 

1. Access DfE Sign-in.
2. Select the ‘create account’ button.
3. Enter your name and email address (please use your work email address or one that is clearly associated with your organisation).
4. We’ll send you an email to verify your email address. Copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page.
5. Create a memorable password of 12 characters or more (we recommend joining 3 or more familiar words).
6. Sign in using your new credentials and request access to the organisation for which you’d like to submit a claim.

Once your request to access an organisation has been approved, you can follow the steps outlined in accessing the form to complete the form.

You might have noticed the term ‘approver’ when creating your account. An approver is someone at your organisation responsible for controlling who has access to DfE Sign-in and the services within the system. It’s usually a senior person, such as an administrator or a manager.

For security reasons you’ll need the approval of one of your organisation’s approvers before you can access the form.

You must allow plenty of time when registering for a DfE Sign-in account. It can take up to 10 working days to create an account.

3.3  If you need further assistance 

If you’re having problems using the DfE Sign-in service, use our DfE Sign-in help service. You’ll be able to request further assistance if required. When raising a support request, please select ‘other.’

If you believe you’re eligible to claim but have problems accessing the form, please contact us.

4.  Completing the form

There is no save facility on the form so make sure you have all the information ready before starting the confirmation process. If your form is open for an extended period, you may lose any information entered up to that point and will need to log in and re-enter this information.

You’ll also be advised what will happen next once you have submitted the form. Clicking ‘continue’ on each page will take you through the form.

4.1 Conditions for accessing this funding

You must be an institution who is eligible for 16 to 19 tuition funding. If you are an ineligible institution, you will see the following message:

• according to our records, you cannot access the 16 to 19 tuition fund 2021 to 2022 form because your institution has not received an offer of tuition funding

If you think this is incorrect you can submit an ESFA enquiry form with your details and we’ll investigate the issue.

4.2  Your details

This page will display the details we hold about the organisation you selected when you logged into DfE Sign-in.

5. 2021 to 2022 funding details and opt in

You’ll be presented with a table which shows the amount of 2021 to 2022 funding your institution is eligible to receive. The table breaks down how your funding allocation has been calculated.

Extra funding will be allocated through 16 to 19 funding allocations for the 2021 to 2022 academic year. You’ll start to receive payments from December 2021 at the earliest.

By opting in to receive this funding, your institution agrees to meet the conditions of funding.

You’ll be asked to confirm if you want to opt in to receive 16 to 19 tuition funding in 2021 to 2022.

6. If you opt in to the 2021 to 2022 tuition fund

You’ll be asked to confirm how you intend to use the funding.

You must ensure the funding allocation is used in accordance with the published 16 to 19 funding: 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance.

Next, you’ll be asked if you have a statement explaining how you’ll use the funding in 2021 to 2022. If you select ‘no’ and indicate that you do not have a statement you will be presented with the following information:

• to receive 16 to 19 tuition funding for 2021 to 2022 you’ll need a statement that explains how you will use the funding
• you cannot continue without this
• you can complete this form when you have prepared your statement

You should exit the form, prepare your statement, and return to complete the form once you have this.

Details on what your statement should include can be found in the 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance.

If you have your statement, you’ll be asked to enter the specific webpage where your statement is published. You can copy and paste this from the address bar on your browser.

You’re then required to copy and paste your tuition fund statement into the form. You can directly paste from the statement published on your webpage.

You’ll not be able to progress through the form if you do not enter your webpage link or provide the content of your statement. Checks will be made to ensure tuition fund statements meet the required conditions of funding.

6.1 How you intend to use the funding

You’ll be presented with a set of questions which ask you to confirm how you’ll deliver tuition. You should answer each question by selecting either yes or no.

You cannot answer ‘no’ to every question as you’ll not meet the conditions of funding.

6.2 Staffing arrangements to deliver the tuition

You’ll be asked 3 questions on how you’ll deliver the tuition. You should answer each question by selecting either ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘still to be decided’.

By selecting continue you’ll either be presented with check your answers screen and declaration relevant to your submission or if you received tuition funding in 2020 to 2021 you will see the funding carry forward screen.

7. 2020 to 2021 funding to carry forward

If your institution received tuition funding in 2020 to 2021, you’ll be asked to confirm if you have any funding to carry over from the 2020 to 2021 academic year. You can read more about the terms of the 2020 to 2021 tuition fund here.

If you have funding to carry forward, you’ll need to enter the amount of the tuition funding you intend to carry over.

You can only carry over in whole pounds. Round down amounts of 49 pence and less; round up amounts of 50 pence and above. If you enter pence, the value will be rounded to the nearest pound.

8. To opt out of the 2021 to 2022 tuition fund

If you want to opt out of 2021 to 2022 funding you should answer ‘no’ when presented with the question ‘do you want to opt in to receive 16 to 19 tuition funding in 2021 to 2022?’

If you were in receipt of 2020 to 2021 funding, you’ll then move on to the 2020 to 2021 funding carry forward section.

If you were not in receipt of 2020 to 2021 funding, you’ll be directed to the check your answers and declaration screen.

9. Check your answers and declarations

Once you have completed your submission, you’ll be presented with declarations specific to your answers.

You’ll not be able to submit your form without agreeing to these declarations.

After completing the declarations, you should select the ‘accept and send’ button.

You’ll then see the submission confirmation page.

9.1  Confirmation

The final page confirms your submission relating to the 16 to 19 tuition fund and will provide a unique reference number.

You’ll also receive an email which includes your claim reference and a PDF of your submission.

9.2  Amending your submission

There’s no facility to amend your submission via this form. However, if you make a second submission, we’ll take the details of your latest return.

10. Enquiries

If you’ve read this guidance and have any questions about the 16 to 19 tuition fund 2021 to 2022, please contact us via the ESFA enquiry form.

When completing the enquiry form, select ‘other’ as your query type.

11. What happens next 

You’ll receive an email confirming the details of your submission.

If your submission is incorrect, you can resubmit up until 23:59 on 14 January 2022 when this form window closes. To do this, you’ll need to log in and update the relevant information.

There will be no opportunity to amend your submission after 23:59 on 14 January 2022.