16 to 19 tuition fund 2023 to 2024

Question 1

1. What’s new

Accepted Answer

This is the final year of funding for the 16 to 19 tuition fund. You have until the end of academic year 2023 to 2024 to spend your allocation. As in previous years, we will review end of year spend and recover any unspent funding.

If you have questions after reading this information, or if there’s anything else you need help with, you can find more support in our customer help centre.

We have added summer schools to the list of eligible activity in section 7.4.

We’ve updated the layout of the guidance to make it easier for you to understand. It is really important that you decide to receive your funding and return your reports on time.

We’ve changed the eligible spend criteria to provide more support for costs in addition to the actual delivery of tuition and essential record keeping.

We have changed the eligibility criteria where we will auto-renew your allocation.

Question 2

2. Purpose

Accepted Answer

This guidance sets out the conditions under which Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will support students via the 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation in the academic year 2023 to 2024.

You should read this alongside the 16 to 19 education: funding guidance.

We encourage all eligible institutions to opt in and use your 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation to deliver support to your students.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund is specifically allocated funding for all 16 to 19 institutions that receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education, to mitigate the disruption to learning due to COVID-19.

The funding is available to all 16 to 19 institutions. This fund is targeted at students in most need, offering small group tuition to recover lost learning.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund is part of a wider package of education recovery support, which also includes 16 to 19 additional hours.

Question 3

3. Timeline for returns

Accepted Answer

We refer to 3 forms in this guidance. These are digital forms and we will publish the form and guidance as follows:

Form type	Deadline	Available
Opt-in and opt-out form	26 May and 20 October 2023	9 May and 2 October 2023
In year spend form	31 January 2024	now closed
End of year report form	mid-October to be confirmed	mid-September to be confirmed

Question 4

4. How to receive your funding

Accepted Answer

4.1 Auto-renewal

We will automatically allocate funding to you for academic year 2023 to 2024 if:

you submitted a complete end of year report for 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 and
received 16 to 19 tuition funding in academic year 2022 to 2023

We will send an email to your head of organisation in April if this applies to you.

You will still be able to access your form so that you can see your indicative allocation.

If you are eligible for auto-renewal but wish to opt-out, you will need to do this using the form that opened in May.

4.2 Opt-in for funding

If you are not eligible for auto-renewal, you will need to opt in using the form to receive funding. You will be able to see your indicative allocation in the form.

You will need to use your institution’s DfE Sign-in account to access the form.

If your DfE Sign-in account is associated with more than one organisation, you must select the individual school or college from the list presented on the ‘Select your organisation’ page. This will then provide you with access to the digital form.

If the individual organisation is not displayed, you would need to find out who within your organisation has approver permissions for DfE Sign-in, and they can add or remove a user.

If you cannot find who has approver access, your CEO/CFO or business manager can raise an incident via DfE Sign-in.

4.3 Opt-out of funding

If you do not want to receive funding, you should opt-out using the form.

4.4 Opt-in and opt-out windows

There are 2 windows for institutions to opt in or opt out for funding. You can amend your submission at any time by resubmitting your form before 11:59pm on Friday 20 October 2023, when the second window closes.

We strongly encourage all eligible institutions to start this process as early as possible. This will give you time to address any issues, deal with unforeseen difficulties and avoid missing the closing date.

Your latest submission will supersede any earlier submissions.

There will be no further opportunity to opt in or out of receiving 16 to 19 tuition funding for 2023 to 2024 after the second digital form window closes on 20 October 2023.

Window 1

Opens 8am, Tuesday 9 May 2023 and will close at 11:59pm on Friday 26 May 2023.

Window 2

Opens 8am, Monday 2 October 2023 and will close at 11:59pm on Friday 20 October 2023.

Do not submit the form if you:

opted in to receive 16 to 19 tuition funding for academic year 2023 to 2024 using the digital form during the first window in May 2023 and do not wish to change your response

or

are eligible for auto-renewal, have not opted out, and want us to automatically renew your opt-in for academic year 2023 to 2024

Submit the digital form if you:

did not receive 16 to 19 tuition funding in academic year 2022 to 2023 and you wish to opt in or out of receiving tuition fund in 2023 to 2024
did receive 16 to 19 tuition funding in academic year 2022 to 2023 but failed to submit completed end of year reports for 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 and you wish to opt in to receiving tuition fund in 2023 to 2024
did receive 16 to 19 tuition funding in academic year 2022 to 2023 and you wish to opt out of receiving tuition fund in 2023 to 2024 and did not do so during the first digital form window in May 2023

Question 5

5. Funding allocations

Accepted Answer

5.1 Notification

We will confirm in the ESFA Update when we have issued your funding allocations. We will issue revised funding allocation statements and you can expect them:

during June 2023 if you submitted your form in the May 2023 window
during November 2023 if you submitted your form in the October 2023 window

5.2 Payment

We will pay the 16 to 19 tuition funding through your 16 to 19 funding allocation. You will receive payment as follows:

first window, May 2023, payments will commence from the start of the 2023 to 2024 academic year
second window, October 2023, payments will commence no earlier than December 2023

5.3 Calculation

We will show how we have calculated your allocation in the form. This value will align to the 16 to 19 allocation shared with you ahead of the digital form going live.

If you auto-renew or opt in to receive the fund, we will reflect any changes made because of a successful 16 to 19 business case affecting funded students, funding band proportions, disadvantage block 1 (DB1) or disadvantage block 2 (DB2) in your allocation. We will confirm your final allocation value via a revised 16 to 19 allocation statement.

We continue to base your allocations on these 2 proxy measures:

students with low prior attainment, meaning those who did not have a GCSE grade 4 or above in English and/or maths at age 16
students from the 27% most economically deprived areas of the country based on the index of multiple deprivation

However, you can still use allocations for students eligible for the new flexibilities.

To calculate the number of instances per student from the 27% most economically deprived areas, we have counted the number of students funded in academic year 2021 to 2022 with a DB1 uplift, and divided it by the total number of funded students in academic year 2021 to 2022.

You will be able to see this data in your 2023 to 2024 allocation calculation toolkit (ACT) file. The ‘Programme’ sheet shows the disadvantage uplift factor for each student in the ‘uplift factor’ column.

If a student is not eligible for DB1 funding, the ‘Uplift factor’ column shows 1.0000 and the ‘Disadvantage instance’ column shows a 0. Students identified as ‘funded’ are marked with a ‘Yes’ in the ‘Funded student’ column. The final calculated DB1 instances per student is shown in the ‘Funding elements’ sheet of the ACT file.

To calculate the total 2023 to 2024 instances for tuition funding, the instances per student from an institution’s ACT file are multiplied by the number of 2023 to 2024 funded students as notified to institutions in their 2023 to 2024 16 to 19 funding statement.

The higher, lower and full-time equivalent (FTE) instances are calculated using 2023 to 2024 funding band proportions also shown in the 16 to 19 funding statement. Where an institution delivers T Levels, T Level instances have been included with the higher rate instances.

For institutions without 2021 to 2022 academic year data, we have used an average for the local authority area in which the institution is based, using local authority level instances per student for institutions funded in 2023 to 2024 academic year.

For those with no local authority average data, a national average for each institution category has been used. While the DB1 uplift factor varies depending on the range of deprivation, for the purposes of tuition funding we have not included any variation.

The calculation of the DB2 element of 16 to 19 tuition funding is based on the instance values in an institution’s 2023 to 2024 16 to 19 funding statement. The English and maths instances data can be seen in the ‘Programme’ sheet of the ACT file.

5.4 Rates

You will receive £100 per instance for students in bands 4 and above and £60 for students in the lower bands.

An individual student may attract more than 1 instance dependent on their circumstances in accordance with the measures used to calculate the allocation.

Tables 1 to 3 show examples of how we will calculate your funding. The figures below are for illustration only.

Table 1: Disadvantage block 1 – economic disadvantage

Number of funded students in 2023 to 2024: 272

Instances per student of disadvantage uplift (see note 1): 0.76632

Total 2023 to 2024 instances attracting funding	208.44	Tuition funding rates	Tuition funding (instances multiply rate)
Instances at the higher rate (where an institution delivers T Levels, T Level instances have been included with the higher rate instances)	206.29	£100	£20,629
Instances at the lower rate	2.15	£60	£129
Instances at the FTE rate
Student instances	0.00	-	-
FTE instances	0.00	£100	£0
Total disadvantage block 1 tuition funding	-	-	£20,758

Table 2: Disadvantage block 2 – prior attainment

Number of funded students in 2023 to 2024: 272

Instances per student of disadvantage uplift: 0.41237

Total 2023 to 2024 instances attracting funding (see note 2)	112.16	Tuition funding rates	Tuition funding (instances multiply rate)
Instances at the higher rate (where an institution delivers T Levels, T Level instances have been included with the higher rate instances)	111.01	£100	£11,101
Instances at the lower rate	1.16	£60	£70
Instances at the FTE rate
Student instances	0.00	-	-
FTE instances	0.00	£100	£0
Total disadvantage block 2 tuition funding	-	-	£11,171

Table 3: 2023 to 2024 tuition fund summary

Disadvantage block 1 and 2 – total 2023 to 2024 instances attracting funding

320.60

2023 to 2024 16 to 19 tuition funding

£31,929

Note 1: We show the calculation of the DB1 instances per student data in your 2023 to 2024 ACT file. We have used an average for the institution type where 2021 to 2022 data is not available.

Note 2: We have based the DB2 on figures from your 2023 to 2024 allocation statement.

5.5 Changes to your funding allocation following a successful business case

In some cases, the amount of the 16 to 19 tuition fund shown in the form may have changed since the May window. This will be because of a successful business case affecting elements in your 16 to 19 allocation that we’ve used to calculate the 16 to 19 tuition fund.

These elements are:

funded students
funding band proportions
disadvantage block 1 (DB1)
disadvantage block 2 (DB2)

In these instances, we will adjust the final tuition fund value to reflect the change. We will issue a revised 16 to 19 allocation statement to confirm your final tuition funding amount once we have processed your business case.

If you do not agree with your revised allocation, you should contact us through our customer help centre no later than 20 October 2023 and we will investigate.

5.6 Outstanding allocations

We issued most 16 to 19 funding allocations by the end of March 2023. A very small number of institutions may not have had their 16 to 19 allocation confirmed before the first opt-in window, meaning they were unable to receive a 16 to 19 tuition fund offer in window 1.

These institutions should use the second window in October 2023 to submit their form.

In the rare event that an institution has not had its 16 to 19 allocation confirmed in time for the October window, we will work with institutions on an individual basis should they wish to take up their allocation, once the amount is confirmed.

Question 6

6. Conditions of funding and responsibilities

Accepted Answer

6.1 Conditions of funding

As part of receiving funding, you will agree to the terms and conditions of the 16 to 19 tuition funding as set out in this guidance and the 16 to 19 education: funding guidance.

Failure to adhere to all or in part of the funding conditions may result in the recovery of an institution’s entire academic year 2023 to 2024 tuition funding allocation. It is at the discretion of Department for Education (DfE) and ESFA what penalty may be imposed.

6.2 Responsibilities

Quality of provision

You should have regard for the quality of your tutoring provision. Evidence suggests that small group tuition works better with the smallest groups, and when the tuition is focused on students’ specific needs and is linked to classroom learning. Training and tutor support are also likely to increase the effectiveness of small group tutoring, providing the best possible outcomes for students.

Good examples of how the tuition fund has been used include institutions utilising a mixture of small group and one-to-one tuition focused on students they have identified as having significant gaps in their learning. In addition, some institutions have used the fund to hire specific subject specialist staff to provide targeted tuition support in areas such as maths and English and vocational areas.

Delivering effective, evidence-based tuition support

You may find this information useful when considering how to select students for tuition, as well as the frequency and size of tuition groups:

Making a difference with effective tutoring, The Education Endowment Foundation.

Support from a third-party provider (buying in a service)

You always remain responsible for:

the quality of provision
student health and wellbeing
managing the funding, allocated in line with the funding conditions and controls and accountability requirements.
record keeping
providing ESFA and DfE with management information as required

Question 7

7. Eligibility

Accepted Answer

7.1 Eligible institutions

All institutions that receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education with students that attract DB1 and DB2 funding are eligible.

7.2 Eligible students

All students must be on a 16 to 19 study programme or T Level. The funding should be used to support tuition above and beyond what is already set out in the planned educational activity of the programme. The following students are eligible for tuition via the 16 to 19 tuition fund:

students who have not achieved a grade 6 in GCSE English and/or GCSE maths at age 16 and would need catch-up support
students from the 27% most economically deprived areas of the country (based on the index of multiple deprivation) and would need catch-up support
students who are economically disadvantaged who meet the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund eligibility criteria and would need catch-up support to reach their full potential will be eligible, even where their prior attainment is high
students aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health, and care (EHC) plan are also eligible for support, subject to meeting the eligibility for the fund

7.3 Prioritising eligible students for tuition support

When identifying who needs support through the tuition fund, you should prioritise students who have not achieved a grade 4 in GCSE maths and/or English in the first instance.

7.4 Eligible activity

The fund supports students that meet eligibility requirements in:

small groups and one to one tuition
tuition in English, maths/other academic subjects
tuition in non-academic subjects, such as exam preparation
tuition in vocational courses
summer schools

You must consider what will be most effective for your eligible students, taking into account students’ needs and local circumstances.

Additional activities supported by the fund for special education needs and disabilities (SEND) students and students aged 19 to 24 with an EHC plan

In addition to general activities supported by the fund, for eligible SEND students and those with EHC plans aged 19 to 24, you can also use the fund to provide pastoral support including mental health and wellbeing.

You should have regard to the needs of SEND students, particularly where they have experienced additional disruption to learning because of their specific needs and disabilities.

You may choose to use this funding to support eligible learners with SEND to catch up on vocational and academic skills, and skills and learning that are important for their preparation for adulthood.

Expenditure for additional activities for SEND students and those with EHC plans must have a well-defined rationale with clear evidence of need that is justifiable and relevant to the additional disruption experienced by the student.

Small group tuition group sizes

This does not apply to eligible SEND students and those with EHC plans aged 19 to 24 because of the additional activities supported by the fund.

Group sizes

Group sizes of more than 7 students are not eligible for support from this fund.

Small groups are:

up to 5 students
in exceptional circumstances, you may extend this to up to 7 students

Examples of exceptional circumstances include:

where workshop space is at a premium
if the absence of a member of staff requires the merger of 2 existing groups on a temporary basis
where a specialist staff member has limited availability

You should be mindful of the quality of provision when considering group size. Evidence indicates that the smaller the group, the more effective the provision, with groups of 3 or fewer the most effective.

Delivery of small group tuition

You can hold more than 1 group in the same space.

In these circumstances:

you must clearly define the groups
each group must have their own tutor
the space must be conducive to multiple small group activity

Resourcing (staffing)

You can decide how to resource the delivery of small group tuition supported through the fund. This may include a mix of both teaching and learning support staff, as appropriate.

You must ensure that anyone delivering small group tuition has the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience, and has received appropriate training where necessary.

Resourcing could be through paying for more hours from existing staff, hiring new staff or buying in a service from a third-party provider. If a third party is used for all or part of delivery, ESFA subcontracting rules do not apply.

7.5 Eligible spend

You should use your funding as set out in this guidance for eligible students only and prioritised as detailed in this section.

New eligible spend for 2023 to 2024

You may use up to a maximum of 10% of your tuition fund spend for direct costs to deliver tuition fund in addition to actual staff costs. You must only spend this on items in this list:

room hire where there is a need to hire rooms from a third party
attendance management
materials necessary for delivering tuition support, for example wood for joinery tuition
costs incurred due to short notice cancellation of a tutoring session due to circumstances outside the institution’s control. We expect that this will only apply to sessions that are cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice
preparation time for delivering tuition

Staff costs to deliver catch up tuition

You should use at least 90% of the fund for actual staff costs to deliver catch up tuition or the costs of contracting/commissioning a third party.

Question 8

8. Controls and accountability

Accepted Answer

We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds are managed properly, in line with your grant funding agreement. These requirements form part of the funding conditions.

You will be required to demonstrate that all funding has been administered in accordance with grant funding agreements, including:

funding has supported additional small group tuition for students aged 16 to 19 (or students aged 19 to 24 with an EHC plan) in English, maths or other courses where learning has been disrupted
the retention of original documents relating to the delivery of tuition support and the disbursement of all tuition funding, including student enrolment and attendance records, learning agreements and delivery costs. Institutions will be required to produce original documents as part of the assurance process

Provide ESFA and DfE with management information as required.

8.1 Record keeping

You are required to record where students have received support funded through the 16 to 19 tuition fund in the individualised learner record (ILR) and the school census.

If you return the ILR, you can find the code to identify tuition fund activities via the national learner monitoring: attribute field guidance. The provider support manual for 2023 to 2024 includes guidance for completing the ILR.

If you return the school census, you can also refer to the learner funding and monitoring (FAM) section of our how to complete the school census guidance.

Record the use of the funding, including:

whether you are using a third party for delivery
reference to the individual eligible students that receive the support
the needs of those students
the number of hours of tuition delivered

Ensure you retain the necessary evidence of the tuition provided and additional cost. Institutions will need this information to complete the end-of-year report and for assurance purposes.

You must deliver the extra tuition and spend the associated funding in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

8.2 In year spend report

You are required to complete an in year spend report in January 2024. This information enables us to monitor the usage of funding and forecast spend.

We will ask you to confirm:

how much tuition funding you have spent from the start of the academic year to 31 December 2023, and
your forecast of tuition fund spend for the full academic year 2023 to 2024

We will contact you to confirm when the form is live to submit your report. We will show your 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation for the academic year 2023 to 2024 in the form.

8.3 End-of-year report

You must submit an end-of-year financial report in mid-October 2024. We will ask you to make a declaration of expenditure for the academic year 2023 to 2024 and confirm that expenditure meets the funding conditions and is accurate.

We expect you to:

ensure expenditure is incurred and covered in line with this guidance by 31 July 2024, or for academies by 31 August 2024
ensure the prompt return to ESFA of unspent allocated funds
comply and co-operate with assurance activities – DfE has the right to request evidence/documents to support expenditure and activities of tuition fund allocations
identify the 16 to 19 tuition fund as a separate budget line in your institution’s audited accounts

The end-of-year financial report will include:

a declaration of tuition fund expenditure and how you have spent it for the academic year 2023 to 2024
confirmation that expenditure meets the funding conditions and is accurate

We will contact you to confirm when the form is live to submit your report and also publish this information in ESFA updates. We will show your 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation for the academic year 2023 to 2024 in the form.

We will recover funds where:

we find spend is not in line with the funding conditions
auditors identify funding errors in any circumstances where the institution is not able to demonstrate at audit how their students or tuition meet the eligibility criteria of the tuition fund
an end- of -year financial report is not submitted

8.4 Ofsted

Ofsted may take account of small group tuition funded by the 16 to 19 tuition fund through interim visits and through full inspection.

8.5 Local authorities

Local authorities are responsible for the assurance of tuition funding for local authority-controlled providers and maintained schools with sixth forms.

Question 9

9. Contact us

Accepted Answer