Guidance

Getting support for ESFA Information Exchange

Updated 1 April 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on 4 May 2021

This page has been withdrawn as ESFA Information Exchange has been replaced by a new Document exchange service. Read our guidance on how to use the new service.

Applies to England

1. We’re closing ESFA Information Exchange

ESFA Information Exchange will no longer be accessible after Friday 30 April.

A new Document exchange service is now live.

We’ve automatically given ESFA Information Exchange users access to the new service.

We’ve also uploaded any 2021 to 2022 academic year documents to it.

1.1 What ESFA Information Exchange users need to do

ESFA Information Exchange users should now:

• access the new Document exchange service using their existing DfE Sign-in credentials
• follow the steps on the DfE Sign-in help page in the unlikely event of any access issues
• read the guidance for information about how to use it
• use the new service to view, manage and submit documents, rather than ESFA Information Exchange
• view, download and save any older documents they wish to keep from ESFA Information Exchange before 23:59 on Friday 30 April 2021

Any documents not downloaded and saved before 23:59 on Friday 30 April 2021 will no longer be accessible from ESFA Information Exchange.

1.2 Contact us

If you need help with DfE Sign-in, access our help page.

If you have any other questions, please contact us.

2. Access

You can access ESFA Information Exchange through the Department for Education DfE Sign-in system.

ESFA Information Exchange is a secure, online system. It provides a single place for academies, 16 to 19 providers, high needs providers and local authorities to do business with Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in a more effective and efficient way.

If you would like to create a new DfE Sign-in account, please visit the create a DfE Sign-in account page.

If you have any problems accessing ESFA Information Exchange, please follow the instructions in this guidance.

3. Password reset

If you need to reset the password to your DfE Sign-in account you can select the ‘forgotten password’ link on the DfE Sign-in log-in screen and you’ll receive an email with a link to resolve the issue

4. Add a new user

Each organisation has an approver who can create, amend and delete user accounts. This includes the ability to add ESFA Information Exchange to user profiles. To ask for an additional account please contact your organisation’s approver.

If you’re unsure who the approver is for your organisation, please speak to the head of your organisation.

5. Transfer approver rights

There are 2 types of user accounts in DfE Sign-in: ‘approvers’ and ‘end users’.

Approvers can create, amend, delete and manage user accounts. This includes password resets and the ability to add ESFA Information Exchange to user profiles.

Approvers can transfer rights to another colleague by logging into DfE Sign-in and click on the ‘Transfer Permissions’ button at the bottom of your details. This will then produce a list of all active accounts within your organisation.

To transfer your approver rights to one of these accounts, ensure the radio button (black dot) is aligned with the account you’re transferring the permissions to. You will then need to answer the security question.

6. Activate a DfE Sign-in account

6.1 Academies

All new academies are automatically set up as an establishment in DfE Sign-in. This normally happens within 2 weeks of opening. At the same time we will set up an approver account with access to all applications and send the approver an activation email. To activate your approver account, please follow the instructions in the email and click the link only once.

6.2 Post-16 institution

We send a letter to all post-16 institutions being considered to receive ESFA funding. This sets out useful information about working with ESFA, including information about accessing ESFA Information Exchange.

At the same time, we will send you a ‘New Institution Registration Form’. You will need to complete this form for the DfE Sign-in service desk to set up a new approver account. The DfE Sign-in service desk will also provide you with access to the post-16 portal.

7. FAQs

DfE Sign-in: unable to see the link to ESFA Information Exchange

Once logged into DfE Sign-in, you should see a link to ESFA Information Exchange on the DfE Sign-in landing page, under ‘Your Applications’.

If you’re unable to see the link to ESFA Information Exchange once you are logged onto DfE Sign-in, you should contact your organisation’s approver who will be able to fix this for you.

If you don’t know who your approver is please submit a DfE Sign-in service request. Select ‘using a DfE service’, then select ‘Information Exchange’ and choose the most appropriate option.

Document Exchange: unable to see old files

We automatically removed files in Document Exchange 13 months after the date of upload. Please do ensure you download and save any files you need before they expire.

Document Exchange: unable to see correct folders

If you have both an academy and a multi-academy trust log-in, please ensure you’re logged into the correct account. You won’t be able to see trust folders if you’re logged in as an individual academy.

If this doesn’t apply to you, or you still can’t see the provider folders that you expect in Document Exchange, please let us know using our enquiry form.

Accessing technical support

If you need technical support using ESFA Information Exchange or DfE Sign-in, please raise a DfE Sign-in service request.

If you have a non-technical enquiry please use our enquiry form. Please note that the ESFA enquiry service is unable to service technical requests for DfE Sign-in, so any technical questions must be submitted using a DfE Sign-in service request form so they can be resolved by a specialist team. Please do not send DfE Sign-in requests using the enquiry form.