Correspondence

ESFA e-bulletin for schools, colleges, local authorities and other 16 to 19 providers: 18 January 2018

Published 18 January 2018

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2019

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. The EFA e-bulletin has been replaced by ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Action: invitation to express an interest to deliver T levels in the 2020 to 2021 academic year

The Department for Education is looking to identify a small number of providers to deliver T levels in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. We have published information setting out how institutions meeting set criteria can express an interest to deliver T levels in 2020 to 2021 academic year.

To do this, institutions will be required to complete and submit an expression of interest to ESFA. The closing date for applications is midday on 28 February 2018.

Further information including details on how to submit an expression of interest are available on GOV.UK.

2. Reminder: deadline for submission of 2018 to 2019 authority pro-forma tool

We’d like to remind local authority finance colleagues that the deadline for submitting the 2018 to 2019 authority pro-forma tool (APT) is Friday 19 January 2018.

3. Information: School and Early Years Finance Regulations for 2018

The Department for Education has laid the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2018. These regulations make provision for local authorities’ financial arrangements relating to the funding of schools and early years provision for the 2018 to 2019 financial year.

We have also published an explanatory memorandum. Changes to the previous regulations are set out in paragraphs 7.4 to 7.22 of the memorandum.

4. Information: individualised learner record R06 2017 to 2018

The individualised learner record (ILR) R06 data collection for 2017 to 2018 academic year closes on 6 February 2018. We use this return to calculate:

• 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations to institutions and high needs allocations to local authorities for academic year 2018 to 2019

• reconciliation for independent learner providers for academic year 2017 to 2018

It’s important that your R06 return is accurate. We would encourage you to pay attention to 2 areas:

1. It is very important that your R06 return accurately records information about the number of high needs students at your institution. This is because there is now an import/export adjustment within the national funding formula that we use to allocate high needs funding to local authorities.
2. From August 2017, all 19+ continuing students (those continuing o n a study programme they started when under the age of 19) are funded under the 16 to 19 funding model. Previously many of these students were funded under the adult funding regime. From academic year 2017 to 2018 institutions should record all 19+ continuing students in the ILR as 16 to 19 funded as follows; Funding Model=25, Source of funding=107.

Any 19+ students not recorded in this way will not be counted as a funded student in 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations for 2018 to 2019. This could result in incorrect funding or no funding at all.

You can use the reports in our Funding Information System, the Hub and ESFA Provider Data Self-Assessment Toolkit to help you make correct returns.

5. Information: post-16 allocation calculation toolkit for further education institutions (ACT)

By the end of Friday 19 January, we will have uploaded 16 to 19 2018 to 2019 allocation calculation toolkits (ACT) for most further education institutions to ESFA Information Exchange. The ACT is saved in the Document Exchange ‘Revenue Funding’ folder, under ‘AY 2018-19 (2018/19)’. The ACT files for schools and academies will be available in early February.

You can access Document Exchange by logging into ESFA Information Exchange, and choosing the Document Exchange tab at the top of the page.

The ACT includes the factors and funding band proportions for your 2018 to 2019 allocation and demonstrates how we have used your data to arrive at them. Please note that it does not include information relating to lagged students, care leavers or large programmes. We will communicate these in your allocation statement at a later date.

We’ve published guidance to help you understand your ACT. You should only submit a business case relating to the data within ACT in April 2018, after you have received and reviewed your allocation statement.

If you have any questions about your ACT, please use our online enquiry form. For support and guidance about ESFA Information Exchange, please visit our support page.

6. Information: high needs place change request outcomes

We invited local authorities to submit their changes to 2018 to 2019 high needs place numbers in ESFA funded institutions by 17 November 2017. This presents information on all institutions for which local authorities submitted a return to change high needs place numbers.

A local authority, academy or FE institution may contact ESFA to query the place numbers within the enquiry window, which closes on 2 February 2018. Details on how to submit a query during this period are set out in paragraphs 48 to 52 of the high needs place change notification 2018 to 2019: technical note.

If an institution is not listed in the workbook, this means that no local authority change request was submitted for that institution and the published 2017 to 2018 place numbers will be used as the basis of the 2018 to 2019 allocation.

7. Information: school workforce census

The school workforce census remains open but must close soon. If you expect any delay in making your return(s) please contact the helpdesk unless you have already done so.

Actions remain to be taken by some schools and local authorities who have made a return(s) in COLLECT. Please check and ensure that:

• your return(s) status in COLLECT is approved or authorised. If you have made any amendments to your data and the current status is ‘loaded and validated’ or ‘Amended by Source’ you must press submit

• please ensure you have checked your errors by clicking on the ‘all errors’ button. If you have any errors or queries remaining that are correct these must be covered by return level notes

• if you have used matching and reconciliation to merge multiple files in COLLECT that the process has been completed and your return(s) show only one source (open return, click on ‘view all’ hyperlink)

• staff contracts all have hours recorded. Each contact must have the hours worked per week, the full time equivalent (FTE) hours per week and weeks per year included

• the Base Pay for part-time staff is the actual annual salary and not the FTE

8. Information: spring school census 2018

The spring school census 2018 begins today. The deadline for approved submissions is Wednesday 14 February and the database will be closed to amendments from schools and local authorities on Wednesday 14 March.

The school census guide for the 2017 to 2018 academic year is available on the school census website.

A data collection forum is available for all data collection contacts to access. You will require a username and password specific to the forum to access. If you do not already have a username and password and would like to request access, or if you have any questions about the facility, please complete a service request form.

There are also a series of videos available on the school census website. Whilst these are primarily aimed at academies and free schools, the contents will be equally relevant to local authority schools.

9. Information: Learning and Work Institute - employer engagement provision

Learning and Work Institute are looking for examples of effective employer activities for learners aged 16 to 17 studying below Level 2 to help develop new resources.

Funded by the Education and Training Foundation, this work will support the development of the proposed ‘transition year’ for learners with low prior attainment, included in the government’s post-16 skills plan. Your response will help shape the kinds of activities that government recommends providers deliver to this learner group. Activities delivered with learners who are unlikely to be able to progress to further education (e.g. those whose main aim is independent living) are not in scope for this work, nor are apprenticeships, traineeships or supported internships.

To contribute to this work, please complete the short survey by 5pm Friday 2 February 2018.

10. Information: input to ESFA customer experience

Last year, as part of our continued customer experience work, we held interviews and workshops with a range of our customers.

In order to consider feedback and to enhance customer experience, we have set up improvement projects. As we progress these projects we want to talk with you again and will be doing 45 minute telephone interviews between 26 February to 9 March.

We are also developing our online reference group and will be using this more to test our plans, ideas and services with you in a quick and simple way.

If you are interested in being interviewed or joining the online group please email: josie.appleby@education.gov.uk.