Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 1 May 2024

Published 1 May 2024

Applies to England

Information: Academies chart of accounts and automation

The academies chart of accounts (ACoA) 2023 to 2024 has now been updated to include the most up to date mappings for budget forecast return (BFR) 2024.

Did you know that over half of trusts use the ACoA? If you are thinking of adopting the ACoA, are in the process of adopting or would like to find out more about getting the most out of the ACoA, you can attend the following webinars to find out more: 

• 11am to 11:30am on Tuesday 14 May 2024 – a dial in session where you will have the opportunity to ask questions about the ACoA & Automation
• 11am to 12:30pm on Tuesday 21 May 2024 – mapping review workshop which is intended to promote best practice of using CoA account codes to maximise efficiency and provide quality data

Links to the updated ACoA and Microsoft Teams webinars can be found on academies chart of accounts and automating the accounts return.

Also look out for updates due later in May to announce the ACoA 2024 to 2025 and associated webinars.

Information: PE and sport premium monitoring tool now available

The Department for Education (DfE) allocates PE and sport premium to eligible schools with primary-aged pupils, to make additional and sustainable improvements to PE, sport and physical activity. We have set out the requirements in the guidance and grant conditions for academic year 2024 to 2025.

The National Governance Association (NGA) has developed a monitoring tool, in partnership with the DfE and the Local Government Association (LGA), which sets out areas of focus for governing boards evaluating PE and sport premium spending decisions.

The tool covers the:

• areas where schools should prioritise PE and sport premium
• role of continuing professional development (CPD) in securing sustainable improvements
• questions to ask when evaluating the impact

Information: Academy finance professionals May power hour – Local Government Pension Scheme

Join the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) virtually on Thursday 23 May from 3pm to 4pm, to learn more about the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

We will also cover the recently published best practice guidance and how you can use it to best manage and understand your LGPS obligations as employers.

Sign up on Eventbrite.

Information: Spaces available for the free school business professional webinars on Thursday 9 May

The Schools Commercial team host free webinars on how using DfE approved frameworks could save you time and help your school or trust get value for money.

The following webinars will take place on Thursday 9 May. You can book your place onto the webinars by using the following links:

• 9:30am to 10am – how the Get help buying for schools service can support your school buying
• 11am to 11:30am – buying facilities management services for your school
• 2pm to 2:30pm – buying information and communications technology (ICT) for your school

You can also view the summer term schedule to see the full list of webinars for the summer term.

Information: The DfE’s benchmarking tools have been updated with the latest financial data

DfE’s free benchmarking tools, view my financial insights (VMFI) and the schools financial benchmarking (SFB) website, have been updated with the latest data from the 2022 to 2023 Accounts Return, Budget Forecast Return for academies, and the Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) return for maintained schools.

This update provides the latest financial data for maintained schools, local authorities and academy trusts. VMFI and SFB are free packages offered by DfE that provide important insights on your financial data.

Reminder: Budget forecast return reminder about new data requirements for this year’s collection

ESFA has updated the data requirements for this year’s annual budget forecast return (BFR) collection. To find out more about this change, read academies budget forecast return: guide to using the online form. This includes the workbooks to help you prepare your forecasts and plan for your BFR return.

In this year’s BFR changes we’ve:

• moved to DfE sign-in 
• added new data requirements to respond to a new Data Standard policy – there’s a specific guide for more details
• added a new disclosure for expenditure that relates to building maintenance and improvements that have not been capitalised

This year we have added a BFR lines quick reference guide, which summarises the BFR line numbers with help text. There is a new in-year transfers guide to help you include the right data in your return, if your trust has had academies either transfer in or out of your trust since September 2023.

We have also pre-populated your BFR if you automated the last accounts return. This means the 2022 to 2023 section of your BFR is already filled in for you. To see the mapping we have used, refer to the excel workbook for the exact details in the ‘CoA to BFR mapping’ tab. You will also be able to download your mapping report from your BFR.

Nearer the go-live stage, we will publish details of the weekly sector calls, registration details for the ESFA Power Hour on the BFR, as well as other ways to access support during the BFR collection window.

Your feedback: General annual grant – allocation statements for new academies

Has your school recently joined a multi-academy trust? Or are you a trust that has recently onboarded a new school? 

DfE are redesigning the general annual grant (GAG) statements published for new academies and would like to invite feedback on the design in development. Your feedback will help shape the digital service.

Meetings will take place online using Microsoft Teams and will last up to 60 minutes.

Fill out this form to register your interest in taking part.