Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 10 February 2021

Updated 18 February 2021

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Department for Education has published guidance about COVID-19 in educational settings for staff, parents and carers, pupils and students on GOV.UK.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Reminder: mid-year funding claims for 2020 to 2021

The mid-year funding claim window opened on Monday 8 February 2021. Please submit your mid-year funding claim by 5pm on Friday 19 February 2021. This is slightly later than we originally published. The claim form will be available on Submit Learner Data.

You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through:

• grant funded – ESFA Adult Education Budget (AEB) (Adult Skills, Community Learning, 19 to 24 Traineeships and COVID-19 skills offer)
• learner support for ESFA AEB procured (Adult Skills and 19 to 24 Traineeships) – paid-on-profile
• grant funded - Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB)

Once you have submitted your claim you will also be able to view it on the Manage your education and skills funding.

We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone, and time and resources are under strain. However, we will still require you to submit an accurate mid-year claim, so we have visibility of the challenges you are facing.

We will not be taking any action on mid-year forecasts this year because of the uncertainty in the sector. However, the mid-year claims process will enable us to see the expected level of delivery. In addition, we are reviewing the year end reconciliation process, which we hope to announce by the end of next week.

We want to encourage you to deliver to 19+ year olds as much as you can remotely. You may want to consider working with your sub-contracting or partnering if you are unable to successfully deliver remotely. When you complete your claim, we want you to record your best estimate, accounting for your current remote delivery and what you think you can achieve going forward based upon the assumption that the national lockdown ends in March.

We recognise that the statement regarding subcontracting could have been misconstrued that you should look to increase your subcontracting arrangements. To be clear, the overriding expectation remains that providers should look to reduce subcontracting in line with the subcontracting consultation. As set out in proposal one, any subcontract you do enter into must have a clear educational rationale which meets the criteria set out within the document.

3. Information: tender launch for adult education budget (AEB) contracts for services

The procurement application window for ESFA funded AEB contracts for services is now open. The procurement will provide funding for the delivery of adult education and training to learners in England that are resident outside of the devolved areas, including delivery of the National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer. Contracts will start on 1 August 2021.

Full details including the specification and instructions to tender can be accessed via Jaggaer, the DfE e-Procurement Solution portal. The bidding window closes at 10:00 on 22 March 2021.

4. Information: 16 to 19 tuition fund payments

If you receive your 16 to 19 funding directly from your local authority, you will also receive your 16 to 19 tuition fund payments from them. The total amount awarded to you is shown in the table on the front of your funding allocation statement, ‘Summary of 2020 to 2021 Funding Allocation’. This can be viewed and downloaded from ESFA Information Exchange in the Document Exchange ‘revenue funding folder, under ‘AY 2020-21’.

Detailed guidance about the 16 to 19 tuition fund can be found on GOV.UK.

5. Information: apprenticeship non-levy procured allocations from 1 April 2021

We will shortly be extending apprenticeship non-levy procured contracts to cover the 2021 to 2022 financial year.

These allocations will include funding to cover the carry in costs of learners who started on or before 31 March 2021. From 1 April 2021, all new apprenticeship starts will be funded via the Apprenticeship Service.

Allocation letters will be issued to training providers via Manage your education and skills funding in early February. Contract extensions will be issued at the end of February.

Training providers must ensure they have signed the contract extension before the current contract expires on 31 March 2021.

Please contact us using our online form if you have any queries.

6. Information: National Skills Fund - level 3 adult offer 2020 to 2021 allocations

We will shortly be revising 2020 to 2021 ESFA funded adult education budget allocation statements to include the National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer. These allocations will include funding to cover 1 April 2021 to 31 July 2021 and are primarily based on historic delivery of the qualifications available through this offer.

The level 3 qualification funding within this offer will support the development of new skills for adult learners and improve the prospects of eligible adults in the labour market. More information can be found on the National Skills Fund page.

Additional funding for the National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer for 19 to 23 year-olds will be added to the adult skills line of your allocation statement. Additional funding for the National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer for 24 year-olds and over will be shown as an additional line within the COVID-19 skills offer of your allocation statement. Please review the funding and performance management rules for further information.

Allocations will be issued via Manage your education and skills funding. Your funding agreement will be updated, and we advise you to promptly sign your agreement to ensure payments are made on time.

For 2021 to 2022, allocations through a grant funding agreement will include the National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer. If you are a grant provider that did not receive funding for April 2021 to July 2021, arrangements on how to access this funding from August 2021 will be included in the 2021 to 2022 funding and performance management rules (when published in the spring).

If you are an Independent Learning Provider with a contract for service, or you wish to bid for a contract for service to supplement any grant funding, you will need to access this offer through the current adult education budget procurement for delivery from August 2021.

We will update our 19+ allocations technical guidance with the methodology used to calculate allocations shortly.

If you have any queries, please use the ESFA online form.

7. Information: School Financial Value Standard (SFVS)

Local authority maintained schools must submit the SFVS annually to their local authority. Local authorities use this information to inform their programme of financial assessment and audit.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Department for Education (DfE) has decided that the SFVS return should be delayed this year. This is to take account of the current pressures schools and local authorities are facing.

For the financial year 2020 to 2021, schools should submit their SFVS to their local authority no later than 28 May 2021.

Local authorities should submit their assurance statement to the DfE within six weeks, no later than 9 July 2021.

More information has been published.

8. Information: updated school land guidance and forms

We have published updated school land guidance and application forms.

The guidance explains how and when to involve the Secretary of State in school land transactions, including the disposal of school land; the change of use of school playing fields; and the acquisition of new land.

There is tailored advice for different types of applicant, including academy trusts, on how the rules apply to them depending on the type of land and transaction being considered.

The guidance also describes the assessment criteria and information required for each transaction. The new application forms include comprehensive questions to obtain the information required.

Guidance on playing field disposals explains the role of independent school playing field panel in advising whether playing field disposal applications meet current policy and legislation. The panel’s advice will now include applications made on behalf of academies as well as maintained schools.

9. Information: renewing your professional services contract – you could save time and money

Before you consider how you will buy professional services, come along to one of the DfE and NEPRO3 professional services virtual sessions and find out more about this department approved framework.

This event will focus on how the NEPRO3 framework can support your school’s HR needs.

Webinar dates (click on the link to register):

• 23 February 2021 – 10.30am to 11am
• 24 February 2021 – 2pm to 2.30pm
• 3 March 2021 – 10.30am to 11am

By attending, you will gain:

• an understanding of the flexibility available
• an understanding of the support available from start to finish.

10. Information: help the Department for Education (DfE) design a new international teaching qualification

DfE is now consulting industry experts and stakeholders on our proposals for a new international teaching qualification: International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS). You can find the consultation online.

Our draft proposals set out the following aims for the new qualification.

iQTS should:

• be delivered by accredited English initial teacher training providers
• meet English standards for initial teacher training
• be accessible to trainees in a range of international settings
• become globally recognised as an international teaching benchmark
• equip successful candidates to work both in their domestic and the wider international market
• be customisable to suit local expectations and needs.

DfE’s public consultation seeks your views on:

• where the highest demand for this qualification might be – for example which countries or regions, and which types of school (e.g. British international schools versus local state schools)
• the required standards, entry criteria and course content for the development of iQTS
• whether ITT providers have capacity or interest in designing and delivering this new qualification
• any other aspect of iQTS detail, delivery, benefits and potential issues.

10.1 Get involved

You can participate in our public consultation online, or via email/post. We’ll also be holding virtual round tables running until the end of April 2021 if you’d like to find out more or ask any questions. You can register for these events.

The public consultation will run for 12 weeks from 6 February 2021. Later in the year, we’ll share our findings and next steps.

11. Information: guidance on buildings with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete

The Department for Education have published guidance on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

This guide on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) follows previous DfE alerts (linked to advice from the Local Government Association) to responsible bodies in the education sector. RAAC panels were commonly used in school and other buildings from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s - mainly in roofs, although occasionally in floors and walls.

This guide is intended to help building owners identify the presence of RAAC, and whether further investigation might be needed. The main audience is schools, but it may be relevant for other buildings in the education sector.