ESFA Update academies: 10 June 2020
Updated 10 June 2020
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2020
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-10-june-2020/esfa-update-academies-10-june-2020
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. Information: budget forecast return 3 year (BFR3Y) 2020
The workbook and further information regarding the BFR3Y is now available. The online form will be available on 8 July 2020, with a submission deadline of 29 Sept 2020.
The workbook is not intended for submission and is only there to help you complete the online form.
3. Information: keeping children safe in education during the COVID-19 pandemic
We want schools and colleges to be able to focus their efforts on responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, the 2020 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) consultation which was suspended on 31 March 2020 has been withdrawn.
The majority of the revisions have been withdrawn to be reconsidered for future updates in a full public consultation, the timing of which we will confirm later this year.
There are a small number of revisions that we will still make. These fall into three categories:
- those that reflect legislative changes and as such are essential to ensure the guidance remains accurate
- those that provide additional helpful support and information, such as on mental health and children in need
- important clarifications which will help the sector better understand and/or follow our guidance
We plan to publish revised KCSIE guidance for information in June 2020, to come into force on 1 September 2020.
We will continue to support schools and colleges to keep their children safe during this pandemic. To help do this the we have issued non-statutory interim guidance: coronavirus (COVID-19): safeguarding in schools, colleges and other providers. The guidance supports governing bodies, proprietors, senior leadership teams and designated safeguarding leads so they can continue to have appropriate regard to KCSIE and keep their children safe. It also suggests where schools and colleges might consider safeguarding policy and process differently when compared to business as usual. This guidance is under constant review and was most recently updated on 20 May 2020 to reflect what schools and colleges should consider as more children return to school and college.
It should be noted that while Ofsted’s routine school and college inspections are currently suspended to enable leaders to focus on responding to coronavirus, Ofsted retains the power to inspect state-funded schools and colleges if it has significant concerns about safeguarding. The Department for Education also retains the power to commission Ofsted or the Independent Schools Inspectorate (as appropriate) to inspect independent schools if it has significant concerns about safeguarding.
Schools and colleges should also continue to consider and make referrals to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) as per paragraph 166 of KCSIE and the TRA’s advice for making a referral. During the coronavirus period all referrals should be made by emailing misconduct.teacher@education.gov.uk. All referrals received by the TRA will continue to be considered.