ESFA Update academies: 12 June 2019
Published 12 June 2019
Applies to England
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1. Action: academies budget forecast return (BFR3Y) 2019
We have published the workbook for the budget forecast return 3 year (BFR3Y) for 2019. The form will go live on Tuesday 18 June 2019 and the deadline for submission is Tuesday 30 July 2019.
The BFR3Y collects financial information to provide a 3 year forecast for the sector. ESFA uses this information to review financial trends in the sector and to provide HM Treasury forecasts for the next year.
If your trust has not previously registered yet on IDAMS system, you’ll need to register in order to log in and access the academy financial forms. If you have submitted a financial online form before, you’re already registered with IDAMS so there’s no need to re-register.
We have published the Excel workbook for the 3 year forecast, including guidance, to assist trusts in completing the online form. We would advise reading the guidance and to start compiling your return as soon as practicable.
The workbook mirrors the online form and is intended to assist your completion of the financial return. Please note that you can’t submit your return via Excel, you must complete the online form.
2. Information: EU student funding for the 2020 to 2021 academic year
Following Universities Minister Chris Skidmore’s announcement on Tuesday 28 May 2019 that EU students starting courses in 2020 to 2021 will have guaranteed home fee status, we can confirm that this also applies to access to further education funding (for adults aged 19+) and eligibility for funding for apprenticeships.
This means EU students starting in academic year 2020 to 2021 will continue to be guaranteed FE funding for the duration of their courses in England and will be eligible for apprenticeship funding, providing other eligibility criteria are met (such as right to work).
Work to determine the future fee status for new EU students after the 2020 to 2021 academic year is ongoing as the government prepares for a smooth and orderly exit from the EU as soon as possible.
The government will provide sufficient notice for prospective EU students and FE providers on funding eligibility arrangements ahead of the 2021 to 2022 academic year and subsequent years in future.
3. Your feedback: can you help us improve our remittance advice?
We are looking for volunteers to inform our on-going user research into the payment reports and remittance advice that ESFA provides.
We have identified a number of pain points around the remittance advice and would like to invite user feedback on the potential solutions that we are developing.
If you are interested in taking part in any of the pre-release trials over the next 4 weeks please email our User Researcher.