Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 14 February 2024

Published 14 February 2024

Applies to England

1. Action: submit your school resource management self-assessment checklist |

This is a reminder that the school resource management self-assessment tool is now open for academy trusts to complete and return by Friday 15 March 2024.

All academy trusts with an open academy on Sunday 31 December 2023 must submit a checklist.

2. Information: 16 to 19 funding arrangements for 2024 to 2025

We have published details on how 16 to 19 funding will work for academic year 2024 to 2025 and confirmed the timeline for delivering allocations.

We have increased the national funding rate for students aged 16 and 17 and students aged 18 and over with high needs in band 5 to £4,843, and we will continue to fund an extra 40 hours per student. We’ve also confirmed the funding rates for T Levels and other students.

We’ve introduced the below new policies for 2024 to 2025:

• core maths premium
• English and maths funding

We’ve increased rates for:

• disadvantage funding
• advanced maths premium

We’ve made changes to the maths and English condition of funding to explain:

• the minimum teaching hours for maths and English
• how we will implement a phased removal of the tolerance starting in 2025 to 2026

You can see a summary of what’s changed by clicking on the ‘see all updates’ link towards the top of each GOV.UK page.

If you have any questions after reading our guidance, please contact us using our online enquiry form.

3. Information: take part in Further Education Mastery Specialists (FEMS) expansion

The Department for Education (DfE) has expanded the FEMS programme for post-16 level 2 maths, with fully funded training for at least 80 Further Education (FE) teachers in 2024 to 2025.  

The FEMS programme is coordinated by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) as part of the Maths Hub programme. This free 2 year programme supports participants to develop highly effective approaches to teaching GCSE maths resit and Functional Skills Maths, using the principles of teaching for mastery.  

Teaching for mastery is a pedagogical approach based on techniques used in high performing East Asian countries and aims to develop a deep and connected understanding of maths for all learners. As well as increasing their own knowledge, participants will help develop teaching for mastery approaches in their own institutions, spreading the benefits more widely, while being supported by peers from the FEMS programme. 

To find more information, visit post-16 GCSE and Functional Skills Qualifications Mastery Specialists.

4. Information: Academies Chart of Accounts and Automation

We are hosting our first webinar for this year on Wednesday 28 February 2024 13:00pm - 14:00pm where we will provide you with an introduction to the chart of accounts and automation.

Please join us if you are interested in hearing more about the benefits of adopting the chart of accounts and using automation and how it could help your trust.

For further information please see our new webinar and dial-in dates for Academies Chart of Accounts and Automation.

5. Information: updated good practice guide for internal scrutiny in academy trusts

We have updated our good practice guide for internal scrutiny in academy trusts. This guide provides suggestions as to how trusts can put in place internal scrutiny arrangements that meet the requirements set out in the Academies Trust Handbook (ATH).

This updated guide forms part of the full list of available good practice guides. These aim to support trustees and staff to develop good practice.

6. Information: introducing The Customer Help Portal

The way you contact the DfE and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is changing. From week commencing 4 March, we are introducing a new Customer Help Portal that revolutionises how you ask questions and get tailored support. For more information, see our help centre article.

7. Information: Budget Forecast Return (BFR) will be moving to the new Department for Education Sign In (DSI)

BFR will go live in June 2024. You will need a DSI account to access the service.

Most academy users should already have a DSI account, however, if you don’t have a DSI account, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to create an account using DSI. Don’t worry if you do not receive an invitation email by the end of February, as there will be a further check before the BFR goes live to make sure all users have had correspondence.

If you already have a DSI account, look out for emails landing in your inboxes from mid-February informing you that a new service has been added to your account.  The email will tell you the service added (BFR) and your permission level (either Preparer or Approver). 

On the DSI system “Superusers” will now be referred to as “Approvers”.  As a DSI approver you can create and maintain additional users within your organisation in the same way you did in IdAMS. If you were previously a Superuser on IdAMS, you will also get an e-mail advising you that you are the Approver for the BFR service on DSI.

DSI will ensure that users can access a wide variety of the Department for Education  externally facing systems using one set of login details. Visit get more information about the move to DfE sign in.

8. Information: Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) members invited to book a place on this Statutory Inspections workshop

Willis Towers Watson is providing risk management support for all RPA members through audit, guidance and advice. As part of the risk management support, RPA members are invited to a workshop covering statutory inspections.

Places are for RPA members only and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Please see the below sessions:

• 10:00 – 12:00pm on Thursday 7 March 2024
• 10:00 – 12:00pm on Wednesday 20 March 2024