Correspondence

ESFA Update further education

Published 15 January 2025

Applies to England

Action: 2025 to 2026 high needs place change process

We have published the high needs place change process outcomes which will inform the place numbers we will fund for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

You should review the published outcomes as soon as possible to ensure the outcomes reflect those expected. If a provider is not listed, this means we were not notified of a change by your local authority and the published 2024 to 2025 place numbers will be used as the basis of your 2025 to 2026 allocation.

Local authorities and providers can contact us to query the outcomes for 2025 to 2026 until Friday 31 January 2025. We are unlikely to action any changes requested after this date.

More information about the enquiry window can be found in the high needs place change process guidance.

Action: 2024 to 2025 advanced learner loans performance management point 2

The first time request form for obtaining an advanced learner loans contract is now available via advanced learner loans facility requests on GOV.UK. 

Completed request forms must be sent to us using the customer help portal before 5pm on Monday 20 January 2025.

For further information on the performance review of loans, read the advanced learner loans funding rules: 2024 to 2025.

Use the customer help portal to contact us with any questions you have.

Information: 16 to 19 in-year growth for academic year 2024 to 2025

Our guidance explains payments for 16 to 19 in-year growth for eligible institutions are due to start in spring 2025. To aid financial planning, we can confirm we will start to make these payments in April 2025.

We will notify all institutions with growth awards in February. If you need further support, please contact us using our customer help centre or your usual territorial contact.

Information: 16 to 19 funding for academic year 2025 to 2026

The Autumn Budget provided an additional £300 million revenue funding for further education (FE) for financial year 2025 to 2026 to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. Details on allocations will be made available later this term, and we are providing a high-level outline of plans now.

The government is committed to increasing opportunity for young people. We know the population of 16 to 19 year olds in learning is increasing, so this funding will be distributed specifically in support of 16 to 19 student participation. Approximately £50 million of this funding will be made available to general FE colleges and sixth-form colleges for the period April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention. Schools and academies will also continue to get grant funding for their 16 to 19 provision over this period.

The remaining funding will be made available in 16 to 19 funding rates for academic year 2025 to 2026, with the aim of ensuring that all 16 to 19 providers are funded on an equitable basis from 2025 to 2026. We are preparing the operational detail of the 16 to 19 funding rates and formula and the allocations timeline for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. We aim to publish more information as soon as we can and will provide a further update by Thursday 13 February 2025.

Information: Updated Funding higher risk organisations and subcontractors policy

The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for achieving value for money for taxpayers and protecting public funds. The department must therefore ensure that educational funding is used for the purposes intended.

If education and training providers do not comply with the terms and conditions of their funding, the department will act.

To clarify this, the ‘funding higher risk organisations and subcontractors policy’ has been revised. It is relevant to most post-16 education and training providers, with exceptions listed in the policy.

The main revisions include:

• the criteria for identifying high-risk providers have been expanded
• clearer guidelines on when the policy applies
• the actions the department can take

Information: Changes to how we make variations to funding in our ESFA education and skills agreements and accountability agreements

From the end of January 2025, we will be making a change in how we vary ESFA Education and skills agreements and accountability agreements.

At present, where funding is to be increased, providers must sign a variation to their original agreement or contract via manage your education and skills funding (MYESF). From the end of January, we will be removing the requirement to sign such changes, and they will now be made automatically by way of a notification through MYESF (as is the current process for any reduction in funding).

Digital signatures will still be required if there is any change to the terms and conditions of our ESFA Education and skills agreements and accountability agreements.

This change has been made following provider feedback.

Reminder: Mandatory FE workforce data collection window is closing on Friday 17 January 2025

The mandatory FE workforce data collection window will close on Friday 17 January 2025. Thank you for all those who have already returned their data collection.

Make sure to submit all returns for your organisation by the above deadline.

The collection is separated into 2 parts, both of which are mandatory requirements:

• Staff level data: asking questions about members of staff, their contracts, and responsibilities.
• Provider level vacancy and recruitment data: asking questions about organisation’s vacancies and ability to fill them.

If you require help in completing the collection, contact the customer help centre or attend one of the provider surgeries we are running daily until the collection closes.

We will be publishing outcomes in 2025, for the benefit of providers and key stakeholders, such as Ofsted and sector representatives. You can find outcomes from previous collection round on the FE workforce GOV.UK page.

Thank you, this would not have been possible without your continued support.

Your feedback: Changes to the financial statement submissions process 

We are changing the way the following organisations submit their financial statements: 

• independent training providers 

• special-post 16 Institutions  

• non-maintained Special Schools  

If you submit financial statements to us from one of these organisations or are involved in the process as an accountant, we invite you to take part in a research interview to ensure we design a service that meets your needs.  

Research interviews will:

• be virtual
• last up to 60 minutes

To volunteer, complete this information sheet and consent form by 5pm on Friday 31 January. 

We especially encourage participation from individuals with disabilities, neurodivergence and/or mental health conditions, as well as those who use assistive technology (e.g. screen readers, voice control, specialised keyboards), require adjustments (e.g. magnification), and/or are less comfortable using the internet and online services. 

If you need adjustments to participate, please indicate this in the consent form.