Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 15 May 2024

Published 15 May 2024

Applies to England

Action: Use your national tutoring programme funding this summer

You still have time to deliver tutoring with the national tutoring programme (NTP) until Saturday 31 August 2024, including during the school holidays. As we approach the summer term, consider tutoring for:

• disadvantaged pupils
• pupils with SEND
• pupils with persistent absence
• pupils at the edge of key stage and GCSE grade boundaries

Simon Bush, Executive Headteacher of The Green Way Academy, shares the impact of holiday tuition on his disadvantaged pupils in our ‘breaking barriers: school’s drive to close the attainment gap using tutoring’ blog.

Watch the recording of our holiday tuition webinar below:

holiday tuition webinar recording

Information: Pupil Premium initial allocations for the 2024 to 2025 financial year

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has now published the  pupil premium initial allocations for 2024 to 2025 financial year.

Updated allocations will be published in June 2024, September 2024, December 2024 and March 2025.

The school level pupil premium allocations published on GOV.UK are the only deprivation FSM6 element of the allocations. Schools can confirm all the pupils included in the ESFA allocation and which element of funding they attract on the get information about pupils (GIAP) site. GIAP can be accessed through the DfE Sign-in service.

Further instructions can be found on the pupil premium page.

Information: 16 to 19 tuition fund allocations for 2023 to 2024

ESFA has published the 16 to 19 tuition fund allocations for the academic year 2023 to 2024.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund has specifically been allocated to all 16 to 19 institutions who receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education, to mitigate the disruption to learning due to COVID-19. This fund is targeted at students in most need, offering small group tuition to recover lost learning.

For further information, see the detailed guidance about the 16 to 19 tuition fund for 2023 to 2024.

Information: Adult skills fund – funding rates and formula guidance 2024 to 2025 (version 2)

ESFA has published version 2 of the adult skills fund - funding rates and formula guidance 2024 to 2025. This version includes details of the work placement learning aims to be used from Thursday 1 August 2024.

If you have any queries after reading our guidance, contact us marking your query for the attention of the 19+ calculations group.

Information: List of the tailored learning class codes published

ESFA has published a list of the tailored learning: learning aim class codes (LACC) for academic year 2024 to 2025, that is available for download  

All providers must use these learning aims for tailored learning provision that is funded through Funding Model 11.

We have introduced new learning aims for English, Maths and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) at entry levels 1,2 and 3 to allow providers to better demonstrate progression.

Further information about these learning aims can be found on find a learning aim.

Information: Publication of apprenticeships funding rules 2024 to 2025 – Version 1

The Department for Education (DfE) has published version 1 of the apprenticeship funding rules for 2024 to 2025. These rules contain a range of changes to simplify processes and reduce burdens for training providers and employers, including changes to onboarding an apprentice. Following feedback on the draft rules published in March, we have also made further policy changes including on active learning and subcontracting.

Information: 16 to 19 teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant 2024 to 2025

ESFA has published the conditions of grant and payment dates for the 16 to 19 teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant 2024 to 2025. We aim to publish the school level allocation files on this page by the end of May 2024.

Information: Spaces available for the risk protection arrangement webinar on Thursday 13 June 2024

On Thursday 13 June, the schools commercial team is hosting a free risk protection arrangement (RPA) webinar.

The webinar will tell you everything you need to know about the DfE’s RPA, an alternative to commercial insurance which aims to protect schools against losses due to any unforeseen and unexpected events. You will also find out how to access the RPA and can ask any questions you may have.

Sign up now.

Information: Publication of final school condition allocations and devolved formula capital for the financial year 2024 to 2025

Final school condition allocations (SCA) and devolved formula capital (DFC) for the financial year 2024 to 2025 have now been published on the school capital funding page. This is part of £1.8 billion committed for 2024 to 2025 for improving the condition of the school estate.

DfE published the provisional SCA for local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided school bodies at the end of March. Final allocations have been updated to take account of changes in the status of schools, such as movements between responsible bodies, closures, and mergers. DFC allocations for individual schools have also been updated.

Final allocation amounts and the condition funding methodology and spend guidance are available on the school capital funding GOV.UK page.

The outcomes of the 2024 to 2025 condition improvement fund (CIF) were announced in March 2024.

Your feedback: Survey on essential digital skills provision

DfE fully funds essential digital skills qualifications (EDSQs) and digital functional skills qualifications (FSQs) through the digital entitlement. We also fund other non-regulated provision for learners where an exam is not appropriate.

We periodically seek evidence from providers on how our qualifications are working and have developed a survey to gather your views about delivering EDSQs and digital FSQs. We also want to learn more about any alternative provision that you offer to learners who need to improve their digital skills.

The survey is open until Thursday 30 May 2024.

If you have any questions, email essential.digitalskills@education.gov.uk.