Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 16 December 2020

Updated 17 December 2020

This correspondence was withdrawn on 29 December 2021

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for up to date news and information.

Applies to England

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: staggered rollout of coronavirus testing for secondary schools and colleges

The government has today (17 December) confirmed that all secondary schools and colleges in England will be able to test more of their staff and students in a round of free coronavirus testing from the first week of January.

This will help to deliver the national priority to keep education open for all and help fight the spread of the virus, while keeping schools and colleges safe. Building on the incredible work schools and colleges have done to be Covid-secure, the round of testing will help to reassure students, parents and teachers about returning to school and college.

Read more on GOV.UK.

3. Information: academies and land building collection tool - the form is now live

The online form for the academies land and buildings collection tool (LBCT) is now live. The deadline for submission is Thursday 28 January 2021.

Please visit our LBCT page on GOV.UK where you will be able to view the summary guidance, the optional LBCT workbook and the link to the online form.

Your login details will be the same as those used for the budget forecast return and accounts return. If you are struggling to access the form or it’s your first time completing it, please read the registration guidance.

3.1 Top tips to help you complete the return

1. You must complete both the trust and academy sections
2. Each occupancy must be linked to at least two documents
3. Don’t forget to add your playing fields, even if they’re at a different location to your main site or where they’re provided by another organisation such as a local authority
4. If you have church-owned land, contact your local diocese as soon as possible to confirm who will review that part of your return
5. Once every academy and the trust have a status of ‘ready to submit to DfE’ press the green ‘submit to DfE’ button on the dashboard for final submission

We are holding regular Microsoft Teams calls for all LBCT users throughout the collection period. Further details about these events and full guidance can be found on the LBCT page.

4. Information: update to the academy revenue funding page on GOV.UK

We’ve updated the academy revenue funding information to include high level detail and an initial timetable for production of annual allocation statements for academies for 2021 to 2022.

For academies with sixth forms, please note that your allocation statement will no longer include your total 16 to 19 funding amount. The detail of this allocation will only be shown on your 16 to 19 funding statement, which we’ll upload to Document Exchange separately. You can read more about the 16 to 19 allocations process and timelines on GOV.UK.

5. Information: risk protection arrangement – 2021 to 2022 price confirmation

The cost of the risk protection arrangement (RPA) is reviewed annually to ensure breadth of cover and value for money are balanced. The department can confirm that RPA deduction from the general annual grant (GAG) will be £19 per pupil from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022.

While we acknowledge this is a small increase, your school will continue to benefit from the wide range of RPA cover. You don’t need to do anything as your membership will renew automatically on 1 September 2021 at the 2021 to 2022 price of £19 per pupil.

The RPA continues to offer excellent value for money and all schools classified as public sector schools can join – sign up and join today.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact RPA.StakeHolderRelations@education.gov.uk.

6. Information: academies finance directors’ forum – have your say

If you’d like to contribute to our virtual finance directors’ forum event on 21 January, you can submit a question by Friday 8 January. While it may not be possible to address every question specifically, we will attempt to cover as many issues as we can on the day.

If you haven’t already, please reserve your place at the event using Eventbrite.