ESFA Update academies: 16 September 2020
Published 16 September 2020
Applies to England
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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. Action: Call out for user testing
As part of the exam support service, we are currently developing an on-line form for schools and colleges to claim essential additional costs associated with running exams in the autumn, including exam fees charged by awarding organisations, alternative sites and invigilation. We want to make sure this claim form works for your organisation so are asking you to help us with testing it.
We are looking for all types of schools, colleges and other exam centres who planned to enter pupils for 2020 summer exams and assessments which were cancelled, and as a result will be running the GCSE, A level and AS level and Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs) exams in autumn 2020 and VTQ exams in spring 2021. We specifically want to talk to Business and Finance managers that would normally deal with submitting reimbursement claims to ESFA.
Would you be available for a 1-hour chat in the coming week so we can discuss this further? You can book your preferred time here.
This session will last approximately 60 minutes and it is anonymous.
This will give you the opportunity to provide feedback and shape future government service.
3. Reminder for academy trusts: new academic year, new governance appointments
As the new academic year starts, have you welcomed new members or trustees to your board? Do you have a new chair of trustees, chief financial officer or accounting officer?
The Academies Financial Handbook states trusts must notify ESFA of changes to their governance information within 14 calendar days of the change, through the governance section of DfE’s Get information about schools (GIAS) register, accessed via DfE Sign-in.
This requirement includes providing direct contact details for all governance roles.
New chairs of trustees may also need to complete a suitability check.
4. Information: Reminder of business case deadline 30 September 2020: financial support for independent learning providers (ILPs) delivering 16 to 19 study programmes
In June, we published the criteria for ILPs delivering 16 to 19 study programmes who may be eligible for financial support. This is to support ILPs whose recruitment of 16 to 19 students has been affected because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
You should only submit a business case if you have received a subsidiary statement setting out the provisional ILR R10 value of the maximum possible relief available. The subsidiary statement is alongside the usual R10 reconciliation statement. We will update these statements at the R13 collection. If the reconciliation statement in Table 3.9 shows a zero value for coronavirus (COVID-19) relief no business case can be submitted.
To submit a business case, you should complete the template, and return it through the ESFA online enquiry form after the R13 reconciliation (between 23 and 30 September 2020).
5. Information: themes arising from ESFA’s assurance work 2019 to 2020
We’ve published themes arising from ESFA’s assurance work outlining the outcomes of the programme of our assurance work relating to the financial oversight and management of the academies sector in 2019 to 2020.
Highlighting common themes in our work aims to enable the sector to improve the quality of its financial governance. The briefing is for academy trust accounting officers, finance staff and trustees. Auditors of academy trust accounts may also find it helpful.
6. Information: National roll-out of the early career framework (ECF)
The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking national lead providers to develop and deliver the national roll-out of the early career framework (ECF). An invitation to tender launched on Monday 14 September 2020.
Lead providers will develop training programmes for both early career teachers and their mentors, to offer an ECF-based induction to early career teachers.
The training materials are expected to be based upon the core induction programmes.
Interested lead providers will need to register on the contracts finder service to apply for this opportunity.