Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 17 November 2021

Published 17 November 2021

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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

Applies to England

1. Action: register for the academy finance professionals November event

Join over 850 academy finance professionals (AFP) who have signed up to this virtual event taking place on 25 November 2021 from 10am to 1pm.

Registration is open for just 7 days and places are limited.

Sessions include:

• ESFA’s priorities – speaker: John Edwards, Interim Chief Executive of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
• schools and high needs funding in 2022 to 2023 and beyond
• pupil premium – funding and reporting
• implementation of the direct national funding formula (NFF)
• the school resource management offer – Including updates on schools commercial and digital standards.

There will be opportunities to ask questions during the event. Register now to guarantee your place for the AFP event.

2. Action: join these webinars on approved frameworks and see how you could save money for your school

The Department for Education is hosting webinars on how using our approved frameworks could help your school get value for money. If you are responsible for buying goods and services for your schools check out the range of informative webinars that could help you save time and money.

All sessions are free, use these Eventbrite links to join the Schools Commercial Team and take the opportunity to ask providers the questions you may have about catering, cleaning and leasing.

• 30 November 2021 - select 10:30-11:15am: Catering
• 30 November 2021 - select 2:00-2:45pm: Cleaning
• 2 December 2021: Leasing
• Risk Protection Arrangement – multiple dates

For the latest on our wide range of webinars, check out the events tab on our Buying for schools LinkedIn page.

3. Action: claim form for mass testing exceptional premises costs now open

Schools and academies with secondary age pupils along with colleges and other eligible establishments can now submit claims for exceptional premises costs incurred during the mass testing of pupils and students on their return at the start of the academic year 2021 to 2022.

The form and submission guidance is available on GOV.UK and the window to claim closes on Sunday, 5 December 2021.

4. Information: International fraud awareness week – 14 to 20 November 2021

Please watch this video by Matt Atkinson, director of Provider Market Oversight who has shown his support to the importance of tackling fraud. He explains how we all have a responsibility to protect the valuable money and resources that we use across ESFA, and encourages you all to join the global effort to minimise the impact of fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education within your teams as part of International Fraud Awareness week.

Matt Atkinson video

Please check out the resources available online.

5. Information: changes to payment history in Manage your education and skills funding

The old interface for viewing payment history in Manage your education and skills funding will no longer be available from Thursday 9 December.

To continue to see your payment history via the new interface, please ensure you have requested the role of PaymentsViewer in IDAMS by Thursday 9 December.

If you miss this deadline, you will still be able to request the PaymentsViewer role but you will not be able to see your payment history until the request has been actioned.

6. Information: changes to T Level Policy and the post 16 qualifications review timetable

On Monday 15 November, the Secretary of State announced some changes to T Level Policy and the post-16 qualifications review timetable.

Following feedback from providers, we have made changes to:  

• the English and maths requirements for T Levels.  
• the timeline for the reform of level 3 qualifications

6.1 Changes to the English and Maths requirement for T Levels 

Until now T Level students have been required to achieve either a grade 4 in English and maths GCSE or level 2 in functional skills in order to pass their T Level. Following feedback from providers we have agreed with the Institute to remove the exit requirement with immediate effect for all T Level students, bringing T Levels into line with other level 3 post-16 programmes, such as A levels. We will provide guidance shortly on how this will be implemented.

6.2 Changes to timeline for reform of level 3 qualifications  

The Secretary of State has announced plans allowing an extra year before our Level 3 reform timetable is implemented. This extra year will allow us to continue to work hard to support the growth of T Levels and gives more notice to providers, awarding organisations, employers, students and parents so that they can prepare for the changes. We will be writing with more detail to all providers.

7. Information: update to the 16 to 19 funding guidance

We have had some questions raised following the pandemic that some providers may replace national qualifications with employment, enrichment and pastoral activity and some students’ study programmes would then be inconsistent with the requirements set out in the Wolf review.

As a result, study programmes where non-qualification hours form the majority of total planned hours will, from this academic year, attract a higher level of funding audit scrutiny. This may include the need to provide evidence of recognised educational costs which is set out in annex B of our funding regulations. This does not include study programmes for High Needs and/or learners with education health and care plans because we recognise that for some of these students, higher levels of non-qualification activity may be appropriate.

We have updated our funding guidance documents and any changes are clearly shown in the ‘what’s new section’. We will add a new report to our existing reports to help providers identify the students that are likely to fall under higher funding audit scrutiny.