Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 18 December 2024

Published 18 December 2024

Applies to England

Information: Schools, high needs and early years funding 2025 to 2026  

Today, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the funding settlement for 2025 to 2026.

We have published the dedicated schools grant (DSG) funding allocations for the 2025 to 2026 financial year.  

To continue helping with the costs of the 2024 teachers’ pay awards and pensions increases, we have also published details on a consolidated core schools budget grant for special schools and alternative provision in 2025 to 2026.

We will confirm the rates for pupil premium for 2025 to 2026 in the new year.

Information: Quarter 3 update for pupil premium allocations for 2024 to 2025 financial year

We have published the quarter 3 update for the pupil premium allocations for 2024 to 2025 financial year. Quarter 3 payments will be made to academies on Thursday 9 January 2025. 

We are trialling a new approach to the way we provide pupil premium allocations to academy trusts. We’ve uploaded a statement to each academy trust’s area on Document exchange showing the unsuppressed pupil premium allocations for the academies in that trust. Statements can be viewed and downloaded from the trust area in the ‘documents received from ESFA’ section.

To access, you will need to use your trust UK provider reference number (UKPRN) for DfE sign-in.

Contact us if you have any questions.  

Information: Core schools budget grant update – academy rates for April to August 2025 

At the Wednesday 30 October budget, we announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and high needs for the 2025 to 2026 financial year. Some of this funding will cover the remaining April to August 2025 costs of the 2024 teachers’ pay award in financial year 2025 to 2026. This is on top of the existing funding that schools are receiving through the core schools budget grant (CSBG) in financial year 2024 to 2025.  

For maintained schools, this will be received through their core funding allocations from April 2025.  

For academies, this will be through a continuation of the CSBG in the period April to August 2025, but with the rates reflecting five twelfths of the full-year costs.

Academies can see these updated rates in the published methodology document.

From September 2025, this funding will be rolled into academies’ general annual grant (GAG) allocations. 

Information: Changes to the national non-domestic rates payment process for academies 

We have published the national non-domestic rates (NNDR) payment process for 2025 to 2026 for billing authorities and schools confirming the process your billing authority will be implementing from April 2025. 

If your billing authority is implementing the central NNDR payment process, you:  

• should not pay your business rates bill to the billing authority – we will do this on your behalf  

• will continue to receive a rates bill from the billing authority which is for information only  

If your billing authority is remaining on the old NNDR arrangements, you: 

• should pay your business rates bill directly to the billing authority as previous year’s arrangement or as instructed on your rates bill for April 2025 to March 2026 

• must claim your payment from us (as in previous years) using the existing academies NNDR portal  

• must contact the billing authority directly for any adjustment queries related to your rates bill  

For NNDR enquiries, contact our customer help portal. 

Information: Updated national non-domestic rates accounting guidance for local authorities and academies for 2025 to 2026 

We have published the national non-domestic rates (NNDR) accounting guidance which provides details on how local authorities and academies should account for their NNDR for 2025 to 2026.   

Local authorities should refer to their completed 2025 to 2026 financial year authority proforma tool (APT), alongside the NNDR accounting guidance.   

Academies should refer to the Academies Accounts Direction and submitting your audited 2022 to 2023 financial statements alongside the NNDR accounting guidance.

Information:  Outcomes of the review of qualifications reform

Last week, the government announced the outcomes of the review of qualifications reform, confirming we:

• will retain 157 qualifications in the system (alongside T Levels and A levels), that were due to be defunded, to support learners and the economy
• will not be applying the previously proposed rules of combination – it should be for colleges and sixth forms to work with students to devise the best mix for each individual
• have provided certainty to education providers, students and their parents and guardians to make the position clear up to 2027
• have confirmed that T Levels are the primary technical route for 16 to 19 year olds, being based on the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers need and including the much-valued industry placement

Read more detail on the outcome of the review, and the route-by-route outcomes.

Webinars:  

Automating your accounts return 2023 to 2024

Wednesday 8 January 2025, 10am to 11am. Register on Eventbrite.

Q&A drop-in sessions – Academies chart of accounts and automation

• Wednesday 15 January 2025, 2pm to 2:30pm. Register on Eventbrite.
• Thursday 23 January 2025, 11am – 11:30am. Register on Eventbrite.