ESFA Update local authorities: 19 October 2022
Published 19 October 2022
Applies to England
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1. Action: submit your 16 to 19 tuition fund recovery form
As a condition of opting into the 16 to 19 tuition fund, institutions are required to inform ESFA of any unspent funding at the end of the 2021 to 2022 academic year so it can be recovered.
On the 10 October, we issued a digital form to all institutions in receipt of the tuition fund, asking for details of the amount spent in either the 2020 to 2021 or 2021 to 2022 academic years.
You can access and find guidance on how to complete the form on GOV.UK.
The deadline to submit this form is 6:00pm on 24 October 2022. If the form hasn’t been returned by this time, we will assume there was zero tuition fund spent and the entire allocation for both years could be recovered.
2. Action: high needs place change process for 2023 to 2024 is now open
The high needs place change process for 2023 to 2024 is now open.
You can confirm your 2023 to 2024 high needs place numbers in ESFA funded schools and colleges by 18 November 2022, using an MS Excel workbook accessed via GalaxKey. An email notification has been sent to local authority contacts detailing how to access the file via Galaxkey.
We have published guidance on the high needs place change process and the how to complete the high needs place change workbook.
You can also make requests for changes to hospital education funding through the workbook. The hospital education funding guidance explains the criteria for this.
We have also published the spring 2022 census data for high needs pupil numbers in special academies and free schools, and the place numbers for 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. 2021 to 2022 R06 data was issued to local authorities with the import/export adjustment for the 2022 to 2023 financial year in June 2022. You can use this to inform local discussion about commissioning arrangements for 2023 to 2024.
3. Action: coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund 2022 to 2023 claim form now live
The coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund 2022 to 2023 opt in/out digital form is now live.
The deadline for your submission is 11.59pm on 21 October 2022.
We’ve published guidance to access and help you complete the form.
More information is available on the coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance 2022 to 2023 on GOV.UK.
4. Reminder: final funding claim for 2021 to 2022 opens on Monday 24 October
The final funding claim window will open at 9am on Monday 24 October 2022.
Please submit your final funding claim by 5pm on Thursday 27 October 2022. The claim form will be available on Submit Learner Data.
Your principal or delegated authority must sign your claim digitally on Manage your education and skills funding by 5pm on Tuesday 1 November 2022. You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through these contracts:
- grant funded - ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and national skills fund Level 3 adult offer)
- grant funded - advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)
- 16 to 19 education.
Once you have submitted your claim you will also be able to view it on the Manage your education and skills funding within fifteen minutes.
If you have any queries, please use ESFA help centre to contact us.
5. Information: book your place on an advanced learner loans event during November
The events taking place in November are an opportunity for advanced learner loans providers to attend workshops presented by Student Loans Company (SLC), ESFA and DfE to gain knowledge and share best practice. The events are free, to find out more about the day and book your place please visit the SLC events page.
The dates and venues are:
- 3 November - Bristol - The Bristol Hotel
- 8 November - York - The Principal York
- 24 November - London - Park Plaza Victoria
- 29 November - Birmingham - Birmingham Conference and Events Centre
6. Information: RPA members - book your place on this Regulatory Mock Trial
The Department for Education, in conjunction with Willis Towers Watson, has developed a bespoke training seminar, ‘The Regulatory Mock Trial’.
The 3-hour workshop has been designed to assist governors, trustees, directors, and members of Senior Leadership Teams to understand the challenges they face in implementing compliant health and safety management systems, enhance the prospects of avoiding enforcement action and improve the school’s defensive capabilities where a prosecution is pursued.
Book your place now:
7. Information: RPA members - book your place on the RPA construction, design and management webinar
The Department for Education, in conjunction with Willis Towers Watson, are hosting a webinar on:
- the management of any construction projects to ensure legal compliance with the CDM Regulations and other associated legislation
- the cover provided by the RPA for existing structures and contract works during the works period and changes required to any contractual joint name’s insurance requirements
Book your place now:
8. Information: cancellation of academies chart of accounts and automation webinars
The chart of accounts and automation team are cancelling the following webinars on the following dates:
- Thursday 17 November
You can chat to the team about the academies chart of accounts and automation at the Academies Show, where they will be in the DfE village for the day.
They will still be holding the regular dial in sessions for you to ask any questions about the academies chart of accounts and automation at 11am on 19 October and 16th November. You can sign up to these sessions now.
9. Information: ESFA is proud to support Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2022
ESFA are proud to support this year’s Charity Fraud Awareness Week which runs from 17 to 21 October 2022.
Now in its seventh year, Charity Fraud Awareness Week is an award-winning campaign, run by a partnership of charities, regulators, representatives, umbrella bodies and other not-for-profit stakeholders, across the world.
Its aim is to bring together the third sector to share knowledge, expertise, and good practice in fraud prevention, at a time when many in the sector continue to remain susceptible to fraud and cybercrime.
For more information on how you can get involved including access to free events visit preventcharityfraud.org.uk and/or join the conversation at: #StopCharityFraud.
10. Information: Condition Improvement Fund 2023 to 2024 application open
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) 2023 to 2024 application round opened to eligible schools and colleges on Thursday 13 October. Schools and colleges have until 12 noon on Wednesday 7 December to submit their applications.
You can read about the eligibility criteria and how to apply on the Condition Improvement Fund GOV.UK page.
Information: high needs funding, due diligence process for special post-16 providers guidance published
We have published the high needs funding: due diligence process for special post-16 providers guidance.
This guidance explains the process for special post-16 institutions that may lead to a funding arrangement with the Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
In order to be eligible to receive ESFA funding, special post-16 institutions (SPI) are required to be included within their provider LA high needs place change workbook (required by 18 November 2022) and must be named on at least 10 Education Health and Care plans. Subject to meeting this requirement, the ESFA will undertake due diligence to ensure themselves that the SPI is eligible to receive ESFA funding.
11. Information: industry placements capacity and delivery fund 2023 to 2024 published
We have published the capacity and delivery fund guidance for the 2023 to 2024 academic year. The guidance sets out the arrangements for providers delivering industry placements through the capacity and delivery fund and the monitoring return requirements.
The 2023 to 2024 academic year is the final year of funding and will only be allocated to existing CDF providers with either an Ofsted ‘requires improvement’, ‘inadequate’ rating and those who had not yet been inspected by 29 July 2022. The funding rate is £160 per qualifying student for both level 2 and level 3 qualifying students.
From September 2024, all providers registered to offer T Levels will receive a funding allocation that includes funding to support the provision of an industry placement for every student.
12. Information: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) monitoring return for December now available
The CDF monitoring form is now available for providers in receipt of a CDF allocation to complete and submit.
The monitoring return will focus on your delivery in the 2021 to 2022 academic year, and how funding has been spent, as well as how you are progressing in the 2022 to 2023 academic year.
The monitoring returns are mandatory and must be submitted as a condition of receiving a CDF allocation. Monitoring returns provide us with information on the progress being made in building capacity and capability to deliver high quality industry placements as we scale up the delivery of T Levels. They also provide assurance that the funding is being used for the purpose intended.
To access the December 2022 CDF monitoring form, you must sign into your DfE sign in account. Further information about DfE Sign-in and how to access the monitoring form is available in the CDF guidance for 2022 to 2023 academic year.
The deadline to complete the monitoring return is by 5pm on Friday 2 December 2022.
13. Information: join us for an introduction to the School Resource Management (SRM) offer
You are invited to join us on Wednesday 9 November from 9.30am to 12pm for an introduction to the School Resource Management (SRM) offer. In this session you can learn all about the free tools and resources available to local authorities and maintained schools.
The session will cover why these tools have been created, how they can be used and where you can find them. There will also be time for networking, Q&A and two deep-dive sessions.
Please forward this invitation onto any colleagues or contacts who may find this event of interest.
You can register for this event now.
In the meantime, you can learn more about the SRM offer by watching this short video.
You can access the full range of SRM tools and resources at: School resource management on GOV.UK.
14. Information: latest update to the provider data self-assessment toolkit (PDSAT)
Earlier this month, we announced that for the 2022 to 2023 funding year, we will be releasing an online version of PDSAT. We expect this to be available in November 2022.
We have published the first PDSAT online update with more information on GOV.UK.
This includes details for providers, in the first instance, who wish to pre-register in advance of the website release. This will ensure access to PDSAT online as soon as it is made available.
We are focussing pre-registration for providers as our initial priority. Opportunities for non-providers (auditors, consultants, MCA’s etc) will follow in the coming weeks.
Pre-registration is not a requirement for accessing PDSAT online. Providers that do not pre-register will be able to register a request for their own login at any time once PDSAT online goes live unless a user from the same organisation has already registered.
Registering on the PDSAT online website includes a process whereby ESFA will review registrations prior to approval. Given the anticipated volume of registrations upon release there may be a delay to accessing PDSAT online if you choose to wait.