ESFA Update local authorities: 22 July 2020
Published 22 July 2020
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2020
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-22-july-2020/esfa-update-local-authorities-22-july-2020
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.
There is also guidance on the apprenticeship service about COVID-19.
Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.
2. Action: Education and Skills agreements for 2020 to 2021
Providers should now be receiving their Education and Skills agreements for 2020 to 2021 via the Manage Your Education and Skills Funding Service (MYESF).
To guarantee initial payment in August 2020, providers should ensure that the agreement is signed in MYESF by 31 July 2020.
3. Information: schools funding arrangements 2021 to 2022
On Monday 20 July, the Minister of State for School Standards made a written statement setting out the key aspects of the schools, high needs and central school services national funding formulae (NFF) for 2021 to 2022.
Provisional 2021 to 2022 NFF allocations tables and technical notes have been published, along with the NFF policy document detailing changes. The school-level provisional allocations have also been published in an on-line tool.
We have written to our contacts at local authorities to let them know that we have published the schools operational guide for 2021 to 2022 for them to progress their planning.
We have also published an analysis of the formulae which local authorities have used to distribute their schools block allocations to schools in their area, in the current year 2020 to 2021
4. Information: revised guidance for the 2020 to 2021 academic year delivery of industry placements, capacity and delivery fund
As a consequence of the impact COVID-19 has had on delivery of industry placements and the ability of providers to build capacity in the second half of the 2019 to 2020 academic year, the industry placement delivery target has been reduced to 25% of qualifying students for the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
ESFA will also allow delivery across two academic years where students commence a two-year programme beginning in 2020 to 2021 and where a minimum of 50% of placements are successfully completed by the end of the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
All providers with a capacity and delivery fund allocation will receive a letter outlining their 2020 to 2021 academic year delivery targets and the required level 2 and level 3 split.
5. Information: updated 2019 to 2020 dedicated schools grant allocations
We have updated the 2019 to 2020 dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations to reflect the final allocations for the early years block.
We have also updated the high needs: allocated place numbers for 2019 to 2020.
6. Information: updated 2020 to 2021 dedicated schools grant allocations
We have updated the 2020 to 2021 dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations to reflect
- latest academies recoupment data including academy conversions as at 1 July 2020
- the latest data on high needs places and import/export adjustments
- updated allocations for the early years block using January 2020 census data
7. Information: apprenticeships carry-in allocations for the 2020 to 2021 funding year
We have now issued apprenticeships carry-in allocations for the 2020 to 2021 funding year through Manage your education and skills funding (MYESF). These allocations include funding for learners that started:
- before 1 May 2017 (under the old funding system)
- with non-levy employers between 1 May and 31 December 2017 (under the new funding system)
- with non-levy employers between 1 January and 31 March 2018 (if you were offered a 3 month run-down extension as a result of being unsuccessful in the non-levy procurement).
We have updated the 19+ technical guidance and the apprenticeship performance-management rules for training providers.
If you have any queries, please contact us using our ESFA online enquiry form.
8. Information: 2019 to 2020 final claim reconciliation
This is relevant to the following funding streams:
- grant funded adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, 19 to 24 traineeships and community learning)
- learner support for AEB Procured (adult skills and 19 to 24 traineeships) – paid-on-profile
- grant funded Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB)
Further to the COVID guidance for further education and skills providers we published in March 2020, we will provide further details on the reconciliation process in updated guidance during August. In summary, we will not be reconciling grant agreements with those providers that have attempted to continue delivering during the COVID period and have delivered in excess of 80% of their allocation. Where providers fall below this threshold and under delivery by more than £10,000, we will fund the actual costs of delivery for these grants. We will fund over-delivery as set out in the funding rules.
If you have any queries please use the enquiry form.
9. Information: Summer support to new & existing learners – best practice toolkit of case studies
We recognise that colleges, providers and stakeholders have worked harder than ever to ensure learners stay engaged during these challenging times. Over the summer, the focus will be on how new starters and returning learners are supported into settings in September.
We have collected examples from providers and local authorities who are putting in place innovative steps to support young people joining or returning to further education, and to reduce the risk of learners becoming not in employment, education, or training (NEET).
This information is intended to provide an opportunity for colleges, local authorities and other providers to learn from emerging best practice and develop their approach to support new and existing students over the summer.
10. Information: guidance on the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium
In June we announced a £1 billion catch-up package to support pupils who may have fallen behind due to lost teaching time as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This package includes:
- a one-off universal £650 million catch-up premium for the 2020 to 2021 academic year to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time. This funding will be available for all state-funded mainstream and special schools, and alternative provision.
- a £350 million National Tutoring Programme to provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who need the most help.
Full details on eligibility, funding allocation, payments and use of the funds can be found in the guidance on the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium.