Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 22 May 2024

Published 22 May 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-22-may-2024/esfa-update-local-authorities-22-may-2024

Action: Section 151 officer assurance return 2023 to 2024

The deadline for submitting the section 151 (S151) officer assurance return for 2023 to 2024 is 5pm on 24 May 2024.  

For more information, and instructions on completing your return, read the local authority section 151 officer assurance return 2023 to 2024 guidance.  

For any queries, email la.assurance@education.gov.uk.   

Information: 16 to 19 funding allocations

The 16 to 19 disadvantage funding allocations consist of 2 blocks: one to account for students’ economic deprivation, and one to account for low prior attainment in English and maths. The Education and Skills Funding agency (ESFA) has amended the 16 to 19 allocations data to show the allocations from academic year 2020 to 2021 onwards, by separating these 2 blocks and including the minimum top-up amounts. This is to support the transparency of 16 to 19 allocation data.

We have updated the below transparency data:

Information: Teachers’ pay additional grant 2024 to 2025

ESFA has published the teachers’ pay additional grant conditions of grant for the financial year 2024 to 2025. 

We have also published the teachers’ pay additional grant allocations for mainstream and special schools for the financial year 2024 to 2025.

Information: Teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) 2024 to 2025

All the information in this article is about the 2024 to 2025 financial year. ESFA has published pension grant methodologies and conditions for all settings for this financial year.

We are publishing the allocations files at different times depending on the grant and setting type.

TPECG 2024 for schools, high needs settings and local authorities:

  • we have published the allocation file for provision in 5 to 16 mainstream schools, and for high needs settings
  • we aim to publish allocations for centrally employed teachers in October 2024

16 to 19 teachers pension scheme employer contribution grant (TPSECG):

We confirmed:

  • additional funding for early years is already included in core rates
  • FE TPSECG with 16 to 19 funding allocations in March 2024

Payments

We explain when we will pay you in the links above for your setting type.

Information: Changes to the funding regulations for post-16 provision 2024 to 2025 guidance

ESFA has updated the funding regulations for post-16 provision 2024 to 2025 guidance. You can find any changes detailed in the what’s new section.

Changes include an amendment to section 6, which now sets out all our subcontracting advice for schools and academies.

Information: The ESFA digital form service will be unavailable on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 May 2024 due to planned maintenance work

The ESFA digital form service will be undergoing planned maintenance work on Tuesday 28 May and Wednesday 29 May 2024. During this time, the following digital form collections will not be available to users:

  • section 151 (S151) officer return for financial year 2023 to 2024
  • local authority disapplication request
  • submit a business case request for the 2024 to 2025 funding year
  • use of dedicated schools grant (DSG) – spring 2024 assurance

This maintenance work will not impact any submission deadlines and local authorities will not be disadvantaged by not being able to complete submissions during the period of closure.

The digital form service will reopen on Thursday, 30 May 2024.

Information: Publication of final school condition allocations and devolved formula capital for the financial year 2024 to 2025

Final school condition allocations (SCA) and devolved formula capital (DFC) for the financial year 2024 to 2025 have now been published on the school capital funding page. This is part of £1.8 billion committed for 2024 to 2025 for improving the condition of the school estate.

The Department for Education (DfE) published the provisional SCA for local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided school bodies at the end of March 2024. Final allocations have been updated to take account of changes in the status of schools, such as movements between responsible bodies, closures, and mergers. DFC allocations for individual schools have also been updated.

Final allocation amounts, the condition funding methodology and spend guidance are available on the school capital funding GOV.UK page.

The outcomes of the 2024 to 2025 condition improvement fund (CIF) were announced in March 2024.

Information: Launch of the skills injection fund 3

The application window for the latest round of the higher technical education skills injection fund is now open and will close on Monday 17 June. This £10.3 million capital fund supports the government’s ambition to grow provision of higher technical qualifications (HTQs), to give learners the skills that employers need to help the economy grow and thrive.

The purpose of the fund is to help providers invest in industry-standard equipment they need to offer an experience for learners that will meet employer needs. Applications can be made for courses in the following routes: 

  • agriculture, environmental and animal care
  • care services
  • construction and the built environment
  • digital
  • education and early years
  • engineering and manufacturing
  • health and science

To check your eligibility and to apply, visit the higher technical education skills injection fund 3 guidance page.

The fund will close for applications at 11:59pm on Monday 17 June.

Information: The DfE further education provider dashboard

The DfE further education (FE) provider dashboard has been developed for all grant-funded FE providers and for local authority FE providers in receipt of £1 million per annum or more from ESFA. The dashboard forms part of the wider FE accountability reforms set out in the skills for jobs white paper.

We appreciate the efforts of those that have supported the testing of the dashboard. We are now ready to go live in July 2024 for a ‘private beta’ (non-public) pilot in view your education data (VYED).

We would like all colleges and large local authority FE providers to start using the dashboard from September, as part of this pilot. To support you with this we are holding demonstration webinars followed by a live question and answer session.

Register for the webinars following webinars:

Share with any colleagues who may be interested in attending.

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