Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 22 September 2021

Updated 23 September 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This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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 October FP Power Hour event

Our next academies finance professionals (FP) Power Hour event takes place on 14 October 2021 from 3pm to 4pm. This event will focus on making the most of the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

The sessions will cover:

• what CIF is about and why we encourage trusts to bid
• what we do behind the scenes and what you need to do if you are successful in receiving funding
• making the most of the good estate management for schools (GEMS) toolkit to develop your estate strategy and asset management plan.

Register here for the October FP Power Hour.

2. Feedback: please tell us about your experience with digital forms

We are seeking volunteers to participate in our user research panel to inform the ongoing development of digital forms. We’d like to hear from schools, academies, local authorities and colleges who can tell us about their experience of using our digital forms, particularly for submitting data to us for grant funding.

If you’d like to take part please complete our on-line form and we will be in touch.

3. Feedback: view my financial insights

The view my financial insights (VMFI) team is currently reviewing how we can improve VMFI to better support schools, academies, and trusts.

The user research team would like to interview school/academy and trust leaders about their experience and engagement with VMFI. From this research we hope to gain insight to ensure VMFI delivers value.

Research sessions lasting 45 minutes will take place throughout the autumn term, starting on 28 September 2021. The sessions will use Microsoft Teams and all responses will be anonymised.

Please register your interest and a researcher will be in touch with more information.

Please share this opportunity with colleagues in your local authority or academy trust.

4. Reminder: 16 to 19 tuition fund 2021 to 2022 form

Eligible institutions are reminded to complete the 16 to 19 tuition fund form.

The deadline for your submission is 11:59pm on 12 October 2021.

You can read the guidance document to help you complete the form.

5. Reminder: school admissions timetable

Admission authorities must determine their admission arrangements for entry in September 2023 by 28 February 2022.

As set out in the Schools Admission Code 2021 (“the Code”), the timetable for consultation and determination of admission arrangements is as follows:

• consultation should take place for a minimum of 6 weeks between 1 October 2021 and 31 January 2022
• you must determine your admission arrangements by 28 February 2022
• you must send a copy of your determined admission arrangements to your local authority and publish those arrangements on your school website by 15 March 2022
• the deadline for objections to the Schools Adjudicator is 15 May 2022.

Please note, you must consult when you propose changes to your admission arrangements or, if you have not consulted within the past 7 years. The relevant bodies who must be consulted are set out in paragraph 1.47 of the Code.

6. Information: In-year admissions coordination

Admission authorities that intend to be part of their local authority’s in-year co-ordination scheme (where this is offered) must inform their local authority of this intention by the following dates:

• 1 August 2022 (for the academic year 2022 to 2023)
• 1 August 2023 (for the academic year 2023 to 2024)

For the year in question, you must provide all information the local authority is required to publish on its website in relation to how in-year applications can be made from 1 September until the following 31 August.

You must set out on the school’s website how in-year admissions will be dealt with by 31 August at the latest each year. For information on what to include, see para 2.26 of the Schools Admission Code 2021 (“the Code”).

7. Information: Lead school applications for the Behaviour Hubs programme now open

Following a successful initial cohort, we are now looking to welcome a further 28 Lead schools and 8 Lead multi-academy trusts (MATs) to join the Behaviour Hubs programme.

Behaviour Hubs is a 3-year programme, funded by The Department for Education (DfE) that pairs schools and (MATs) with exemplary behaviour practices, called Lead schools or MATs, with Partner schools or MATs who want and need to improve pupil behaviour.

We are looking for ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ schools that demonstrate excellent behaviour culture to join the programme. We are also looking for MATs with exemplary behaviour practice across schools in their MAT, who are invited to apply alongside an eligible school.

If your school or Trust is interested in applying, you can find more information about the programme in the Behaviour Hubs brochure. The application form in addition to the full application guidance can be accessed here.

For any questions relating to the Behaviour Hubs programme, please contact the team by emailing behaviourhubs@educationdevelopmenttrust.com.

8. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery premium funding

We’ve published the recovery premium funding allocations and conditions of grant for academies and local authorities.

You can read more about the recovery premium funding.

9. Information: revised pupil premium allocations for 2021 to 2022

We’ve updated the 2021 to 2022 pupil premium allocations to take into account academy conversions and other changes to the school estate since the June 2021 publication.

Information: Recruit an Apprentice legacy technology

The Recruit an Apprentice (RAA) team is looking at updating legacy technology including RSS feed, AV Live Widget and SOAP API.

If your organisation uses any of these, please complete this survey by 30 September. Some questions may need to be answered by your technical team.