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ESFA Update academies: 24 April 2024

Published 24 April 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-24-april-2024/esfa-update-academies-24-april-2024

Information: Mainstream schools additional grant school level allocations for academies, April to August 2024

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has published the final mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) school level allocations for academies.

As academies funding follows an academic year rather than a financial year, this final payment will be made to academies to cover April to August 2024.

This will be allocated using the same rates and pupil numbers as the 2023 to 2024 grant and represents five-twelfths of academies 2023 to 2024 allocations.

From the 2024 to 2025 funding year onwards, MSAG funding will be rolled into academies general annual grant (GAG) allocations.

Information: Update of PE and sport premium allocations for 2023 to 2024 academic year

ESFA has updated the 2023 to 2024 allocations for PE and sport premium on the Manage your education and skills funding (MYSEF) service, where users can directly access the information. This update reflects estate changes across the school sector.

Information: Find out more about buying for your school or trust at the Schools and Academies Show, Wednesday 1 May

Join the Department for Education (DfE) Schools Commercial team on Wednesday 1 May 2024 at the Schools and Academies Show, Excel, London.

The team are hosting 4 sessions at the show starting with a 45-minute panel session at the Business and Finance theatre from 10am to 10:45am. The session is called ‘contracts that benefit communities: achieving social value through effective procurement’ and will cover:

  • what social value means
  • how social value could benefit your school or trust
  • how to build social value into your procurement planning and process

In the afternoon there’s a session in the Compliance Theatre, from 2pm to 2:30pm, looking at nature-based solutions to improve school flood resilience and raise environmental awareness. 

You can also sign up for these sessions in the DfE Theatre:

  • 10:45am to 11:05am: How to make your contracts work smarter for your trust
  • 11:15am to 11:35am: Navigating complex school procurement with confidence

The Schools Commercial team will be available all day at their stand in the Government Village and are happy to take your questions about buying goods and services for your schools or trust.

Sign up for the Schools and Academies Show now, if you haven’t already. Registration is free for schools, multi-academy trusts and the wider public sector.

Information: Budget Forecast Return 2024 updated guidance and workbooks now available

The Budget Forecast Return (BFR) guidance has been updated. The academies budget forecast guidance for completing the online form details the changes made.

This year’s excel workbook’s have been added to academies budget forecast return to help your trust prepare for the BFR.

When the BFR goes live, it will be on a new authentication system called DfE Sign-in (DSI) and the Identity and Access management System (IDAMs) will no longer be used.

You will need a DSI account to access the form and all trust users should have received an email from the DSI team about how to activate your DSI account.

If you already have a DSI account, all you’ll need to do is sign-in as you normally would and select the BFR service from the list on the services page.

If you are a new user, you will need to register for a DSI account.

Information: Use your National Tutoring Programme funding to support pupils with SEND

Schools can use their National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funding to contribute to 50% of tutoring costs until 31 August 2024. This includes alternative types of established, evidence-underpinned interventions for pupils with SEND, including:

  • speech and language therapy
  • fine and gross motor skills (holding pens and pencils, aiding writing development and other learning outcomes)
  • study skills (listening capability, homework and revision strategies, assistive technology skills and classwork strategies)
  • social skills and communication (role play and play interaction)
  • sensory based interventions (aiding information processing, sensory development, and sensory regulation)

Read the blog from The Imperium Federation, where executive headteacher, Meic Griffiths, shares the impact of tutoring and why he recommends using NTP to support pupils with SEND.

Find out more about funding for special schools and read the guidance on delivering tutoring to support pupils with SEND.

Information: Publication of best practice guidance for the Local Government Pension Scheme

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Working Group has published best practice guidance to support academy trusts in understanding their LGPS obligations and navigating financial challenges relating to pensions.

The guidance is a result of collaboration between representatives from ESFA, academy trusts, pension funds, and scheme actuaries. 

You can provide feedback to help us improve the guidance by emailing LGPS.WorkingGroup4@education.gov.uk.

This guidance is supplementary to the guidance issued by the LGPS pension fund.

A Power Hour presentation on Thursday 23 May 2024 will go into more detail on the guidance and how to use it. Keep an eye out for a future edition of ESFA Update which will include details of how to join the next Power Hour.

Information: Eligibility for the Levelling Up Premium

From autumn 2024, the Levelling Up Premium (LUP) will be worth up to £6,000 annually. This applies to key STEM and technical subject teachers in the first 5 years of their career, including maths, construction and engineering, and early years education.

Teachers in general FE colleges, sixth form colleges, and 16 to 19 schools will be eligible for the levelling up payments for the first time. Levelling up payments for secondary school teachers will double in value. Payments for all settings will be worth up to £6,000.

Eligible teachers can apply for LUP payments from the autumn 2024 until spring 2025.

DfE will make the payments in the academic years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026. This represents a £100m investment in the financial years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026.

Information: Cyber workshop for risk protection arrangement members

Willis Towers Watson is providing risk management support for all risk protection arrangement (RPA) members through audit, guidance and advice. As part of the risk management support, RPA members are invited to a workshop covering:

  • the minimum requirements for the management of cyber risk
  • best practices concerning the management of cyber risk
  • a case study about a cyber incident
  • how to spot and respond to a cyber-attack and where to go for guidance and support

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis:

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