Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 27 April 2022

Published 27 April 2022

This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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. Reminder: local authority 16 to 19 funds two-part return for the 2020 to 2021 financial year

Local authorities are required to upload the 16 to 19 funds two-part return to the ESFA’s new Document Exchange by 30 April 2020.

Please upload the returns using the guidance supplied with the email issued to the Chief Finance Officer and also with the return on Document Exchange.

You can access ESFA’s new Document Exchange portal by logging onto Document Exchange service. You can review documents you’ve sent by selecting ‘documents you’ve sent to ESFA’ from the main Document Exchange page.

You can access the Document Exchange by logging into DFE Sign-In. If you don’t have access to Document Exchange but would like it, please speak to one of the super users within your organisation. If you’re unsure who this is, please speak to the head of the organisation.

2. Reminder: business case deadline for adult allocation is 6 May 2022

Allocation statements for adult funding for 2022 to 2023 have now been issued.

If you believe that your data was incorrect and there is an error in your allocation, you can raise a business case by completing the business case template and send it to us using our online enquiry form. Please read the business case section on the 19+ allocations webpage before submitting.

The deadline for submitting your business case is 6 May 2022. Where cases have been received with full information before the deadline, we aim to communicate outcomes end of June 2022. Complex cases can take longer to investigate, where this is the case we aim to communicate outcomes for these cases before 1 August 2022. If successful, changes will be reflected in contracts from the start of the funding year.

3. Information: Multiply funding for adult numeracy

On 13 April the Department for Education (DfE) published the prospectus, technical guidance and indicative local area funding allocations for Multiply, the new £559 million UK-wide adult numeracy programme which is the first skills priority of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

Through Multiply, Mayoral Combined Authorities, the Greater London Authority and upper tier/unitary authorities outside of these areas in England, will receive up to £270 million to develop innovative, accessible numeracy training programmes to equip adults with the maths skills they need to progress in work and life.

The department are holding online engagement events in May for local authorities about Multiply and share information and ideas about how to use Multiply funding in their areas.

Visit multiplying maths skills for adults for further information.

You also need to confirm your local authority’s main contact for Multiply by emailing investmentplans.multiply@education.gov.uk.

4. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund for schools and colleges

Please cascade this information to your maintained schools.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund guidance and online claim form for workforce absences between 22 November 2021 and 8 April 2022 will be available this week.

Further information on the COVID-19 workforce fund is available in our guidance for schools and colleges.

5. Information: school-led tutoring 2021 to 2022 allocations – third payment

The Department for Education (DfE) has redirected up to £65 million for school-led tutoring to continue to provide schools with the autonomy and support they require to deliver high-quality tutoring to their pupils who need support the most.

Local authorities will receive the extra funding on 29 April 2022 and academies on 9 May 2022, as part of their third payment for the school-led tutoring grant from ESFA.

On 27 April 2022, the new funding allocations will be published on the school-led tutoring: guidance and tracker tool website. All state funded schools, academies, independent special schools with eligible pupils (for information see the independent special schools guidance) and units, will receive a payment to cover 76% of their pupils eligible for pupil premium. This is an increase of 16% from the previous two payments. This is money to fund school-led tutoring for the remainder of the academic year 2021 to 2022.

6. Information: Advanced Learner Loans – launch of the 2022 to 2023 application service

The 2022 to 2023 advanced learner loans application service will be available from 23 May 2022 for learners who wish to start eligible qualifications from 1 August 2022 funded with a loan.

Updated Learning and Funding Information letters for 2022 to 2023 are available on GOV.UK.

7. Information: local authorities planning calendar for the 2022 to 2023 financial year

We’ve published the local authorities planning calendar for the 2022 to 2023 financial year. The calendar includes important dates for payments, publications and local authority actions for 2022 to 2023.

8. Information: free checks to protect against cyber-attacks

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) invites all schools to register to use 2 free services:

• Web Check to find and fix common security vulnerabilities within your website
• Mail Check to assess email security compliance and adopt secure email standards to stop criminals from spoofing email domains

Both tools are part of the NCSC’s Active Cyber Defence program. They are quick to set up and run automatically. To access these services, you need to register for an NCSC account.

For further information, please see the latest NCSC blog and the official release article on the NCSC website.

For any generic enquiries relating to cyber security in your school, please contact sector.securityenquiries@education.gov.uk.

9. Information: join these webinars on approved frameworks and see how you could save money for your school

The Department for Education (DfE) is hosting webinars on how using our approved frameworks could help your school get value for money.

If you are responsible for buying goods and services for your schools, check out the range of informative webinars that could help you save time and money.

All sessions are free, use these Eventbrite links to join the Schools Commercial Team and take the opportunity to ask providers the questions you may have:

• YPO internal fit out - 3 May 2022
• CPC energy - 3 May 2022
• CPC ICT networking & storage - 4 May 2022
• CCS Ed-Tech - 5 May 2022
• CPC staff absence protection webinar – 10 & 12 May 2022

For the latest on our wide range of webinars, check out the events tab on our Buying for schools LinkedIn page.

10. Your feedback: pupil premium – user opportunity to provide feedback for new digital service

We’d like to speak to users of the pupil premium spreadsheets which are emailed to local authorities, to understand how you work with the content. The output from these sessions will inform the design of a new digital service. There will be opportunity to feedback on the new prototype as it progresses. Testing with users helps us to check that new developments meet your needs.

Sessions will take place online using Microsoft Teams and will last approximately 60 minutes.

Participation is encouraged from all experience levels and will give you the opportunity to provide feedback to government service designers.

To take part, please complete our 3 minute survey, and our researcher will be in touch to agree a meeting time to suit.