Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 29 July 2020

Published 29 July 2020

This correspondence was withdrawn on

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for up to date news and information.

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-29-july-2020/esfa-update-academies-29-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.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Information: Academies Accounts Direction supplementary bulletin

We have published a supplementary bulletin to the Academies Accounts Direction with guidance on how academy trusts should reflect the events of COVID-19 in their 2019 to 2020 financial statements.

The guide covers:

  • regularity and audit implications
  • trustees report content
  • requirements for disclosure of financial support received

The bulletin has the same status as the Accounts Direction, so compliance with both documents is a condition of your funding agreement.

3. Information: budget forecast return 3 year (BFR3Y) 2020

Thank you to those trusts that have already submitted their BFR3Y. If you have any feedback, please let us know using this quick BFR3Y survey.

If you’re still working on your BFR3Y, please note the following points from the feedback we’ve received so far.

You need to complete the ‘Overview’ section in order to access the rest of the form. The form is sensitive to information you provide in the ‘Overview’. This is so you don’t have to complete sections that aren’t relevant to your trust. To complete a page, click ‘Mark as Complete’. This is a green button at the bottom righthand side of the page.

Please note that all MATs and SATs need to complete all of the reserve sections in your BFR3Y form.

You can download an Excel report showing your progress at any stage. Click ‘Return Overview’ on the right-hand side of the screen. Once downloaded and opened in Excel, click on ‘View’ and select the most appropriate view for you to use the report.

You can use the following links to:

The deadline for submitting the BFR3Y is 29 September 2020.

4. Information: high value courses for school and college leavers: a one year offer for 18 and 19-year-olds

On 8 July the Chancellor announced exceptional funding as part of the wider COVID-19 skills recovery response to support 18 and 19-year-olds. The additional funding will be available for one year to encourage and support delivery of selected level 2 and 3 qualifications in specific subjects and sectors in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

We have published guidance about what the funding is and how it can be used to support 18 and 19 year olds.

We have also updated the following guidance and documents to include this additional funding:

5. Information: 16 to 19 tuition fund

Last week we confirmed details of the 16 to 19 tuition fund for 2020 to 2021.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund is £96 million one-off funding for the 2020 to 2021 academic year only. The funding is ring-fenced and provided to support small group tuition for 16 to 19 students in English, maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19).

We have published full details of who is eligible for this funding and how it will work during 2020 to 2021 on GOV.UK.

Back to top