ESFA Update local authorities: 30 September 2020
Published 30 September 2020
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2020
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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: autumn school census is approaching
The autumn school census 2020 opens on Thursday 1 October. You need to submit your information by Wednesday 28 October.
These user reports explain how to use COLLECT.
The interactive post-16 census tool supports institutions to return accurate 16 to 19 data. Post-16 funding reports are available in COLLECT and we have published information on the reports and common data issues to help you check your data.
A guide for the 2020 to 2021 academic year is available. We would ask that you also look at the section which covers changes since the previous census and completing the school census in unusual circumstances.
3. Information: 16 to 18 traineeship in-year growth for 2020 to 2021
The Chancellor announced on 8 July that we will provide additional funding for traineeship delivery in 2020 to 2021. We have now published guidance on how we will award in-year growth for 16 to 18 traineeships.
This guidance is for colleges, schools, academies, independent learning providers and other provider types with 16 to 18 funding allocations, to deliver study programmes. It does not apply to those providers with standalone 16 to 18 traineeship contracts—separate guidance is available for this.
The process for awarding growth funding for traineeships will be entirely data- driven, based on individualised learner record and school census returns, and the guidance outlines how growth will be calculated and when it will be paid.
If you have any questions about this guidance, please contact us using the online enquiry form.
4. Information: 2019 to 2020 adult grant funded reconciliation
Following feedback from the sector after our communication on 22 July 2020 and subsequent communication on 29 July 2020 we have reviewed the 2019 to 2020 reconciliation policy for grant funded adult education budget (AEB) and Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB).
We recognise that this has been a challenging year and our primary concern remains the stability of providers going into 2020 to 2021, whilst ensuring the proper use of public funds through an approach that will be fair, open and transparent, and in line with the intention of the March covid guidance. This intention remains not to reconcile most providers and so the approach will use a threshold that has been lowered in line with average delivery to identify providers that are significantly under delivering in relation to their peers at R14, rather than assessing the mid-year funding claims, which would be hard to implement fairly.
Providers that are below the thresholds will be able to submit a business case to allow us to consider any exceptional challenges, impacts on vulnerable groups and moderate any adverse outcomes.
Full details are now available in the updated 2019 to 2020 funding claim guidance. Please familiarise yourself with the revised reconciliation policy for the impending final funding claims which opens on Monday 26 October.