Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 31 March 2021

Published 31 March 2021

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This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-31-march-2021/esfa-update-academies-31-march-2021

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: academy funding allocation statements for 2021 to 2022

We have uploaded all pre-16 allocation statements for 2021 to 2022 to academies that opened before or on 1 January 2021.

These can be found in the revenue funding’ folder (2021/22) in the Document Exchange section of Information Exchange.

For those academies with sixth forms, separate 16 to 19 allocation statements have also been uploaded.

2021 to 2022 allocation statements for February and March 2021 opening academies will be issued by the end of April 2021.

3. Information: Academies Accounts Direction 2020 to 2021 published

We have published the Academies Accounts Direction for 2020 to 2021. This is the reference pack for academy trusts and their auditors to use when preparing and auditing the trust’s annual report and financial statements.

Compliance with the Accounts Direction, including the separate model accounts document, is a condition of an academy trust’s funding agreement.

The main changes to the Academies Accounts Direction are detailed on pages 5 and 6 and include:

  • publishing the model accounts as a separate document.
  • information on how compliance with the Accounts Direction could be improved.
  • clarification on the content of the financial review section of the trustees’ report.
  • introducing a requirement for trusts with a financial notice to improve (FNtI) in place at some point during the year to declare this and provide more information.

We have also published a separate framework and guide for external auditors and reporting accountants of academy trusts.

4. Information: Condition Data Collection (CDC) 2

Many thanks for your support on the CDC programme.

We now need to refresh the school condition data collected, which will help us target future investment in the school estate in England. To do this we are starting our successor programme, CDC2. CDC2 will run over a 5-year period, from April 2021 to March 2026. CDC2 will be similar to CDC and will capture additional information on construction type, asbestos, energy usage and estate management.

You will be contacted by a surveying organisation during the programme to set up a preliminary virtual meeting, which will gather general building information, and a site visit to collect building condition data.

Further information on CDC2 is available on GOV.UK.

5. Information: early career framework (ECF) reforms

From this September, statutory induction for new teachers will change as part of the early career framework (ECF) reforms. Subject to parliamentary procedure, all early career teachers in England undergoing statutory induction will be entitled to 2 years of high-quality professional development support based on the ECF.

If your school offers statutory induction, you will need to replace your current induction process. There is a range of support available to ensure you can meet this requirement including a new funded programme of training and support.

On 25 March, the Department for Education published statutory induction guidance to help schools prepare for these changes. Further guidance for appropriate bodies to support schools with their induction is now also available.

From the end of April, DfE will launch an online service for schools who want to use a DfE appointed provider or DfE accredited materials to deliver statutory induction. More information, including the next steps for schools, will be communicated shortly.

If you would like to receive direct updates from the department on the ECF reforms, please fill in this form.

6. Information: get funding and support to set up a digital education platform

The Department for Education has extended its digital education platform programme for a further 12-months. This means that state-funded schools and colleges in England will still have the chance to apply for government-funded support to get set up on a digital platform for remote learning and claim your grant until the end of March 2022. With over 7,000 schools and colleges applying to the programme and recognising the long-term benefits having a platform provides, it is important that the programme stays open to give other schools and colleges the opportunity to apply.

Find out more about the programme and read how one school is making the most of their remote education platform.

7. Information: 2021 to 2022 student financial support scheme guides published

We have published the student financial support scheme guides for the 2021 to 2022 academic year for:

You should ensure you review the guides and are clear about the funding rules which apply to each scheme. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide is clear that both types of bursary funding are designed to help students overcome the individual financial barriers to participation they face. Institutions must ensure the funds go to those who genuinely need them and should not award any student a fixed or flat rate of funding without an assessment of the actual needs they have. The guide includes a checklist for assessing bursary applications and a ‘do’s and don’t’s’ summary of key rules which institutions may find helpful.

8. Information: pupil premium conditions of grant for 2021 to 2022

Further to our update in February, we have now published the pupil premium conditions of grant for the 2021 to 2022 financial year.

Changes from last year include:

  • pupil premium funding for 2021 to 2022 will be based on the October 2020 census for mainstream and special schools.
  • from September 2021, schools will be asked to show how their spending decisions are backed by evidence, and will need to publish an annual pupil premium strategy to make sure funding is targeted towards the most disadvantaged pupils.

We plan to publish the allocations in June.

9. Information: funding rates and formula guidance for 2021 to 2022

We have published the Funding rates and formula guidance for academic year 2021 to 2022.

We have made the following updates:

  • the introduction now includes arrangements related to coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • retention: the funding methodology is temporarily using an average retention factor
  • Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019: the funding methodology now uses the 2019 Index, rather than the one used in 2015
  • exceptional in-year growth: we made minor additions to clarify the providers eligible for growth and to state that we have the power to recover growth awards
  • formula protection funding: we no longer pay formula protection funding

10. Information: National tutoring programme (NTP) academic mentors conditions of grant

We have now published the NTP academic mentors conditions for the grant paid by the ESFA towards the mentor salary costs.

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