ESFA Update local authorities: 31 March 2021
Published 31 March 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-31-march-2021/esfa-update-local-authorities-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: updated 2021 to 2022 dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations and high needs place numbers
We have updated the published DSG allocations for 2021 to 2022 to take in to account recoupment data for 2021 to 2022 financial year. More information is available on how we calculate DSG recoupment when maintained schools convert to academy status. The update also takes into account the updated high needs place numbers for the 2020 to 2021 academic year and the high needs place numbers for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.
3. Information: consistent financial reporting framework 2021 to 2022
We have published the consistent financial reporting framework 2021 to 2022.
The framework provides guidance for schools about collecting information about their income and expenditure by financial year.
4. Information: 16 to 19 funding allocation statements for 2021 to 2022
We have now sent out all 16 to 19 allocation statements for 2021 to 2022 with the exception of a small number of institutions that are closing or have not provided the necessary data. We have communicated separately with those institutions.
We have also sent to local authorities a summary of 16 to 19 funding for maintained schools and of 16 to 19 students funded in all the institutions in their area.
The statements can be found in the revenue funding’ folder (2021/22) in the Document Exchange section of Information Exchange.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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:
- 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
- Free meals in further education
- Residential Bursary Fund
- Residential Support Scheme
- Care to Learn
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.
9. 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.
10. Information: lower reconciliation threshold for Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) grant funded providers for 2020 to 2021 academic year
We have published further information about the lower reconciliation threshold for ESFA grant funded adult education budget and advanced learner loans bursary providers for 2020 to 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact your ESFA territorial colleague or use our online enquiry form.
11. Information: ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB), 16 to 18 traineeships (for providers without 16 to 19 funding) and advanced learner loans (ALL) allocations for 2021 to 2022
We will confirm the allocations for ESFA funded AEB, 16 to 18 traineeships (for providers without 16 to 19 funding) and ALL allocations for the 2021 to 2022 funding year on 7 April through Manage your education and skills funding.
For AEB specifically, given the variable impact of COVID-19 on skills delivery this year and last, we can confirm that providers’ 2021 to 2022 allocations will stay the same as 2020 to 2021 - with any necessary adjustments for the impact of devolution and to remove allocations that were for one year only. This is the fairest approach to enabling providers to support local economic recovery in the forthcoming year.
12. 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
13. 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.