Action: Mid-year funding claim for 2024 to 2025

The mid-year funding claim window will open at 9am on Monday 10 February 2025. 

Submit your mid-year funding claim by 5pm on Thursday 13 February 2025. The claim form will be available on submit learner data. The funding claims user guide is available to help you complete the form.   

You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through these contracts:   

• grant funded – ESFA funded adult skills fund (ASF) (adult skills, tailored learning, funding for innovative provision, and level 3 free courses for jobs offer)
• grant funded – advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)  

For 16 to 19 delivery, you do not need to take any action for mid-year (R06) or year-end (R10) funding claims. The 16 to 19 delivery section of the funding claim only needs to be signed off for your final (R14) funding claims.

Once you have submitted your mid-year funding claim you can view it on Manage your education and skills funding. 

If you have any queries, use the customer help portal.

Information: Changes to the administration of the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund (defined vulnerable bursary) schemes from the academic year 2025 to 2026

We highlighted in previous ESFA updates the forthcoming change to Care to Learn delivery model and institutions’ new responsibilities in managing the scheme.   

When developing your processes, you should consider the 3 funding claim windows you will have to draw down funding. Funding claims forms will be available via your DfE Sign-in account. We expect the dates to be:

First funding claim window:

• opens Monday 8 September 2025 and closes Wednesday 12 November 2025
• payments will be made in February 2026 after checks and validations have been completed

Second funding claim window:

• opens Monday 5 January 2026 and closes on Wednesday 11 February 2026
• payments will be made in April 2026 after checks

Third funding claim window:

• opens Monday 18 May 2026 and closes on Wednesday 1 July 2026, mainly for end year reconciliation
• we will recover unspent funds in September 2026

Bursary for defined vulnerable groups funding claims will use the same dates. 

We will publish the funding rules and conditions of grant funding for the schemes in early April 2025. If you need any support, use our customer help portal.

Information: Department for Education recruitment for professional conduct panellists to support the Teaching Regulation Agency

The department would like to encourage you to apply to become a professional conduct panellist for the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). 

Professional conduct panellists consider serious teacher misconduct allegations. They then decide if they should recommend to the Secretary of State for Education that a teacher be prohibited from the profession. 

The TRA must have enough panellists with the right skills and experience in education. This is vital to effectively regulate the teaching profession. 

To learn more about the roles and how to apply, visit the public appointments website. Applications close on Wednesday 19 February 2025.

Information: College and local authority accountability agreements and local needs duty

We have updated the college and local authority accountability agreements guidance for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

We have also updated the national skills priorities taking account of the Skills England report, industrial strategy and plan for change. We have made it clearer that for colleges and designated institutions in scope of the local needs duty, you must undertake the review every 3 years. In some cases, this may be required sooner if there are substantial changes in circumstances.

The deadline for submitting your accountability statement is Monday 30 June 2025.

Your feedback: ESFA funding contracts and agreements – redesign

Work is underway to redesign the user experience of digital contract and agreement information accessed through the Manage your education and skills funding (MYESF) platform. 

We are specifically seeking data and finance professionals who interact with contracts, to explore the prototype. 

This is an opportunity to feedback directly to ESFA service designers. 

Meetings will take place online using Microsoft Teams and will last up to 60 minutes.  

Fill out this form to register your interest in taking part.