ESFA Update local authorities: 7 December 2022
Published 7 December 2022
Applies to England
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1. Action: next steps following submission of the year-end statement for the school-led tutoring grant for 2021 to 2022
Earlier this week, we emailed all local authorities that received the school-led tutoring grant funding for the 2021 to 2022 academic year. This email was sent from news@esfagov.uk to the Director of Children’s Services and the member of staff who submitted the year-end statement. If you cannot see this email in your inbox, please check your junk and spam folders.
The email includes the data your organisation submitted on the year-end statement and confirms whether any school-led tutoring grant funding will be recovered. Please read this email carefully and follow the instructions included.
We have also emailed local authority maintained schools and academies directly to confirm whether any school-led tutoring grant funding will be recovered. This includes schools that you told us received school-led tutoring grant funding for eligible pupils in independent special schools.
2. Information: schools funding 2023 to 2024, additional funding announced in the autumn statement
The Government has published further high-level information on the allocation of the additional £2bn funding to schools in 2023 to 2024, that was announced in the Autumn Statement. The press release on this announcement can be found on GOV.UK.
Both maintained schools and academies will receive additional funding through a new grant, from April 2023. The detailed funding methodology and funding rates for the allocation of the additional funding will be published before Christmas.
3. Information: additional capital funding to improve energy efficiency
The Department for Education has announced £500 million of additional capital funding this financial year for schools, sixth form colleges, further education (FE) colleges and designated institutions to help improve energy efficiency.
This funding will provide £447 million for schools and sixth form colleges and £53 million for FE colleges to spend on capital improvements to buildings and facilities, prioritising works to improve energy efficiency. Where they judge this is not appropriate based on local circumstances, schools and colleges have discretion to spend this on other capital projects.
The department has published guidance for schools and colleges on sensible steps for reducing energy use and small-scale works to improve energy efficiency, which can be implemented relatively quickly.
Details, including eligibility, individual allocations and links to the guidance on energy efficiency, are available here:
4. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund in-year spend reporting guidance (formerly referred to as mid-year report) 2022 to 2023
How to complete the coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund 2022 to 2023: In-year spend report guidance has been published. Institutions in receipt of 16 to 19 tuition funding in 2022 to 2023 will be required to complete this return.
The in-year spend digital form will be live from 4 January 2023. The submission deadline is 11:59pm on 23 January 2023. We will write to you again as a reminder.
You can read more information regarding the tuition fund and conditions of funding.
If you have any questions about the contents of this article, please contact us via the ESFA help centre.
5. Information: join a free DfE School Resource Management webinar training session
We have launched the third series of free to attend School Resource Management training webinars. Over 4000 people accessed the last series and 97% stated they would recommend this to others.
The new series of webinars will cover the below themes:
- how to use integrated curriculum financial planning (ICFP)
- benchmarking typical financial and curriculum metrics
- budgeting and annual cycles
- strategic financial planning
- securing best value from your procurement of common goods and services
- strategic estate management
- HR planning
These webinars are aimed at school business professionals, headteachers, the senior leadership team, curriculum leads, governors and trustees, estates staff and HR staff at both maintained schools and academies, trusts and local authorities.
Don’t miss out! Register on the School Resource Management website.
6. Information: buying energy for your school
Two new DfE-approved energy frameworks are now available on Find a Framework:
For the latest on our wide range of webinars, check out the events tab on our Buying for schools LinkedIn page.
7. Information: are you looking at buying catering services for your school?
The DfE approved Outsourced Catering Services framework offers the provision of catering services for all education establishments, including ‘holiday food programmes’.
If you would like to know more about this framework join this free Buying catering services for your school webinar and see how using our approved framework could save you time and help your school get value for money. Click on the link to find out more and book your place.
For the latest on our wide range of webinars, check out the events tab on our Buying for schools LinkedIn page.
8. Information: changes to how qualified teachers overseas can have their teaching qualifications recognised
We’re changing the way teachers who qualified overseas can have their teaching qualifications recognised with Qualified Teacher Status in England.
We’ll begin our rollout of this new approach from 1 February, starting with applications from teachers from:
- Countries eligible under current rules - the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- As well as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India, Ghana, Hong Kong, South Africa, Jamaica, Singapore, and Ukraine
This is because we know many people from these countries already teach in England, or are interested in teaching in England.
From 1 February these teachers must demonstrate they meet new eligibility criteria. You can read more about this change and the eligibility criteria in our policy paper here.
Under this new system, teachers with fewer than two years’ experience will undergo statutory induction. Later in 2023, we’ll roll the service out to all countries.
We’re also introducing these policies:
- a new relocation payment for overseas nationals coming here to teach or train in languages or physics. Further details on eligibility will be announced in the new year.
- an extension of bursary and scholarship eligibility to all overseas nationals who train to teach in physics and languages. These trainees will not need to be eligible for student finance to access a bursary or scholarship.
9. Your feedback: 16 to 19 Bursary Fund survey
We are asking all 16 to 19 providers that have a Bursary Fund allocation from DfE to complete our first survey for 5 years, so that we can see how the Fund (£144million allocated in academic year 2022 to 2023) is being used. You can access the survey online.
The information you provide will be used for research purposes only. All your responses will be treated confidentially, and we are not collecting any personal details.
We would be very grateful if you could complete the survey by 10am on Friday 16 December 2022.
Thank you for taking the time to help us with this.