Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 7 June 2023

Published 7 June 2023

Applies to England

1. Action: prepare to complete your year-end statement for the 2022 to 2023 National Tutoring Programme (NTP) grant

All organisations that received the 2022 to 2023 NTP grant are required to complete a year-end statement, which will be available at the start of September. This is a mandatory return and you must complete the form, even if you did not use any of your NTP funding.

To prepare for the form opening in September, we encourage schools to collate clear and accurate records of all tutoring that has been delivered in the 2022 to 2023 academic year. This should include:

• how much your school spent on tutoring – this should be the total amount you spent on tutoring (the portion funded by the NTP grant and the contribution from your school)
• how many hours of tutoring your school delivered – this should include every hour delivered per pupil (for example, if you delivered a 15-hour course to 3 pupils, you would count it as 45 hours)
• how many pupils in your school have received tuition – if pupils received tutoring in multiple subjects, you should only count each pupil once.

Schools can continue to use this year’s NTP funding until 31 August 2023. This can include tuition delivered in the summer term and the school holidays to help pupils prepare for the next academic year. Any unspent funding will be recovered.

2. Action: Reminder about cyber incidents and data

Recent high-level incidents have again highlighted the need for schools to ensure that they are prepared in case they are impacted by a cyber incident.

Schools should review any data sharing agreements or data communication, referring to useful guidance provided by the ICO to help schools understand roles and responsibilities when working with data.

For extra protection, there is the NCSC ACD (Active Cyber Defence) for schools and more general information from the NCSC on cyber security for schools and from DfE’s cyber standards.

Following any breach, cyber criminals may attempt to exploit the situation and send suspicious emails to victims. You must be alert to these types of attempts and report any suspicious emails to your IT provider and relevant authorities.

3. Information: post-16 year-end funding claim for 2022 to 2023

The post 16 year-end funding claim window will open at 9am on Thursday, 8 June 2023.

Please submit your year-end funding claim by 5pm on Tuesday, 13 June 2023. 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 education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and national skills fund Level 3 adult offer (Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs))
• grant funded – advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)
• 16 to 19 education

Once you have submitted your year-end funding claim on submit learner data, you will also be able to view it on Manage your education and skills funding.

You must not enter any adjustments relating to the earnings boost in your funding claim, we will do this after you have submitted the claim. Your indicative reconciliation statement will include the earnings boost that we have calculated.

If you have any queries, please use the ESFA help centre to contact us.

4. Information: National Tutoring Programme guidance and funding allocations for the 2023 to 2024 academic year

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) has published guidance for schools and funding allocations for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

From September 2023, schools can use the NTP grant to contribute to 50% of tutoring costs. This is a higher subsidy than was previously communicated and is intended to enable more schools to deliver tutoring. Schools are required to meet the remaining costs using pupil premium or other core school budgets.

Schools are encouraged to use the 2023 to 2024 calculator tool to plan and track tutoring.

Register for an NTP webinar to find out more:

• Tuesday 13 June from 12:30pm to 1:15pm
• Thursday 15 June from 12:30pm to 1:15pm

5. Information: 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation for 2022 to 2023

We have published the 16 to 19 tuition fund allocation for the academic year 2022 to 2023 on GOV.UK.

The fund provides targeted small group tuition in English, mathematics and other subjects where learning was disrupted because of the pandemic and is available to all 16 to 19 providers.

Detailed guidance about the 16 to 19 tuition fund can be found on GOV.UK.

6. Information: book a one-to-one chat to discuss your school’s buying needs – spaces available on 15 June 2023

Schools Commercial Team is offering the opportunity for a free, virtual one-to-one conversation with a member of the team, to see how we can support you.

You can speak to us about anything you like to help you make informed buying choices for your school.

There is no pressure or obligation to take any of our recommendations forward following the conversation.

Book your one-to-one conversation now.

7. Information: the academies budget and forecast return (BFR) 2023 form is now live

The academies budget and forecast return (BFR) form is now live. The deadline for submission is 31 August 2023.

Please visit our BFR page on GOV.UK where you will find the summary guidance, the BFR workbooks and the link to access the online form.

This year, we will be hosting a Power Hour session to help with completing the form. You can find the link to join on the BFR main page. The session will take place on Tuesday, 13 June 2023 from 10am to 11am.

If you have not completed the BFR before, you can find the registration guidance on GOV.UK.

To find out more about the support and guidance the ESFA offers academy trusts visit the School Resource Management page.

This link includes details ranging from estates management advice to buying guides, and guidance on how to join or create your own school professionals network.

8. Information: Free funding available for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and school leaders

In our latest Buying for schools blog post, Alistair Guest from the Department for Education’s NPQ Policy Unit, talks to Dave Ellison-Lee, Director of Education at RISE multi-academy trust about his experience of DfE’s support for teachers and leaders to develop their expertise.

9. Information: sign up for our national professional qualification (NPQ) webinar – Tuesday, 13 June 2023

Did you know that National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are fully funded by the government and for each teacher or leader in your school who takes an NPQ this academic year:

• state-funded primary schools with one to 150 pupils will receive a grant payment of £800
• state-funded primary schools with more than 150 pupils will receive a grant payment of £200
• state-funded secondary schools and state-funded 16 to 19 educational settings with one to 600 pupils will receive a grant payment of £200

Schools Commercial Team is hosting a webinar to give you all the information you need about NPQs for the teachers and leaders in your school.

Sign up now for more detail and a chance to ask questions.

10. Information: Buying for Schools webinars – book your place now

Are you a school business professional who buys goods and services for your school?

We host regular webinars on how using our approved frameworks could help your school get value for money. Click on the links to find out more and book your place:

• Buying electricity and mains gas for your school through West Mercia Energy
• Buying electricity and mains gas for your school through ESPO

You can find the full programme of webinars for the summer term on the Summer 2023 webinar page. Visit the page to find out more and book your place.

11. Information: risk protection arrangement (RPA) members – book your place on this regulatory mock trial

DfE, in conjunction with Willis Towers Watson, has developed a bespoke training seminar, ‘The Regulatory Mock Trial’.

This workshop has been designed to assist governors, trustees, directors, and members of Senior Leadership Teams to understand the challenges they face in implementing compliant health and safety management systems, enhance the prospects of avoiding enforcement action and improve the school’s defensive capabilities where a prosecution is pursued.

Places are for RPA members only and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis:

• 9 June 2023
• 7 July 2023