ESFA Update local authorities: 8 December 2021
Published 8 December 2021
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-8-december-2021/esfa-update-local-authorities-8-december-2021
1. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund re-opened to support schools and colleges with costs of staff absences
DfE has re-opened the COVID-19 workforce fund to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges for absence costs incurred from 22 November until the end of term.
The fund is available to support schools and colleges facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures to continue to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils.
Full guidance on eligibility and criteria is available for schools and colleges.
2. Information: the government’s response to the initial teacher training (ITT) market review report
On 1 December 2021 the government response to the ITT market review report was published, following a 7-week public consultation and extensive stakeholder engagement.
Government has accepted the majority of the review’s recommendations, which include introducing a new set of quality requirements for all ITT, accompanied by a robust accreditation process, to ensure providers meet these requirements in full.
£35.7m of funding over the next spending review period was also announced to support the implementation of these reforms, the majority of which is to support mentoring.
Further information about the accreditation process is available.
3. Information: ESFA Adult Education Budget – HGV flexibilities
On 25 September 2021, the Department for Education announced a package of support measures to address the shortage of HGV drivers.
As part of these measures the government will provide funding for both medical tests and HGV licences for any adult who completes one of 5 listed HGV qualifications accessed through the AEB in academic year 2021 to 2022.
4. Information: changes to T Levels and the maths and English exit requirement for academic year 2022 to 2023
The maths and English condition of funding will apply to students starting T Levels from September 2022. T Level students will be subject to the condition of funding in the same way as students on study programmes.
More information on how this applies to students who started T Levels in academic years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 is in the T Level guidance.
5. Information: 2020 to 2021 Final reconciliation statements
Thank you for submitting your 2020 to 2021 final funding claim.
Reconciliation statements are now available for you to view. They set out the final position for the 2020 to 2021 funding year and inform the funding that is required to repay (if applicable) or over delivery funding that we will pay.
We will be contacting providers who submitted a business case for adult education budget (AEB) on the next steps required depending upon the outcomes of the process.
Final Reconciliation Statements are published following submission of a final funding claim for the following funding streams:
- ESFA AEB – adult skills and community learning – grant-funded
- ESFA AEB – covid skills offer – grant funded
- ESFA AEB – 19 to 24 traineeships – grant funded
- ESFA AEB – adult skills learner support – paid-on-profile (AEB procured)
- ESFA AEB – 19 to 24 traineeships learner support – paid on profile (procured)
- advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB) – grant-funded
If you are required to repay funds back to us those repayments have been scheduled from December 2021.
6. Information: School Partnership Leads applications
We are looking to recruit 4 School Partnership Leads who will provide coaching and support to Lead Schools on our Behaviour Hubs Programme.
The School Partnership Leads will work with DfE and our delivery centre, Education Development Trust alongside our panel of Behaviour Advisers led by Tom Bennett to ensure the effective implementation of the Behaviour Hubs programme.
We are looking for individuals with experience of systems change and working with schools, who have an understanding of the behaviour principles outlined in Tom Bennett’s “Creating a Culture” report, the national picture of behaviour and current behaviour policy.
Please see the application pack for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Emily.HAQUIN@education.gov.uk.
7. Information: managing your school estate
Good estate management is important to ensure children receive education in a safe, well-maintained, and sustainable environment. If you are a responsible body, you must keep the condition of your estate in safe working order and comply with all relevant regulations.
Good estate management for schools (GEMS) provides advice, standards and tools to help you manage your school estate effectively.
Guidance is also available on specific issues such as managing asbestos in your school or college, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in roofing in schools and concrete cladding.
8. Information: structural issues in your buildings
Tell us about significant structural issues in your buildings, so we can consider further support that might help. A structural issue is a significant adverse change in the condition of a building’s structure that may cause harm or full or partial closure of a building.
Responsible bodies should ensure they understand the condition of their buildings, particularly when managing older estates. If a responsible body identifies a significant condition issue (including structural issues), it is important to assess the issue fully and conduct regular condition, structural or other specialist surveys as appropriate.
This is good practice, so that responsible bodies have the information needed to manage estates safely and effectively. This type of independent, professional evidence is also helpful to the department to determine the severity of condition need when considering requests for capital funding, for example, through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
9. Information: School Rebuilding Programme
The School Rebuilding Programme will carry out 500 major rebuilding and refurbishment projects at the worst buildings in the school and sixth form college estate across England over the next decade.
We recently held a consultation to better understand how the sector thinks we should prioritise schools into the programme. We plan to respond to the consultation and confirm details of the prioritisation approach and future rounds in early 2022.