High needs funding: due diligence process for special post-16 providers
Information setting out the process that may lead to a grant funding arrangement with the Education and Skills Funding Agency for the delivery of education provision for high needs students.
Documents
Details
This guidance explains the process that may lead to a grant funding arrangement with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to deliver provision for high needs students.
In order to be eligible to receive ESFA funding, special post-16 institutions (SPI) are required to be referenced within their provider LA high needs place change request workbook (required by 8 November 2024) and must be named on at least 10 Education Health and Care plans.
Once they have met the above requirement, ESFA will undertake due diligence to ensure themselves that the SPI is eligible to receive ESFA funding.
The guidance and accompanying documents explain the due diligence process.
Financial information requirements
For an institution that has actively traded for a minimum of 3 months but not produced its first set of financial statements, it must supply its management accounts detailing actual trade to date and be supplemented with forecast information to equal a minimum of 12 months of financial information.
Updates to this page
Last updated 16 October 2024 + show all updates
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Updated the guidance for the academic year 2025 to 2026. There are new deadlines and we have included a link to an updated conditions of funding grant document. We have also updated 'Annex 2: Institution details' and 'Annex 3: Local authority details'.
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The due diligence process for special post-16 institutions for academic year 2024 to 2025 has been updated.
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Updated deadline date for return of LA high needs place change workbook
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The due diligence process for special post-16 institutions for academic year 2023 to 2024 has been updated.
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Annual update to due diligence guidance
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Annual update to due diligence guidance.
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Updated guidance for 2020 to 2021 academic year.
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Updated Special Post-16 due diligence guidance for 2019 to 2020 academic year.
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High needs funding due diligence report for 2018 to 2019 has been added and annexes 1 to 3 for 2017 to 2018.
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New documents added for academic year 2017 to 2018
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First published.