Correspondence

EFA e-bulletin for schools, colleges, local authorities and other 16 to 19 providers: 1 October 2015

Published 1 October 2015

This correspondence was withdrawn on 13 December 2019

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. The EFA e-bulletin has been replaced by ESFA Update.

1. Reminder: changes to the school admissions timetable

The Schools Admission Code 2014 introduced changes to the timetable for consultation and determination of admission arrangements. These are about to come into effect. The main changes for all admissions authorities including academies are:

• you must consult when you change your admission arrangements or if you have not consulted within the past 7 years
• the consultation period must be at least 6 weeks. This should take place between 1 October and 31 January (previously, it was 8 weeks between 1 November and 1 March)
• you must determine your admission arrangements by 28 February (previously 15 April)
• you must send a copy of your determined admission arrangements to your local authority by 15 March (previously 1 May)
• the deadline for objections to the Schools Adjudicator is 15 May (previously 30 June)

2. Information: recording traineeships in the ILR

Updated guidance on recording traineeship withdrawals in the ILR has been published on GOV.UK. It is important those institutions delivering traineeships return accurate final 2014 to 2015 ILR data to ensure they receive accurate funding

3. Action: autumn school census 2015

Today (1 October) is the autumn school census 2015 day.

Accurate and on-time census returns, including recording pupils registered for free school meals, are an essential feature of schools funding and accountability.

EFA has produced a series of short training videos providing an overview of the school census, how to prepare and submit your data, and how the data is used.

EFA has also published an interactive post-16 census tool to encourage accurate post 16 school census data returns.

The deadline for approved submissions is Wednesday 28 October.

If you have any questions about the autumn school census, please use the data collections helpdesk service request form.

4. Information: updated local authority proforma tool (APT) user instructions

EFA has added an annex to the APT user instructions describing the checks EFA undertakes once you submit your APT.

To avoid resubmissions please look at the new annex before you submit your APT.

5. Information: local authority pupil premium payment

EFA has paid the second quarterly pupil premium payment for your maintained schools.

EFA pays the pupil premium grant separately to Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) payments and issue a separate remittance advice.

Further information about pupil premium payments is available on GOV.UK.

6. Action: check the EFA Information Exchange

Please remember to ensure EFA holds the correct contact details for your institution in My Contact Information feature within the EFA Information Exchange. This is particularly important for academy trusts, who have to notify EFA of any changes to key roles within 14 days.

The EFA Information Exchange also has a Knowledge Centre section. This should help you find the answers to some of the most commonly-asked questions EFA receives and will save you time when you need information.

Also, please note that the Document Exchange feature does not hold documents permanently, and it is important that you download any information we post about your institution. The Document Exchange will retain documents for 13 months before they are deleted.

You can find out more about how to use My Contact Information on GOV.UK – please log in through your Secure Access account to check your details are correct.