Correspondence

EFA e-bulletin for academies: 10 March 2016

Published 11 March 2016

This correspondence was withdrawn on 20 December 2019

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. The EFA e-bulletin has been replaced by ESFA Update.

1. Information: national funding formula and high needs funding consultations

On Monday 7 March 2016, Department for Education (DfE) launched the first stage of its consultations on national funding formulae for schools and high needs funding.

The consultation documents and instructions on how to respond can be found on the department’s consultation website. The deadline for responses for the first consultations is Sunday 17 April 2016.

2. Information: post-16 allocation statements for 2016 to 2017 academic year

EFA has already issued more than 99% of final allocation statements to school, academy and further education institutions. These were uploaded to EFA Information Exchange in February.

We continue to upload the small number of remaining statements for these types of institutions onto EFA Information Exchange.

We will also be uploading the following statements by mid-March:

• summary statements for local authorities (not including student support funding)
• statements for special post-16 institutions (SPIs) and non-maintained special schools (NMSS) (not including student support funding)

All statements referred to above will be uploaded to EFA Information Exchange. They can be found under the ‘revenue funding’ folder under ‘AY 2016-17 (2016/17)’.

Please note all statements that have been issued so far exclude allocations of student support funding. For the majority of institutions, we expect to issue revised statements, including student support funding, by the end of March.

If you have any queries regarding allocation statements, please contact us using our online enquiry form.

If you experience problems accessing EFA Information Exchange, please submit a support request.

3. Information: post-16 allocations for 2016 to 2017 and the English and maths condition of funding

Any mitigated reductions due to be made for non-compliance of the English and maths condition of funding have been notified in post-16 allocations statements.

However, there may be circumstances where students are meeting the condition of funding through collaboration with another institution which are not clearly evidenced by the data submitted. If this is the case, and the institution can provide evidence that the condition of funding is met in this way, then the home institution may submit a business case in line with the guidance issued with the allocation statement. The deadline for submitting business cases is 8 April 2016.

4. Information: updated guidance on trading activities and tax

The Charity Commission has updated its guidance for charity trustees on trading activities and tax. The revised guidance explains, in section 4.5, that there are new limits on the amount of gift aid that subsidiaries can make to their parent charities. The change impacts only charities whose subsidiaries have distributable profit that is less than their taxable profit.

EFA encourages you to talk to your professional advisors about company law and related tax consequences if you have any questions.

5. Information: complaints about academy independent appeal panels (IAPs)

EFA has published a report about our handling of complaints about academy independent appeal panels (IAPs) in 2015.

The report includes recommendations to help ensure all future appeals are compliant and to reduce the number of complaints.

6. Information: revised departmental advice and process changes for making significant changes to an open academy

Department for Education (DfE) has updated its advice on making significant changes to an open academy to reflect recent changes in policy and process. It comes into effect immediately. Academy trusts must read it before submitting an application to make a significant change.

DfE has made the application process clearer and introduced two new application forms. Academy trusts must submit requests by using the appropriate form for either a full business case or a fast track application.

DfE has redefined the fast track eligibility criteria which is now only available for academies judged by Ofsted to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. Proposed changes that set a precedent or are potentially contentious will need a full business case regardless of the academy’s Ofsted rating.

Contact us using our online enquiry form if you have a question about a recent request.

7. Information: requests to become a multi-academy trust (MAT) or to join an existing MAT

Single academy trusts (SAT) requesting to become a multi-academy trust (MAT), or to join an existing MAT, should refer to DfE’s new process to apply to become a multi-academy trust.

Please note that the process for making significant changes no longer applies for SAT to MAT applications.

8. Update: safer recruitment pre-appointment checks - European Economic Area (EEA) teacher sanctions

Schools and colleges (including sixth form colleges) are now able to use the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) Teacher Services system (also known as Employer Access online) to identify restrictions imposed by other EEA teacher regulators.

Schools and colleges should carry out this check in addition to all other safer recruitment pre-appointment checks. These are detailed in part 3 of the keeping children safe in education statutory guidance.

EEA restrictions do not prevent an individual from taking up teaching positions in England. When considering a candidate’s suitability, schools and colleges should consider the circumstances leading to the restriction. The Teacher Services system explains how to obtain additional information about EEA restrictions.

You can access the Teacher Services system through the Secure Access portal. Employers will need to access the ‘Teachers sanctioned in other EEA member states list’ to identify any restrictions in force. Only restrictions made after 18 January 2016 will be displayed. ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance will be updated in due course.

9. Information: new school and college performance tables website

This week DfE launched a new beta version of the school and college performance tables website.

The new site makes it easier for parents, schools and governors to access key performance data. It has been developed using input from over 250 users from across the sector.

The existing site will remain open until the end of March 2016. The beta version of the new performance tables website is now live so users can to familiarise themselves with the new site. Users are also able to provide feedback on the site.

10. Information: energy efficiency webinar

As part of the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) collaborative Energy for Schools initiative with DfE, EFA is hosting a series of webinars aimed specifically at the schools sector.

The webinar will provide more information on the initiative, how to access our agreements, and the benefits that we can provide to your school.

The first webinar session will take place on Tuesday 15 March 2016 from 12:30 to 13:00. A summer term time webinar will take place on Tuesday 14 June 2016.

Please contact the CCS education team to register your interest.