Guidance

EFA e-bulletin for academies: 11 December 2014

Published 11 December 2014

This guidance was withdrawn on 13 May 2015

This is an old edition of the EFA e-bulletin, so has been archived. Please view our most recent e-bulletins and web pages for up-to-date information.

1. Action: 3 weeks to the deadline to submit your accounts and VFM statement

The deadline for academy trusts to submit their audited accounts and auditor’s management letter is 31 December 2014. Trusts open on or before 31 August 2014 must also submit a value for money statement by 31 December 2014.

Education Funding Agency (EFA) issued information to help you submit all of these documents in our 13 November e-bulletin.

You will need to submit your accounts and auditor’s management letter via the EFA Information Exchange, using our published guide to submitting your accounts.

If you have not yet submitted, please ensure you have processes in place to meet the deadline. You will need to use the naming convention below for your accounts and management letter. For your:

• audited accounts, use Company Number-Trust Name-1314-FinStat
• management letter, use Company Number-Trust Name-1314-ManLet

Failure to use this convention could cause delays in processing your accounts and could also lead to additional queries.

2. Information: accounts return submission and webinar

A video of the August accounts return webinar is now available to view on our event hosting website.

Academy trusts need to submit their accounts returns by 31 January 2015 via the EFA Information Exchange, using the online guidance.

Trusts will no longer be able to access Deloitte OnLine.

3. Information: support for better financial forecasting and management

We have published some additional information to support academy trusts with their forecasting and financial management.

4. Information: risk protection arrangement for academy trusts

Academies with long-term arrangements for insurance coming to an end at the end of this month can opt in to the risk protection arrangement (RPA) for academy trusts at any time before 31 December, to become members of the arrangement on 1 January 2015.

5. Information: changes to revenue funding allocations for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM)

In response to feedback from schools, we have refined the final universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) revenue allocation to take account of varying patterns of reception class intakes.

For reception, the final allocation will be calculated by taking an average of the October 2014 and January 2015 censuses, or just the January 2015 census - whichever provides schools with the greater allocation.

The approach to calculating the final allocation for year 1 and year 2 has not changed: it will be calculated by taking an average of the October 2014 and January 2015 censuses.

Full details are included in the conditions of grant on GOV.UK.

6. Information: Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) applications update

We are aware that some academies and sixth-form colleges are having technical issues using the CIF application system and we are working hard to resolve these as soon as we can.

To help us resolve your query as quickly as possible, please complete the ‘Contact Us’ form on the CIF application home page.

Applicants with unresolved technical issues that have been logged with us before the deadline (3pm on Friday 19 December) will be able to submit their application once their issue has been resolved.

7. Information: affordable automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for schools

The Department for Education has announced an arrangement with NHS Supply Chain for schools to buy automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at a competitive price.