Correspondence

EFA e-bulletin for academies: 19 May 2016

Published 19 May 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This correspondence was withdrawn on 20 December 2019

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. The EFA e-bulletin has been replaced by ESFA Update.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. Action: budget forecast return live webinar

EFA will be hosting a live webinar covering the budget forecast return on 10 June 2016 at 3pm. Anyone can register now for the webinar. The webinar will include a question and answer session, and you can submit questions in advance when you register.

EFA requires academy trusts open on and before 31 March 2016 to submit their budget forecasts for the 2016 to 2017 academic year by 31 July 2016.

• if a new academy joins an existing multi-academy trust (MAT) on or after the submission deadline of 31 July 2016 then a separate return for that academy will be required
• for trusts opening between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017, the deadline is either 6 weeks from receiving their funding letter or 31 July 2016, depending which is later

A guide to completing and submitting your 2016 to 2017 budget forecast return and a training video are now available. We encourage academy trusts to use the workbook and guidance to help complete their return.

The new form will be available the week commencing 30 May 2016.

2. Action: summer school census

Today (19 May 2016) is the summer school census day. The deadline for approved submissions is 15 June 2016.

A set of census user guides for completing the 2016 summer school census is available. These are the latest guides and should be your first point of reference for any census queries. Please ensure you are using the latest version of these documents and remove any previous versions held locally.

For further information, please refer to the ‘readiness email no. 2’, sent on 11 May 2016 to school census contacts in all schools and local authorities.

3. Information: high needs allocated place numbers

EFA has published the number of high needs places for the 2016 to 2017 academic year.

This information is made available in the interests of transparency and to promote collaboration between local authorities and institutions.

4. Information: risk protection arrangement (RPA) for academy trusts

The Department for Education (DfE) has published its response to public consultation on the risk protection arrangement (RPA) for academy trusts which concluded on 31 January 2016.

DfE has accepted all proposal and will:

• reduce the RPA general annual grant (GAG) deduction from £25 per pupil to £20 per pupil from September 2016
• scale-up RPA risk management audits currently discharged under a contract in place with Willis Ltd
• say more about risk management in the Academies Financial Handbook
• set a time limit on reimbursing academies for long-term insurance arrangements – the Education Funding Agency (EFA) will not meet claims relating to periods after 31 August 2017, 3 years from the start of the RPA
• reduce the period of notice RPA members must give before leaving the arrangement from 6 months to 3 months
• clarify arrangements for multi-academy trusts (MATs) joining the RPA where only some of their academies are able to join in the first instance
• clarify that principles contained in the membership rules for church academies apply equally to other faith and non-church bodies
• clarify that the RPA will consider providing an indemnity to a member for claims that are normally dealt with on a ‘claims occurring’ basis under RPA

You can read further information about the RPA on GOV.UK.