EFA e-bulletin for academies: 22 December 2016
Published 22 December 2016
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1. Reminder: academies financial returns deadlines
This is a final reminder that the deadline to submit your audited accounts is 31 December 2016. If you have not yet submitted your accounts, please ensure that you have processes in place to meet the deadline.
If you’re planning to submit your accounts return using the Excel workbook, the deadline is also 31 December 2016.
From 1 January 2017, you can only use the online form to submit your accounts return. Please remember you must register your details for the new online system to access the online accounts return form.
You can watch this 3-minute video presentation by Howard Orme, DfE’s Director General of Strategy and Resources about the new sector annual report and accounts (SARA).
2. Information: academy trust budget forecast returns
To support the move to a new academies sector annual report and accounts (SARA) we’d like to advise academy trusts that we intend to bring forward the timing of the next budget forecast return (BFR).
The new approach will also support improved financial forecasting. We are planning two BFR collections from 2017, in the spring and the autumn.
We will work with sector representatives as we finalise the specific needs of this collection and will set out further details as soon as possible.
We will do our best to minimise additional effort needed as we move towards the new financial reporting framework.
3. Information: schools revenue funding settlement 2017 to 2018
On 20 December 2016, the Department for Education (DfE) announced to Parliament the schools revenue funding settlement for 2017 to 2018
Alongside the announcement, we have published local authority allocations and supporting technical information for 2017 to 2018 for the dedicated schools grant (DSG). We have also published information about the education services grant (ESG) protection arrangements for academies.
The DSG settlement for 2017 to 2018 includes:
- the DSG schools block allocated on the basis of the schools block units of funding announced in July 2016
- a minimum funding guarantee of minus 1.5% per pupil
- the DSG high needs block increased by £130 million above the 2016 to 2017 adjusted baseline, as announced in July 2016
The details of the early years block were announced on 1 December 2016.
Academies will continue to receive ESG at the current annual rate for the April to August 2017 period. Protection arrangements for academies following the removal of the ESG general funding rate from September 2017 will be the same as the methodology used in 2016 to 2017.
Schools which convert to academies during April to August 2017 will receive ESG funding at the current rate prorated to the number of days they are open as an academy. From September 2017 they will also be eligible for the protection arrangements detailed above. Schools which convert to academy status from September 2017 onwards will not be eligible for ESG or ESG protection.
4. Information: other grant funding 2017 to 2018
We have published the pupil premium conditions of grant for 2017 to 2018.The rates per pupil for pupil premium in 2017 to 2018 will be maintained at their current rates.
The grant for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) continues at a meal rate of £2.30 for the 2017 to 2018 academic year. We will make further details available in the new year.
The year 7 catch up premium continues in 2017 to 2018. We will confirm the arrangements in early 2017.
The primary PE and sport premium continues in 2017 to 2018. We will continue to advise schools on sustainable and effective ways to use the premium. We will announce further details in the new year.
5. Information: national funding formula second stage consultation: supplementary information
The Department for Education (DfE) launched the second stage of its consultation on the national funding formulae (NFF) for schools and high needs on 14 December 2016.
As part of the consultation, DfE has published illustrative funding allocations for schools and local authorities under the proposed formula. These are not actual allocations for a specific year. They are illustrations to inform the consultation. Actual allocations will reflect the final formula after this consultation, and the latest data each year on pupil numbers and characteristics.
Schools and local authorities can access a detailed explanation of their illustrative NFF calculations using COLLECT which is available via Secure Access.
To access COLLECT, or if you already have a COLLECT account and cannot access the NFF report, you will need to contact the Secure Access approver for your organisation. If you are unsure who the approver is you can complete the Secure Access service request form.
DfE has also published a short video to provide further explanation of the illustrative NFF calculations.
The consultation will close on 22 March 2017.
6. Information: pupil premium 2016 to 2017
Academies will receive their pupil premium grant January payment on 3 January 2017. The allocations for looked after children (LAC) have been updated based on the March 2016 looked-after data return, as set out in paragraph 7 of the conditions of grant.
Pupils who are both free school meals (FSM) Ever 6, and recorded as LAC, attract the higher allocation of £1,900 only, which is paid to the local authority (LA) and managed by the authority’s virtual school head. This means that some schools will have seen a reduction in the number of FSM Ever 6 pupils compared to the allocations made in June 2016.
The January payment to academies for pupil premium will reflect the updated allocations. As funding for LAC pupils is now paid to the local authority, schools should discuss with their LA the use of the LAC funding for the pupils concerned. We would expect LAs to pay the funding to schools if requested.
We will update the Key to Success website shortly with details of the pupils attracting LAC funding and publish details of the allocations in the new year. We will confirm when Key to Success has been updated and when the allocations have been published in this bulletin.
Allocations for post-LAC pupils (those recorded as adopted from care) and service children are not affected by this update.
7. Information: post-16 funding in academic year 2017 to 2018
We have written to EFA funded post-16 providers with information about funding in academic year 2017 to 2018 for students aged 16 to 19 and students aged 19 to 25 with an education, health and care plan.