Correspondence

EFA e-bulletin for schools, colleges, local authorities and other 16 to 19 providers: 5 November 2015

Published 5 November 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This correspondence was withdrawn on 13 December 2019

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. The EFA e-bulletin has been replaced by ESFA Update.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. Information: maths and English condition of funding

EFA has updated the information on the maths and English condition of funding. This update provides further clarification on how English Literature GCSE is treated for prior attainment in relation to the grade D revision to the condition of funding.

2. Reminder: recording sub-contracted provision in the school census

The “sub-contracting partner UKPRN” field is new for the 2015 to 2016 census. Institutions can use this to record the sub-contracting partner for any sub-contracted provision.

Institutions should ensure all post-16 sub-contracted provision is accurately recorded in this field in the 2015 autumn census.

You should record the sub-contracting partner UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) for all learning aims where the learning is sub-contracted to another institution (including other schools). You can search for the UKPRN on the UK Register of Learning Providers website.

3. Information: accounting for free meals in further education

Following queries from some institutions EFA is clarifying how FE institutions should account for free meals.

The guide confirms four key points:

• funding may only be used for eligible students
• funding can be rolled forward to the next academic year to support eligible students
• institutions without eligible students can contact the EFA to return funds
• there is no in-year reconciliation as future year allocations will be made on a lagged basis

It is important that institutions only report eligible students who have taken up free meals funding in the ILR. You should account for the funding in accordance with the statement of recommended practice: accounting for further and higher education.

Institutions face certain benefits and risks in administering these funds. We would expect funds to be accounted for through income and expenditure, rather than being treated as agency funds.

To satisfy the funding conditions, institutions must keep a record of free meals funding received and spent each year, including a record of any unspent amounts carried forward. We would not typically expect to see unspent funds recognised on the balance sheet unless institutions are intending to return funds to the EFA.

4. Reminder: 2016 to 2017 high needs place change request process – deadline 5pm 16 November

Local authorities must complete the workbook and submit by 5pm Monday 16 November to make high needs place changes for 2016 to 2017. All requests must be signed by the Director of Children’s Services.

Local authorities must complete the 2016 to 2017 place change request workbook to notify EFA of changes to the number of high needs places for academies and FE institutions, within their local authority area.

You should email requests to the EFA. You can see the workbook, technical note and guidance on the change request process on GOV.UK.

Institutions should contact their home local authority directly if they wish to discuss changes to their high needs place numbers, but have not yet been contacted by the authority.

5. Information for local authorities: changes to the schemes for financing schools guidance

EFA is currently consulting on changes to the schemes for financing schools guidance in respect of funding for admissions arrangements.

Under the School Admission Appeals Code, local authorities have a duty to support maintained schools which are admission authorities. This is in addition to authorities’ responsibility as the admissions authority for maintained schools. However, the 2013 to 2014 funding reforms place restrictions on the funding arrangements for admissions appeals.

We are proposing to make a small change to the schemes for financing schools guidance, to extend the list of services local authorities can charge the budgets of maintained schools to include admission appeals. This change will be available to local authorities to use, should they wish to do so, from 2016 to 2017.

6. Information for local authorities: contacting EFA

EFA is phasing out the email addresses used by local authorities to contact EFA with questions about pre-16 funding.

Local authorities should now contact us via the EFA enquiry form. This will help us to better manage your enquiries and respond more quickly.

We have recently improved the enquiry form for local authorities by adding a drop-down menu to the pre-16 area so you can choose a category for your enquiry.

Currently, our automatic reply sent to acknowledge your enquiry comes from ‘academy questions’. We plan to change the name of this mailbox shortly and will confirm we have done this via the e-bulletin.