EFA e-bulletin for academies: 6 March 2014
Published 11 March 2014
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1. Information: EFA moves to GOV.UK
EFA is moving its web content to GOV.UK, the new single website for government.
You can access EFA information through www.gov.uk/efa.
The website has a different look and feel, and is designed to make it easier for you to find the information that you need.
16 to 19 funding information will be the first to go live, and the rest will follow in the next week.
EFA’s main areas of work will be gathered into a number of document collections:
- academies funding, payments and compliance
- funding education for 16 to 19-year-olds
- school capital expenditure and funding
- school building design and maintenance
- Priority School Building Programme
- EFA contractors framework
Content will be redirected away from the existing Department for Education website over the next week or so.
Please note the Skills Funding Agency, Data Service and information authority has also moved to GOV.UK.
2. Reminder: closure of the EFA IM portal
EFA uses the IM Portal to send information to some providers and local authorities to receive information.
It will close on 20 March 2014. The replacement will be EFA’s Document Exchange.
If you have documents still on the IM Portal (for example CCM payment schedules which were last uploaded in September 2013 or local authority MI files which were uploaded in December 2013) these must be downloaded before 20 March 2014.
3. Action: academy trusts’ 2014 to 2015 budget forecasts due 31 July 2014
All academy trusts open as at 31 March 2014 must submit their budget forecast for 2014 to 2015 by 31 July 2014.
Please submit this to Deloitte OnLine by 31 July using the guide to uploading documents to Deloitte OnLine.
Academy trusts opening new academies up to 31 March 2014 still need to complete 2013 to 2014 budget forecasts for the new academies within 6 weeks of receiving the final funding letters.
Please contact Deloitte if your trust has not received a login within 4 weeks of opening. Deloitte send logins for Deloitte OnLine to EFA’s contact for each trust. This is the accounting officer, which in most cases is the academy principal. For multi-academy trusts (MATs), this may be the lead contact for the MAT or academy principals.
4. Information: validating academy trusts’ 2012 to 2013 accounts returns
All academy trusts open as at 31 March 2014 must submit their budget forecast for 2014 to 2015 by 31 July 2014.
EFA needs to validate academy trusts’ 2012 to 2013 accounts returns before they can be consolidated into its annual accounts. Deloitte, EFA’s delivery partners, will be conducting this work over the next 3 months, and may contact your academy trust with queries.
Next week EFA will publish the validation tests and standard questions that Deloitte may need to ask.
5. Reminder: academies risk-pooling insurance survey
The deadline for completing the insurance survey that accompanied EFA’s letter of 14 February outlining arrangements for funding allocations for 2014 to 2015 is 10 March.
Please send your completed survey to insurancesurvey.consultation@education.gsi.gov.uk.
6. Update: academies risk-pooling insurance
EFA would like to clarify arrangements for academies whose insurance contracts expire(d) between the date before its announcing voluntary risk-pooling for insurance and 1 September when the scheme comes into effect.
If your insurance contracts expire(d) between 13 February 2014 and 1 September 2014 and you wish to join the new scheme, you can either enter into a new contract for the period up to 31 August 2014 or renew for a further 12 months.
EFA will reimburse the costs above £25 per pupil for a maximum of 1 year for contracts entered in to on or after 13 February 2014. New multi-year contracts will not be reimbursed after the first year.
If your current insurer has increased premiums for a renewed contract, you can seek alternative insurance through the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) or Crown Commercial Service (CCS) insurance frameworks.
EFA is currently working through the details of the new scheme and will issue further information in early April.
7. Information: important changes to exams administration support
Exams administration support to schools will soon be phased out and further information has been published for developing training and support services in the future.