EFA e-bulletin for academies: 8 January 2015
Published 8 January 2015
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1. Action: auditors of academy trusts to complete a short online form
Education Funding Agency (EFA) invites all auditors of academy trusts to complete a short online form by 31 January 2015. This covers their clients for the 2013 to 2014 academic year and their understanding of the financial framework. As part of this, we are seeking a key contact within each audit firm for our future communications.
2. Reminder: deadline to submit your accounts and value for money statement
The deadline for academy trusts to submit their audited accounts and auditor’s management letter was 31 December 2014. Guidance on how to submit these documents is available online.
Trusts open on or before 31 August 2014 should have also submitted a value for money statement in the new online form by 31 December 2014 using the published guide.
If you have not yet submitted these documents, please can you do so as soon as possible.
3. Information: spring school census 2015
The spring school census day is next Thursday 15 January. The deadline for approved submissions is Wednesday 11 February 2015.
4. Information: Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) update
The deadline for CIF applications is midday on Tuesday 13 January. We have upgraded the application website and expect this to successfully address the technical issues that a number of academies and colleges experienced earlier in the process.
5. Action: one-off data collection - maths and English exemptions
We are carrying out a one-off count of the number of students who are exempt from studying maths and English in the 2014 to 2015 academic year.
The data collection is now underway and the schools and academies that are taking part will be receiving a template to complete, along with guidance on the criteria for students to qualify as exempt.
The closing date for returning the survey is 5pm on 23 January.
6. Information: funding guidance for young people 2014 to 2015 - sub-contracting control regulations
We have published the requirements for sub-contracting using funds allocated for the 2015 to 2016 academic year on GOV.UK.
Where an academy sub-contracts any part of its post-16 education to a partner organisation, it will be required to record this in the 2015 to 2016 census. This is a new data item and the census guidance for 2015 to 2016 will set out what information is required.
7. Information: revised independent school standards
The Department for Education has published revisions to the independent school standards that came into force on 5 January. These changes apply in part to academies and free schools. Further guidance covering the revised standards will be published later in January.
8. Information: new school admissions code
A new school admissions code came into force on 19 December 2014. The new code introduces a number of freedoms and new requirements. It now allows admission authorities to give priority for children eligible for the various categories of pupil premium if the change is consulted on. Non-statutory advice on implementing this is available.
The code also extends the priority for admission to all previously looked after children and clarifies requirements on the admission of children outside their normal age group. Admission authorities must ensure these changes are reflected in the arrangements they determine by 15 April 2015.
Admission authorities must also follow the revised timetable for complying with a determination of a schools adjudicator, for determinations issued after 19 December 2014.
9. Information: academy property transactions review
We are reviewing how we manage academy property transaction requests to see if we can improve our service.
If your academy has applied for consent for a property transaction, we invite you to complete an online questionnaire and make suggestions about how we could improve managing these requests in the future.
Please note that each academy can complete only one questionnaire, so please ensure that the most appropriate person completes it.
The questionnaire will be available until Friday 23 January 2015.
10. Information: EFA training videos and webinars hosting site re-launched
We have improved the structure and re-launched the hosting site for EFA’s training videos and webinars.
Now easier to navigate and access information relating to specific financial years, the site contains a number of recordings relating to finance, funding, capital funding and general EFA updates.
Recently added webinars include guidance about the academies August accounts return and the Condition Improvement Fund and a short training video about using the EFA Information Exchange.
11. Information: Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill: the Prevent duty – consultation document
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, which is currently before Parliament, seeks to place a duty on specified authorities (identified in full in Schedule 3 to the bill, and set out in the draft guidance) to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. The specified authorities, which are listed in full in schedule 3 to the bill, include schools and further education providers.
In carrying out this duty, the specified authorities must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. A draft of that guidance is available for consultation on GOV.UK.
The consultation closes on 30 January 2015. The Home Office is particularly interested to hear from interested parties including those in the education sector.