ESFA Update academies: 1 May 2019
Published 1 May 2019
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2019
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-1-may-2019/esfa-update-academies-1-may-2019
1. Reminder: budget forecast return outturn
The deadline for academy trusts to submit your budget forecast return outturn (BFRO) 2019 is Tuesday 21 May. Thank you to all the trusts who have already submitted.
We recognise that you may be working on the return offline using the Excel workbook, but we recommend you start using the online form as soon as possible so that you’re able to meet the deadline.
We would like to remind trusts that the BFRO is in scope of the ESFA’s policy on publishing the names of academy trusts who are late, or do not submit, 2 or more financial returns in each academic year. We strongly advise all users to allow enough time for the form to be completed and submitted by the deadline of Tuesday 21 May 2019.
2. Information: teachers’ pay grant allocations for the 2019 to 2020 financial year
Last week we published the teachers’ pay grant (TPG) allocations for the 2019 to 2020 financial year. The supporting information document sets out the data we have used in the grant calculations.
We have also updated the 2018 to 2019 financial year allocations for new schools, and those schools that have added an additional year group between October 2017 and October 2018.
We updated the rates for primary schools for 2019 to 2020 to take account of the double counting of 4 year olds that was identified and communicated last autumn. All other rates are as published in October 2018.
Further information on the rates and eligibility for TPG is available.
We will make the first TPG payment for 2019 to 2020 to academies in the week beginning Monday 6 May 2019.
We will make the second payment for 2019 to 2020 in autumn 2019.
3. Information: 16 to 19 funding rates and formula guidance
We have published the 16 to 19 funding rates and formula guidance for academic year 2019 to 2020 on GOV.UK.
We have made some small changes this year and to help you, we have listed these in the front of the guide. We aim to publish further funding guidance for young people during April and May.
If you have any queries please contact us using our online enquiry form.
4. Information: letter from Lord Agnew to academy trust auditors
Lord Agnew, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System, has written a letter to academy trust auditors.
In his letter, Lord Agnew emphasises the way auditors can help boards to ensure effective financial management and governance in their academy trust.
5. Information: academy benchmarking
We have updated the schools financial benchmarking tool with academy data for 2017 to 2018. The tool enables maintained schools and academies to compare their performance data and spending levels with schools and trusts that share similar characteristics
We have also sent benchmarking report cards to academies using the contact email address recorded on get information about schools (GIAS).
Individual report cards contain highlights of an academy’s spending compared with statistically similar academies in terms of levels of deprivation and special educational needs.
6. Information: sharing best practice to reduce workload
To help share the workload reduction toolkit with more teachers and encourage the sharing of best practice, the department is hosting a free event for school leaders and governors in London on Friday 17 May 2019 and Manchester on Thursday 23 May 2019.
The agenda includes:
- a presentation from Sean Harford, from Ofsted, on school workload and the new inspection framework
- presentations and workshops from school leaders on the actions they’re taking to reduce workload and change school cultures, linked to the workload reduction toolkit
- workshops for governors on their strategic role in reducing workload and how best to use the new governor-focussed resource in the toolkit
For more information and to sign up, please visit the reducing teacher workload event registration page.
The event is free of charge but spaces are limited.