Correspondence

ESFA Update academies: 27 June 2018

Published 27 June 2018

This correspondence was withdrawn on 20 February 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Find the latest information from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in the latest ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Information: academy trust budget forecast return (BFR)

The online form and guide for the budget forecast return (BFR) 2018 are now available.

The deadline for trusts to submit their BFR is Monday, 30 July.

2. Information: Lord Agnew letter to academy trust auditors

Lord Agnew, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Schools System has written a letter to academy trust auditors to increase awareness of best practice in financial management and governance.

In his letter, Lord Agnew, shares across the audit sector several key points that will help boards govern more effectively and make best use of the freedoms they have.

3. Information: understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees

We have published understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees to encourage use of educational and financial data in reviewing school or academy trust performance.

Developed with non-executive directors who serve on boards and local authorities, this resource aims to support governors and trustees to challenge the executive teams in their school or academy trust to:

• set the right strategic direction
• improve outcomes for the communities it serves
• discharge its duties responsibly
• take proper account of effective use of the tax payer’s money
• ensure probity
• manage risks and mitigating actions
• strengthen decision making, by bringing together information to better understand educational performance and financial stability

The guide is not about collecting more information or additional reporting. It is about collecting the right information, understanding it and using it. This will allow governors and trustees to engage with their executive teams about the educational performance and the financial sustainability of their school or trust.

4. Information: changes to charity automatic disqualification rules

The Charity Commission has published charity automatic disqualification rules: prepare for changes to the law ahead of the law changing on 1 August 2018 to extend the scope of who will be disqualified from running a charity.

We recommend that trustees and senior managers in academy trusts read the guidance and check that they will not be affected by these changes.

5. Information: summer school census

The summer school census 2018 database will close to amendments from schools and local authorities on Wednesday 4 July.

We have a number of returns without notepad explanations for errors and/or queries. Where you have raised validation queries in COLLECT, an explanation will be required for these queries in the return level notes field within COLLECT. Please note that the department will require sufficient detail in these explanations to allow the queries to be accepted, and returns authorised. A guide detailing what we regard as an acceptable notepad entry for queries is available on the school census website.

6. Information: new process for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) 2018 to 2019 monitoring and completion returns

We have changed the CIF monitoring and completion returns for 2018 to 2019 projects. These changes will allow users to provide detailed information about their ongoing projects. We have also simplified the completion return.

We have published guidance in the new version of the 2018 to 2019 post approval document on the CIF portal.

7. Action: help us to improve our online forms

We are making improvements to a number of our online forms and looking for people to help with our user research testing. We are currently looking for help with:

• the land and buildings collection tool (LBCT) and accounts return (academy trusts)
• Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) (academy trusts and sixth-form colleges)
• reporting safeguarding concerns (local authorities)

If you are interested, please contact Charlotte Lewis.

8. Information: pupil premium allocations for 2018 to 2019

We have published the 2018 to 2019 pupil premium allocations for academies and local authorities.

This grant provides additional funding that publicly funded schools in England use to support disadvantaged pupils.

9. Information: universal infant free school meals allocations for 2018 to 2019

We have published the 2018 to 2019 universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) conditions of grant, and provisional allocations, for academies and local authorities.

We have also published the final 2017 to 2018 UIFSM allocations.

10. Reminder: deadline for T Level data collection approaching

We would like to remind providers the T Level data collection deadline is midnight on 6 July. The data collection will gather information to inform T Level implementation and inform future provider support programmes. We are asking all providers who plan to offer T Levels to supply the requested information. You can find full guidance on how to complete the data collection on GOV.UK.

11. Information: 16 to 19 funding guidance for academic year 2018 to 2019

We have published the final 2 16 to 19 funding guides for academic year 2018 to 2019:

• 16 to 19 ILR funding returns guide
• 16 to 19 subcontracting controls guide

We have revised the guides, in particular the subcontracting guide and made a number of significant clarifications that all institutions should be aware of.

These guides outline the main features of the 16 to 19 funding arrangements for 2018 to 2019. The guidance books are an integral part of our funding agreements and contractual arrangements for young people aged 16 to 19 and those aged 19 to 25 with an education, health and care plan.

We have also made a small addition to paragraph 28 of the 16 to 19 funding regulations book. This is in respect of an additional group of eligible students for those having been granted leave under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the ‘Dubs’ amendment).