Get help with technology programme: claim form guidance
Updated 4 February 2022
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-help-with-technology-conditions-of-internet-access-and-device-grants/get-help-with-technology-programme-claim-form-guidance
1. Introduction
These instructions are to help schools and colleges (settings) claim against the costs incurred to support children and young people to access the internet.
Funding is also available to help with technical costs for resetting and setting up devices received from the Department for Education (DfE).
This form allows you to claim for:
- connectivity support purchased between 1 September 2021 to 27 February 2022 for children and young people who do not have adequate internet access at home when face to face education is disrupted due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
- costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 to reset a DfE restricted device received in academic year 2019 to 2020 or academic year 2020 to 2021
- costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 to set up a device received from DfE on or after 1 November 2021
2. Eligibility to claim
The following providers are eligible to make claims using the online form:
- mainstream academies and maintained schools
- 16 to 19 academies and maintained schools
- alternative provision academies, including hospital schools
- pupil referral units
- special academies and special maintained schools
- further education colleges and sixth form colleges
- special post-16 institutions
- independent training providers (where student places are funded by ESFA)
- non-maintained special schools
- local authorities
Institutions with publicly funded students over the age of 19 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan who also received free meals are also eligible.
Independent institutions (with fee-paying pupils and students) are not eligible for this funding.
Your grant will be paid following a satisfactory review of the information provided in this form.
3. When to claim
Claims should be submitted after all associated event costs have taken place.
The deadline for submitting your claim is Sunday, 27 February 2022 at 11.59PM.
Claims can be amended up until the deadline. It will not be possible to grant any extensions to the deadline.
4. Accessing the claim form
Select the link to the claim form.
4.1 Before you start
Before you start the claims process, please ensure that you:
- have read this guidance on how to make a claim
- are an eligible establishment
- have details of the numbers of children or young people you have supported with internet access
- have details of the numbers of devices reset or set-up
- have details of the original recipient organisation of devices (where devices have been received through your local authority, academy trust or care leaver)
- have details of device technical support or internet connectivity costs
- have access to supporting evidence to substantiate your claim
- have read the conditions of grant guidance
- have a DfE Sign-in account
If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account, visit DfE Sign-in and select the option ‘Create a DfE Sign-in account’.
Once you have created the account, sign in to DfE Sign-in and select ‘organisations’ and ‘request an organisation’, then enter the URN or name of your establishment. The request will be sent to the DfE Sign-in approver for the establishment, to approve your request. Once approved, you can access the form.
This form should be completed by an organisation that received devices from DfE, or an organisation that incurred costs to support children and young people to access the internet.
Claims must be made at school/academy level, but can be submitted by individual establishments or collectively by local authorities on behalf of their schools (via a single claim).
Multi-academy trusts cannot make a collective claim on behalf of their academies.
Select the link to the claim form.
If you need further assistance
If you are having problems using the DfE Sign-in service, visit DfE Sign-in Help. You will be able to request further assistance if required. When raising a support request, please select ‘other’.
If you believe you are eligible to claim, but have problems accessing the form, please get in touch with us.
5. Completing the form
There is no save facility on the form, so please have all the information and evidence ready before starting a claim. If your claim form is open for an extended period, you may lose the information you have entered, and will need to sign in again.
You will be required to answer questions related to the Get Help with Technology grant. All questions are mandatory.
After answering all questions, you will be prompted to complete your declarations. When you have completed the declarations, you will be able to submit your form. Once your form submission is confirmed, an explanation on what happens next will follow.
Selecting ‘continue’ on each page will take you through the form.
5.1 Introduction Page
This page gives you an overview of Get Help with Technology claim form and confirms the claim deadline.
The data collected in this form will be matched with census, educational setting status form (ESSF) and Get Help with Technology data, to track claims and to monitor delivery of these funds.
5.2 Your details
This is a read-only page that confirms your details, including your setting, when signing in to your DfE Sign-in account.
5.3 Connectivity grant
Subject to verification, schools and other settings can apply for funding to contribute towards the costs they have incurred to support children and young people to access the internet when face-to-face education is disrupted due to coronavirus (COVID-19). It covers costs incurred between 1 September 2021 to 27 February 2022.
You should only include VAT in this cost if your setting is unable to reclaim the amount of VAT elsewhere.
5.4 Technical support
Devices reset grant
Schools and other settings can apply for grants to contribute towards the technical support costs incurred in resetting devices received from DfE.
Schools and other settings can claim for costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 relating to resetting a DfE restricted device received in academic year 2019 to 2020 or academic year 2020 to 2021.
This grant is intended to support organisations that may not currently have the capacity to reset devices they received from Get Help with Technology. Restrictions and eligibility criteria are set out in the guidance. Restrictions include the types of devices received, types of technical support used and limitations on the maximum amounts that can be claimed.
You should only include VAT in this cost if your setting is unable to reclaim the amount of VAT elsewhere.
Setting up new devices grant
Schools and other settings can also claim for costs incurred for purchasing technical support during the period 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022 relating to setting up a device received from the DfE on or after 1 November 2021.
5.5 Value for money
We expect:
- schools seek to achieve best value for money when purchasing connectivity solutions and sourcing technical support provision, using their own knowledge or guidance provided by DfE
- schools, colleges and local authorities to source connectivity and technical support provision in line with relevant requirements and guidance for their institution type regarding financial governance and procurement good practise
- schools, colleges and local authorities to ensure that the technical support provider used is appropriately qualified (for example, through Microsoft certification or other relevant industry accreditation) to carry out the work necessary to set up devices to be used safely
- technical support costs claimed for must only relate to the use of an appropriately qualified professional service which the school is charged for (whether as an external commercial provider or internal costed service)
- costs cannot be claimed where the support provider is not professionally qualified and/or is providing support on a free/voluntary basis and/or where there would not normally be a cost incurred by the school, college or local authority for their support
You should only include VAT in this cost if your setting is unable to reclaim the amount of VAT elsewhere.
5.6 Supportive evidence
Schools, colleges and local authorities must keep receipt records of connectivity solutions purchased between 1 September 2021 to 27 February 2022 and receipt records of technical support costs relating to eligible devices that incurred between 1 November 2021 to 14 January 2022.
These must be kept available for attaching to the grant claim and for any inspection, either as part of a spot check on connectivity expenditure or as part of an audit.
Schools, colleges and local authorities must provide information, as may be required by the Secretary of State, to determine whether they have complied with these conditions.
You can upload up to 5 files to support your claim, but each file size must not exceed 10MB.
You must upload at least one file to continue.
5.7 Summary and declarations
You will be asked to check your answers before submitting your claims, followed by a confirmation of your claim values.
If you would like to change any answers, use the ‘change’ link that appears next to the relevant data entry. We will then ask you to make several declarations.
You will not be able to submit your claim without completing these declarations and to do that, you need to select each box.
Once you have completed this page, you will be able to select ‘accept and send’ to submit your claims. You will see a message confirming that your claim has been submitted.
5.8 Confirmation
The final page confirms your claim has been submitted successfully. You will receive a unique reference number against your submission, followed by an explanation of what happens next.
You will also receive an email which includes your claim reference number, and a copy of your claim form in pdf format. We will then review your claim and may contact you if additional information is required.
5.9 Amend claim page
The claim can be amended up until the deadline by selecting the link to the claim form. It will not be possible to grant any extensions to the deadline.
You will receive a new unique submission number for an amended claim.
6. Enquiries
If you’ve read this guidance and have any questions about the Get Help with Technology grant or how to complete the online form, please use the ESFA enquiry form.
When completing the enquiry form, select ‘other’ as your query type.
6.1 What happens next
The information you have entered will be checked and validated against your funding allocation. Spot checks on receipted records will be carried out.