Guidance

How to download and return the authority proforma tool (APT): using the digital portal for 2025 to 2026

Published 17 December 2024

Applies to England

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) closed on 31 March 2025. All activity has moved to the Department for Education (DfE). You should continue to follow this guidance.

1. Introduction 

Each year, local authorities are required to detail their schools block funding formulae in accordance with the arrangements set out by the Secretary of State for Education. 

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has developed the authority proforma tool (APT) to assist local authorities to model, and then confirm, how they plan to do this for the 2025 to 2026 financial year. 

You should use this guidance to download your APT and for subsequently returning a completed APT to us. A separate document, ‘How to complete the authority proforma tool’, guides you on how to complete the APT. 

The APT is available to local authorities via the ‘Access the authority proforma tool (APT) portal’. To access this, you must have a DfE Sign-in account. The APT workbook is password protected and we will email you the password details. This is to ensure that the information contained in the documents is kept secure. 

If you are unable to access the portal, contact us via the Customer Help Portal.

2. Who this portal is for 

The portal is for local authorities to download and/or upload their completed APT for the 2025 to 2026 financial year. 

3. When you can access the portal 

You can now download and/or upload your completed APT for the 2025 to 2026 financial year using the portal. 

We expect LAs to submit a completed APT by Wednesday 22nd January 2025.

You can amend your APT and resubmit it up to the deadline. We cannot guarantee any extensions.

4. How to access the portal 

Select the link to the portal.

4.1 Before you start 

Ensure that you have a DfE Sign-in account that is linked to your local authority correctly. 

4.2 DfE Sign-in 

Sign in to your DfE Sign-in account

Follow the following steps to access your DfE Sign-In account: 

1. Access the form via the link above. When prompted, enter your DfE Sign-in credentials (your username and password) for authentication. 

2. If asked, choose the local authority you are accessing the portal on behalf of. 

3. The next page will display the details we hold about your local authority. 

4. If these details are correct, then select ‘Continue’ to go to the next page. 

5. If you believe these details are incorrect, contact us via the Customer Help Portal and we will investigate. You can still proceed with your submission. 

  Your DfE Sign-in account must be connected to the local authority you are completing the form for. You do not need to add any services in DfE Sign-in; it is used only for authentication. 

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account  

You will need to create one by following these steps:  

1. Select ‘create a DfE Sign-in account’ at the DfE Sign-in page. 

2. Enter your name and email address (use a valid business email address that contains your name). 

3. We will send you an email to verify your email address; copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page. 

4. Create a memorable password that is at least 14 characters. A good way to create a secure and memorable password is to use 3 random words. You can use numbers, symbols and spaces. 

5. Sign in using your new credentials and select ‘request access to the organisation’ (local authority) for which you would like to submit for.

Adding an organisation to your DfE Sign-in account  

To add a new organisation to your account, follow the steps below:  

1. Login to your DfE Sign-in account. 

2. Select ‘Organisations’. 

3. Select ‘Request access to an organisation’. 

4. Enter the URN or UKPRN of the organisation you would like to add. 

5. Select the organisation from search results. 

6. Add comments for approver and select ‘Confirm’. 

Your request will be sent to the approver of that organisation.   

You might have noticed the term ‘approver’. An approver is someone at your organisation responsible for controlling who has access to DfE Sign-in and the services within the system. It is usually a senior person, such as an administrator or a manager. 

For security reasons, you will need the approval of one of your organisation’s approvers before you can access the form. 

Once your request to access your organisation has been approved, you can follow the steps outlined under already have a DfE account  to complete the portal.

4.3  If you need further assistance 

For problems using the DfE Sign-in service, use our DfE Sign-in help service to request assistance. When raising a support request, select ‘other.’   

For problems accessing the portal, use our Customer Help Portal, selecting the APT option when raising an enquiry. 

5. Completing the information in the portal 

Once you have been authenticated through DfE Sign-in and are in the portal, you will find a ‘save and continue’ button on each page which will take you to the next page. 

The portal will retain information you have saved if you sign out of the form or if you leave it open for an extended period. You can resume your submission when you sign back in. 

Once you have submitted your APT to the portal, you will be advised what the next steps are and receive an email confirmation of your submission. This email will contain a link to download a PDF copy of your submission – this link will expire after 6 months so you should download a copy as soon as possible.  

You can edit and resubmit your APT until the submission deadline.  

5.1 Your details 

We will show you the information we hold about the organisation you selected when you signed into your DfE Sign-in account. 

5.2 Download the APT 

You can download your APT for review and for completing by selecting this option. Once you have downloaded your APT you can work on it offline. 

When you have completed your APT offline, you will need to sign into this portal again; go to the APT page and select the upload option. 

5.3 Upload your completed APT 

Before you upload your completed APT return, you should ensure that: 

• your return is in .xlsx format 

• your return does not contain any special characters (a character that is not a number or a letter) within its file name  

• your return does not contain any spaces within its file name (replace any necessary spaces with an underscore) 

• there are no links to external files* 

• you have resolved any red flags in the workbook’s ‘Validation’ worksheet 

• you have not embedded any documents in the workbook - if you need to provide supporting documents, you can upload them on the next page 

To upload your completed return, click the ‘Choose File’ button, navigate to the completed APT workbook on your computer, select it, and then click the ‘Upload’ button. 

If your file upload is unsuccessful at the first attempt, try again. 

5.4 Uploading supporting documents 

Although this is optional and you can proceed without having to upload any additional files, you can upload up to 5 additional documents to support your return. To do this, select the ‘Choose file’ button, find the document on your computer and select the ‘Open’ button. You will be notified when the file has been successfully scanned and uploaded. 

*Any documents you attempt to upload should not contain any spaces or special characters within the file names or they may be rejected by the portal. Any necessary spaces can be replaced with underscores. 

5.5 Declarations 

You must complete the declarations. You will not be able to submit your return without fully completing this section. 

5.6 Submission summary 

The summary page allows you to check your answers before submitting the APT. You can change your answers using the ‘change’ link that appears next to each data entry. 

You can also save your submission summary by selecting ‘save summary as PDF’ before you submit. Alternatively, you can download it by following the steps below. 

1. On the summary page, select ‘File’ and then ‘Print’. A new window will open. 

2. From the dropdown menu, select ‘Save as PDF’. 

3. Select ‘Save’. 

We cannot accept a pre-submission PDF summary copy of your answers as proof of submission. You must still submit the form.  

  You must select ‘Submit’ at the bottom of this page and you will receive a unique reference number and a confirmation email for your submission.  

5.7 Confirmation 

The final page confirms your submission and shows a unique reference number. Make a note of your reference number as we will not include this information in your confirmation email. 

You will then be sent a confirmation email to the email address that you logged into DfE Sign-in with. This will contain a link to download a PDF of your submission, which is valid for 6 months from the date of your submission.   

We will review your submission and may contact you if additional information is required. 

5.8 Resubmitting your return 

If your APT was incorrect when submitted, you can access the portal and resubmit it up until 5pm on 22 January 2025. 

6. Enquiries 

If you have read this guidance and have any questions contact us via the Customer Help Portal. 

When completing the enquiry form, select ‘Authority Proforma Tool’ as your query type.