Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 2 February 2023

Published 2 February 2023

Applies to England

1. Information: the high needs place change enquiry window for 2023 to 2024 closes Friday 3 February

Local authorities and providers have until Friday 3 February 2023 to contact ESFA to query their place numbers for 2023 to 2024.

We have published the high needs place change request outcomes: 2023 to 2024 that will inform ESFA funded place numbers for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

You should review the published outcomes to ensure the numbers reflect those expected. If a provider is not listed, this means no change was notified for that provider and the published place numbers for 2022 to 2023 will be used as the basis of the allocation for 2023 to 2024.

You can find more information about the enquiry window in the high needs place change process guidance.

2. Information: updated guidance on opening and closing, and making changes (prescribed alterations) to maintained schools

The following guidance has been updated:

• Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) to maintained schools
• Opening and closing maintained schools
• Free school presumption

We have responded to feedback on how this guidance could be improved, updated outdated references, made some clarifications, and ensured all legislative requirements are covered.

Making significant changes (‘prescribed alterations’) and opening and closing are statutory guidance. You must have regard to it when establishing, discontinuing and/or making prescribed alterations to a maintained school.

If you identify a need for a new school in your area, you must seek proposals to establish an academy. The Free school presumption guidance sets out the process. A department representative should be invited to review and comment on the proposed specification; play an active role in the assessment panel; and be informed of all approvable trusts alongside your recommendation. We can use experience of previous projects and provide any relevant and up-to-date information on the academy sponsors to help you identify the best and most appropriate proposal. Involving the department throughout will ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible.

We have also updated guidance for academies on closure by mutual agreement. Guidance on making significant changes to academies remains in place.

3. Information: Update to dedicated schools grant (DSG) 2022 to 2023

We have updated the 2022 to 2023 DSG funding allocations on MYESF, to reflect the latest schools block recoupment data.

4. Information: Changes to further education adult skills funding rates and funding for innovative provision

Following the consultation ‘Skills for jobs: Implementing a new further education funding and accountability system’, the Department for Education set out the details of 2 key changes to the funding of ESFA adult skills.

For the academic year:

• 2023 to 2024 - new flexibility for funding innovative provision into the adult education budget (AEB) funded by the ESFA
• 2024 to 2025 - new funding rates that will apply to the ESFA skills fund which will encompass the AEB

We published this ahead of a formal response to the consultation to give providers as much notice as possible of these changes and time to change their mix of provision to better meet skills needs and drive the economy. A formal response to the second consultation will be published in Spring 2023.

5. Information: central school services block historic commitment funding: 3 February deadline

As in previous years, the historic commitment funding within the central school services block (CSSB) is decreasing by 20% in 2023 to 2024 compared to 2022 to 2023. However, the department will continue to protect local authorities from funding reductions that take their total historic commitment funding below the total value of their ongoing prudential borrowing and termination of employment costs. The deadline for applications for protection in 2023 to 2024 is Friday 3 February.

Affected local authorities should contact the department at [email protected].

Protections granted in previous years will not automatically roll forward. As such, all local authorities requesting protection in 2023 to 2024 need to submit an application, including those who have received a protection in previous years.

For further details, see section 34 in the schools operational guide: 2023 to 2024.

6. Information: mid-year funding claim for 2022 to 2023

The mid-year funding claim window will open at 9am on Wednesday 8 February 2023.
Please submit your mid-year funding claim by 5pm on Monday 13 February 2023. The claim form will be available on submit learner data. The funding claims user guide is available to help you complete the form.

You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through these contracts:

• grant funded - ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and national skills fund Level 3 adult offer (Level 3 Free Courses for Jobs))
• grant funded - advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)

Please be aware that 16 to 19 providers do not need to submit a mid-year claim.

Once you have submitted your mid-year funding claim on submit learner data, you will also be able to view it on Manage your education and skills funding.

If you have any queries, please use ESFA help centre to contact us.

7. Information: exceptional in-year growth for 2022 to 2023 for 16 to 19 education

Each year (subject to affordability) we award in-year growth funding to those grant-funded institutions which have recruited significantly more students than we allocated.

There are some important changes this year to the methodology from the one used in 2021 to 2022, we have:

• not made an adjustment for under-delivery in the previous year
• changed how we calculate the thresholds for element 2 for specialist post-16 institutions and centrally funded exceptions
• removed the cap on bursary allocations introduced as part of the transitional arrangements in 2020 to 2021.

We have now published the details of the calculation for awarding exceptional in-year growth for 2022 to 2023. We will be informing institutions eligible for growth by mid-February and revised funding allocations will be available through Document Exchange. Eligible growth will be paid from the March payment run.

8. Information: free school meal protections extended until March 2025

The free school meal (FSM) protections policy was introduced in 2018 to protect those eligible for FSM from becoming ineligible while Universal Credit (UC) is being rolled out. This was originally set to last until March 2022 and was subsequently extended to March 2023.

The end date for protections has now been extended further until March 2025. This is when we expect UC roll-out to be complete for most cohorts.

This means that a pupil who was FSM eligible on 1 April 2018, or who has become eligible under the benefits/low-earnings criteria since then, will continue to receive free meals, even if their household income exceeds the eligibility threshold, up until March 2025 and then until the end of their phase of education.

These changes are being incorporated into revised FSM guidance.

9. Information: visualise your school’s financial data: View my financial insights (VMFI) has been updated with the latest CFR data

The View my financial insights (VMFI) tool has been updated with data from the 2021/22 Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) return. You can log in to view the refreshed metrics. VMFI is a free tool that provides you with enhanced analytics into the financial position and performance of your school/s, alongside comparisons to your 30 most similar schools. VMFI is part of the DfE’s benchmarking offering and the team is holding monthly webinars to showcase VMFI and to answer any questions you may have. To sign up, please click the links below:

• Wednesday 8 February - 11am to 12pm
• Thursday 9 February - 7pm to 8pm
• Monday 13 February - 1pm to 2pm
• Wednesday 15 February - 7pm to 8pm
• Tuesday 28 February - 10am to 11am

10. Information: allocation toolkits available to support 2023 to 2024 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations

Allocation calculation toolkits (ACT) confirming how we have used 2021 to 2022 data to calculate funding elements which will be used in the calculation of 2023 to 2024 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations for school and academy sixth forms have been made available on Document Exchange this week.

If you have any questions after reading our guidance, please contact us using our online enquiry form.

11. Information: flood/storm and water damage workshops for risk protection arrangement (RPA) members

Willis Towers Watson is providing risk management support for all RPA members through audit, guidance and advice. As part of the risk management support, RPA members are invited to a workshop covering:

• how to identify and control flood and storm risk to your school to reduce the impact on premises, plant, and equipment
• maintenance in relation to water systems to reduce the risk of water damage

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis:

• 9 February 2023
• 28 February 2023

12. Information: book a 1:1 chat to discuss your school’s buying needs – spaces available on 15 February

Schools Commercial Team are offering the opportunity for a free, virtual 1:1 conversation with a member of the team, to see how we can support you.

You can speak to us about anything you like to help you make informed buying choices for your school.

There is no pressure or obligation to take any of our recommendations forward following the conversation. Book your 1:1 conversation now.

13. Information: energy and your school – join our free webinar on 9 February

Sign up now for this free webinar and get a full overview of the DfE support available to help with buying energy and energy efficiency goods and services.

We’ll show you how you can buy energy for your school using our DfE-approved frameworks. We’ll also give an overview of the latest additional school capital funding and talk you through how you can buy energy efficiency goods and services via our DfE-approved energy efficiency frameworks.

14. Information: the Department for Education is seeking views on future qualifications to support progression to T Levels

As part of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below, the Department intends to consider for funding level 2 qualifications designed to support progression to T levels; approved qualifications would be available for first teaching from 2026.

These qualifications could be taken by young people as part of a broader T Level Transition Programme (TLTP), or by adults outside of a TLTP. The Department is seeking views on how the national content it has developed for the TLTP should be used in developing these qualifications.

Full details about the proposals and how to provide feedback via the online questionnaire can be found online. The deadline for submitting responses is Thursday 6 April 2023.

15. Information: Community Learning in Somerset

The DfE have procured Community Learning in Somerset via a contract for services for a number of years. This approach is out of step with the rest of England, where Community Learning funding is grant funded. Therefore, from academic year 2023 to 2024, DfE are proposing to revert to grant funding Somerset County Council, bringing funding provision for Somerset Community Learning in line with the rest of the country.

Community Learning plays a vital role within adult education budget (AEB) provision; of supporting those furthest from the workplace, and in improving the health and well-being of learners. It is an important stepping-stone for learners who are not ready for formal accredited learning, or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.