Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 27 November 2024

Published 27 November 2024

Applies to England

Information: Funding for time off timetable for early career teachers and mentors who participated in the national roll-out of the early career framework reforms training allocations for the academic year 2023 to 2024

We have published the academic year 2023 to 2024 funding for time off timetable for early career teachers and mentors who participated in the national roll-out of the early career framework reforms allocations. 

We will make allocation payments for the 2023 to 2024 academic year to local authorities for maintained schools at the end of November 2024 and directly to academies at the start of December 2024. 

If you have any queries, please contact [email protected].

Information: Backfill payments for time off timetable for early career framework mentor training allocations for the academic year 2023 to 2024

We have published the academic year 2023 to 2024 backfill payments for time off timetable for early career framework mentor training (national roll-out)  allocations. 

Instructions on how payments have been calculated on a pro rata basis are contained on the instructions tab of the allocations spreadsheet.

Information: 2025 to 2026 academic year guidance for the maths and English condition of funding

We have published the 2025 to 2026 academic year guidance for the maths and English condition of funding, to give institutions certainty on the requirements for the next academic year.  

These requirements will ensure that as many students as possible get the support they need to improve their English and maths skills. They will be mandated from the 2025 to 2026 academic year, with the current 2024 to 2025 academic year remaining as a best-efforts year.    

The guidance requires institutions to offer eligible students minimum teaching time of 100 hours for English and 100 hours for maths, to be delivered face-to-face, whole class and stand-alone, over the course of the year.   

The guidance also reduces the tolerance to 2.5% of an institution’s total 16 to19 cohort. Any students opted out under this should have their potential to be included in condition of funding reviewed regularly, and their institution should consider what appropriate English and maths support might be suitable for them in the interim.  

We no longer plan to implement the full removal of the tolerance for the academic year 2026 to 2027 that we announced previously. Instead, we will continue to keep this under review and engage the sector on the impact of our changes before confirming any future change. 

Students with an Education Health and Care Plan will remain eligible for an exemption; where they are assessed as being unable to comply with the condition of funding requirements. They will also have the option to stay included under the condition of funding but be offered the minimum teaching hours in an alternative way, where they and their institution agree, this will lead to improved outcomes.

Information: Employers who are no longer eligible for incentive payments will be contacted by The Apprenticeship Service to arrange repayment

The Apprenticeship Service will be contacting employers that no longer meet eligibility criteria for incentive payments they received for employing an apprentice. Those contacted will be informed what their business owes and how to make repayments. 

Why would an employer no longer be eligible?  For their incentive payments to remain eligible, their apprentice must have completed: 

• 90 days of learning for their first incentive payment  
• 365 days of learning for their second incentive payment 

The main reasons for this could be: 

• an apprenticeship withdrawal 

• a stop in learning  

• failing a funding eligibility check  

If an employer believes they are still eligible, they have been advised to contact their training provider to ensure the start and stop dates of learning are accurate.

Your feedback: Tell us about your experience of our funding service

If you receive ESFA funding, we want to hear about your experience of our service. Please complete this short survey by Friday 29 November 2024. It should take you 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

We aspire to run an excellent education and skills funding service that gives providers as much certainty as possible. The survey asks whether we deliver: 

• certainty on what we pay you and when  
• clarity on how to comply with funding rules  
• services that are accessible and easy to use  
• answers when you have funding-related queries  

We will keep your personal data confidential, and your feedback will help us to improve the service.