1. Reminder: complete the educational environment status form for the school-run tutor this week
To help us support teaching schools, it is important that we understand how you are using your 2021-2022 teaching grant from schools.
Please complete the Education Environment Status form published on 14 July, which includes three questions on school-led learning.
We have also published instructions on how to complete the form.
2. Reminder: complete the end-of-year statement for the school-led tutor
All schools, local authorities and virtual school leaders who have received the School-Led Tutoring (SLT) grant must complete the relevant end-of-year statement:
We have published complete instructions on how to complete the forms and instructional videos.
Video tutorials
To enable schools to include tuition during the summer holidays, you are required to complete the end of year statement by 16 September 2022.
You should complete the form only after you have submitted all SLTs for the academic year 2021 to 2022. The deadline for submitting SLTs is 31 August 2022.
If your school does not offer SLT during the summer holidays, we strongly recommend that you complete the end of year statement by the end of July.
3. Information: 2022-2023 general academy grant allocation guide
We have now published the 2022-2023 annual general grant allocation guide for mainstream academies and free schools open from 1 September 2022.
We have also brought together previously published special and alternative provision guides into one comprehensive guide for all special and alternative provision academies and free schools opening in the 2022-2023 academic year.
4. Information: pupil premium reporting
In October 2021 we set out in the PE and sports premium guidance an aim to monitor compliance with the requirement to publish PE and sports premium reports online. During the last academic year, DfE officials checked the compliance of a random sample of schools. We have recently written to those schools from this sample where we have identified that no online report has been published.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind all schools receiving the PE and sport premium that reports are due by 31 July 2022 for the academic year 2021-2022. Further details on what should be included in your report can be found here. If you choose, you can use the recommended reporting template produced by the PE Association and Youth Sports Trust. DfE officials will begin checks of PE and sports premium reports for the 2021-2022 academic year immediately after 31 July.
5. Information: announcement of the next round of schools selected for the School Reconstruction Program (SRP)
On Tuesday, July 12, we announced the next batch of schools that will have buildings replaced or renovated as part of the School Rebuilding Program. The program tackles buildings in the worst condition across England. A list of schools and further information is available on GOV.UK.
The Schools Rebuild Program is a 10-year program that was announced by the Prime Minister in 2020. It is carrying out major rebuilding and refurbishment projects in 500 schools and sixth form colleges across England, prioritized as conditions require. Investment in our school buildings is vital to support schools and teachers in providing high quality education so that students gain the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need to succeed.
In 2022 to 2023, we expect to prioritize up to 300 schools in total. We are announcing a smaller group of schools now to maintain the pace of delivery and address some of the worst performing buildings as quickly as possible. We are still evaluating all other nominations received and have not ruled out any nominated schools at this point. We plan to make another announcement later this year to confirm the other selected schools.
6. Information: IFRS 16 leases – delay in new lease approval approach
In March, we provided information about changes to the department’s approach to leases following the implementation of IFRS 16 leases (subject to the outcome of the CIPFA consultation).
Once IFRS 16 is adopted, the distinction between operating and finance leases will end, which could radically increase the number of leases requiring the consent of the Secretary of State, as they will become the equivalent of a finance lease and generate loans. We want to continue to allow local authority-maintained schools and academies to use rents to support their operation, maintaining the status quo without additional administrative burdens. Therefore, the new approach involves the creation of a General Consent Order, for specific classes of leased assets (previously accounted for as operating leases).
While academies will not adopt IFRS 16, to ensure parity across the sector, the new lease approval approach will also apply to academies.
Following CIPFA’s consultation, the implementation of IFRS 16 leases has now been deferred for local authorities until 1 April 2024, although they can adopt earlier if they wish. We are therefore postponing the implementation of the new lease approval approach for both local authority maintained schools and academies. We expect to implement the new approach from 1 September 2024 for academies, however we will keep this under review.
Please continue to adhere to the terms set out in the Funding Agreement and Trust Academy Handbook, where finance leases remain subject to borrowing restrictions.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
The ESFA Research Service is currently running a pilot to explore the use of Twitter as a customer engagement channel. The pilot has recently been extended for another 12 months to better understand the potential and suitability of Twitter as an outreach channel.
We are seeking support from our customers with testing this and can now offer the ability to contact us with crowdfunding/operational inquiries privately via the Direct Message (DM) feature on Twitter for questions throughout the pilot, as well as to provide us with comments and tips to help us improve the service. This would be the type of question that customers would normally submit via the online form.
We hope that for simple questions you will get a faster response on Twitter than the traditional route of the inquiry form to our advisors. The Twitter channel on which we would like you to contact us through the direct DM function is @esfagov. If you have questions about the pilot, please reach out on Twitter via DM.
You will also be able to contact us via the ESFA online inquiry form if you wish.
8. Information: support with school shopping during the summer
The DfE’s Get help buying for schools service is available throughout the summer to support you with buying for your school. Contact the DfE team for no-obligation advice and guidance to ensure you get great value for money on a range of goods and services.
9. Info: get DfE updates specifically for those responsible for purchasing in schools
If you are interested in receiving short emails about the latest products and guidance aimed at supporting you to get the most value from your school’s resources, sign up to be included on our mailing list DfE school business professionals.
