Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) - Update 4

Supporting pupils this summer through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP)

There is still time to support pupils through the NTP. To find out how your school could benefit from tutoring, view the how to guide on the options available.

Schools should continue to deliver tuition to pupils in 15-hour packages. To allow schools the flexibility to complete as many 15-hour packages as possible before the end of August, you may consider:

• delivering more than one session to pupils per week or extending sessions to more than one hour, if appropriate
• continuing tuition in July and August (for schools offering summer tuition)
• allowing pupil swapping to increase the benefit of support to those pupils who need it the most. For example, schools could divide the 15-hour package between two pupils depending on need, with one pupil receiving 10 hours and the second pupil receiving 5 hours.

16 to 19 Bursary Fund

There has been an update to the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund rules about the annual checking of household income. This follows discussions with providers and recognises the administrative burden of handling large numbers of bursary applications in a short space of time, and the desire to maximise retention of students facing financial disadvantage.

Further clarification about use of the bursary fund in individual cases of severe hardship relating to food support has also been provided.

Both changes are set out in more detail in the Bursary fund guide for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

Previous ESFA Updates

You can find previous editions of the ESFA Update on the GOV.UK website