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ESFA set to close in March 2025, bringing the functions into the Department for Education to ensure financial improvement is central to school improvement.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is set to close, bringing the current functions into the Department for Education, the government yesterday (Wednesday 11 September) announced.

Since 2017, the ESFA has administered funding to deliver education and skills, from early years through to adulthood.  Under the new structure, this work will continue, but will be delivered from within the department, giving education settings a single point of contact for financial management and support.

The government is determined to drive high and rising standards for every child, and effective financial management is a cornerstone for successful schools. To ensure financial improvement is central to school improvement, the ESFA’s Schools Financial Support and Oversight (SFSO) teams will move to Regions Group from 1 October. This will support the launch of Regional Improvement Teams by January 2025.

Other core functions will be moved into the department as part of the Operations and Infrastructure Group in March 2025, centralising the agency’s centres of excellence together with related functions in the department.

Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education, yesterday said:

The ESFA has been an important part of the education landscape since 2017. Now is the right time to move the agency’s functions back into the Department, building on the good work done, and enabling a single, joined-up approach to funding and regulation to improve accountability and drive school improvement seamlessly and well.

We will be working closely with stakeholders across the education sector as well as with our excellent staff to finalise and deliver our plans for bringing the agency into the heart of the Department. 

David Withey, Chief Executive of ESFA yesterday said: 

Moving the ESFA’s functions into the Department will help ensure a fully joined up regulatory environment, and a more cohesive approach to the service we offer to colleges, schools and independent training providers.

I am proud of the achievements of the ESFA - delivering timely and accurate funding, positive support to providers in financial stress and strong assurance to taxpayers on how their funding is used. That has been driven by the quality of our people, and I am really confident that our strong performance will continue as part of the department.

Establishing Regional Improvement Teams is a key element of the government’s plan for raising school standards – a single regulator model with governance and accountability sitting in one place. These teams will, from early 2025, work with struggling schools to quickly and directly address areas of weakness.

This new structure will therefore ensure the department is set up to deliver its priorities, while ensuring ESFA’s expertise, service delivery and functions are protected.

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