Selective Schools Expansion Fund (SSEF) now available

The DfE have announced the launch of the 2019-20 Selective Schools Expansion Fund (SSEF) which is designed to help support the expansion of selective schools where:

• There is a need for additional places, both in terms of a shortfall of secondary places in the local area and a demand from parents for more selective places; and
• They have ambitious but deliverable plans for increasing access for disadvantaged pupils; and
• They have plans to work with other local schools to increase access for disadvantaged pupils and to raise attainment.

The SSEF is dedicated capital funding of up to £50m in 2019 to 2020 and the deadline for submitting applications is noon on 23 April 2019.

Those that wish to apply must:

• Select all of part of their intake on the basis of general academic ability;
• Have a good or outstanding Ofsted rating; and
• Have a Progress 8 score of at least the national average

Proposals must be for the enlargement of the physical capacity of a school’s buildings and must also increase the school’s published admission number(s).

If you are a Trust looking to submit an application one of the key factors in ensuring you are successful is to show there will be a significant (and affordable) contribution from other sources or via a loan. These (other than loans) will also have to be secured. Loans cannot be for more than 10 years and attract a different rate of interest depending upon the repayment period.

Other factors to consider include:

• Loan repayments must be less than 4% of GAG allocated in 2018-19
• Trusts must not be under a Financial Notice to Improve
• The last audited accounts must show the Trust in a cumulative revenue surplus
• The last submitted Budget Forecast must show a cumulative revenue surplus to the end of the forecast period
• The latest accounts must show a current ratio of at least 1.25:1 (current assets to current liabilities)

A copy of the guidance, application form and repayment calculator can be found here.

Make sure you download your complimentary copy of Kreston’s Academies Benchmark Report 2019 here: http://eepurl.com/ge8wvr

This year the report includes over 350 Trusts representing nearly 1000 schools and is based on those Academies that prepared financial statements for the period ended 31 August 2018 and which were audited by member firms of Kreston UK.