The Emergency School Improvement Fund (ESIF) Explained
The Emergency School Improvement Fund (ESIF) from the Department for Education (DfE) is a crucial fund for schools to address challenges that demand immediate intervention. It is designed to offer financial support to schools that are facing unexpected or imminent failure in various areas such as leadership, governance, safeguarding, human resources, and finance.
What is the Emergency School Improvement Fund?
ESIF provides funding to support schools at risk of failure or struggling to make necessary improvements. It is intended to address:
• Unexpected or imminent failure
• Unexpected withdrawal of planned or existing support addressing failure or imminent failure
• Failure where other long-term support options are not feasible
It offers both short-term and long-term support options, ranging from 3 to 12 months, depending on the specific needs of the school.
Who can apply?
MATs can apply for the Emergency School Improvement Fund to support schools, ensuring that eligible schools receive the necessary assistance. However, there are certain criteria and procedures to follow. For instance, MATs cannot apply to support schools they sponsor or are about to sponsor, and the applications for ESIF must be made with the support of the local authority (for maintained schools) or the Regional Director (for academies).
An important point to note: if a project is eligible for TCaF funding, it is most likely not eligible for ESIF.
Emergency School Improvement Fund Eligibility
To be eligible for ESIF, the supported schools must meet specific criteria indicating their need for immediate support. Schools eligible for ESIF include:
• Local authority-maintained schools that are rated ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted, or not making necessary improvements, where there is strong evidence that immediate support is necessary
• Academies that are rated ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted, or not making necessary improvements, where there is strong evidence that immediate support is necessary
• Non-maintained special schools that are rated ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted, and have committed to the academy conversion process, where there is strong evidence that immediate support is necessary before conversion
• Maintained schools or academies which were previously 'Outstanding’ but now ‘Require Improvement’, where there is strong evidence that immediate support is necessary
• Maintained schools and academies not in receipt of support, where strong local intelligence shows the school is in imminent danger of being judged ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted if school improvement is not put in place quickly
ESIF Application Process
The process for applying for the Emergency School Improvement Fund involves several steps:
• Identify Need: Local authority, RD, MAT, or the school identifies the need for emergency support
• Commission Support: RD/local authority commissions MAT to develop the application
• Submit Application: MAT submits the application along with the declaration of support form
• Funding Decision: DfE approves or rejects the application and issues a grant offer letter upon approval
What happens next?
The successful applicants will receive a grant offer letter that confirms the details of their proposal, funding allocation, as well as terms and conditions. The applicant will have a responsibility to complete termly monitoring reports for the duration of the support and grant assurance at the end.
PAG's ESIF Support
PAG has supported a large number of clients with applications for various funding including ESIF, TCaF, TEG, and more. We provide high-quality guidance and assistance throughout the application process to ensure that all funding bids have the highest chance of success, and are aligned to wider local, regional, and national contexts and strategies.
PAG also offers additional services to ease capacity during ESIF projects, such as project management and stakeholder engagement.
If you have any questions, require further information, or would like our support please get in touch here.