Goal 1: complete the remaining information gathering
We started information gathering in Sprint 1, and had some leftover details to gather. Part of the challenge has been identifying and contacting the correct stakeholder for each funding type
For each funding type we’ve been collecting information including:
how do we tell users what their funding allocation is?
how do we tell users when they’ll be paid and how much?
what platforms do we use?
what format are the communications?
when do we send them?
As we’ve narrowed our focus to just the funding streams applicable to academies, we’re only completing information gathering for funding types an academy can receive.
We've now finished our information gathering, and the relevant funding types we’ve identified are:
- General annual grant (GAG)
- Pupil premium
- 16 to 19
- Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM)
- PE and sport premium (PSG)
- Teachers pay additional grant (TPAG)
- Teachers pensions employers contribution grant (TPECG)
- Teachers pension grant for post 16 institutions
- Early career teacher and mentor time off timetable grant (Early career framework)
- 16 to 19 vulnerable bursary fund
- Initial teacher training mentors
The funding streams an academy receives are dependant on the age range of their pupils. For example only academies with infant aged pupils receive the Universal infant free school meals funding stream. 10 academies also receive adult funding.
We have not included funding streams that are not expected to continue after the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
We're now adding this information to our high level map of how and when an academy finds out how much funding they're getting and what their payments will be, for each different funding type.
In our next sprint we'll start detailed mapping detail – from both the external user journey and the internal processes. Because it would be a lot of work to do this for 11 different funding types, we'll select 6 that are representative of the different ways users find out about their funding allocations and payment schedules.
Goal 2: Produce a user research plan
We’ve now completed our user research plan.
Our user research will seek to understand:
- the different communication processes academies must go through to understand their funding, using six example funding streams which adopt different communication processes
- the user journey of external users and internal operators, identifying needs, pain points, and experiences for each different communication process
- how the platform and format used for each funding communication throughout the process impacts external users and internal operators
- how the variety of platforms and formats used for each funding communication throughout the process impacts external users and internal operators
- how some allocations being based on the academic and some being based on the financial year impacts external users and internal operators
- external users and internal operators perceptions on joint communications
- the use and usefulness of GOV.UK guidance for external users in understanding allocations
- how the timing of communications impacts external users
- the use of notifications throughout the process
- the level of detail required by external users for payment information
- what opportunities exist to improve funding communications to reduce the burden on both external users and internal operators
We’ll use 3 methods for our user research.
Survey with academy staff who are responsible for receiving funding communications
We’ll be sending a survey via the Schools panel. The aim of the survey is to understand overall experiences and the most common pain points for each type of communication process. We’re aiming to achieve a minimum of 50 responses.
Workshops with ESFA and DfE staff who are responsible for creating and sending allocation and payment information
We’ll be taking a co-design process mapping approach to understand the step-by-step internal processes.
These sessions will also facilitate collaborative discussions to identify common challenges, needs, and potential improvements in the overall experience and at each stage of the communication processes.
Interviews with academy staff who are responsible for receiving funding communications
We’ll be recruiting participants based on their survey responses. In each interview, we’ll ask questions about users general experiences and the management of multiple funding streams. We’ll then focus in on an individual funding stream and it’s communication process.
We plan to hold approximately 5 semi-structured one-to-one interviews, which will be conducted per communication process type.
Goal 3: complete content analysis for pre 16 content
The focus of our content analysis is:
- how academies are notified of available allocations and payment information
- how they find their allocations and payment information and through which platform
- the format of allocations and payment information
- the content in the allocations and payment information
- the timeline of communications for each of the funding streams
Our key discoveries so far
Many of the allocations are sent out through GOV.UK via an ODS spreadsheet, which contains information for all academies.
The ESFA update is used frequently to let academies know that allocations have been added to GOV.UK.
Most of the payment information is generic, and communicated via different GOV.UK guidance pages.
There is no consistency in the amount of detail in payment information for different funding streams.
The timings of publishing allocations and payment information, and the timing of payments themselves differ widely depending on the funding stream.
Sprint 3 goals
Next sprint, our goals are to:
- finish the high level map of how funding allocations and payments schedules are communicated to academies
- prepare for and carry out user research sessions with internal operators
- complete content analysis for 16 to 19 content
- send our survey to external users