Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 1 June 2022

Published 1 June 2022

This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Reminder: year-end forecast funding claim for 2021 to 2022

The year-end forecast funding claim window will open at 9am on Friday 10 June 2022. Please submit your year-end funding claim by 4pm on Wednesday 15 June 2022.The claim form will be available on Submit Learner Data.

You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through these contracts:

• grant funded – ESFA Adult Education Budget (AEB) (Adult Skills, Community Learning, 19 to 24 Traineeships and NSF Level 3 Adult Offer (for learners aged 23 or under))
• grant funded – ESFA NSF Level 3 Adult Offer (for learners aged 24 or over)
• grant funded - Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB)
• 16 to 19 education

For more information, please see the 2021 to 2022 funding claims guidance. The user guide to help you complete the form is available on GOV.UK.

Once you have submitted your claim you will also be able to view it on the Manage your education and skills funding.

2. Reminder: updating the course directory with apprenticeship training offer

Under the apprenticeship agreement, main apprenticeship training providers are required to provide up to date information, through Publish to the course directory, about the apprenticeships they offer which are funded by the ESFA

Course Directory data and information is shared with employers when they use the ESFA’s Find apprenticeship training online search facility, to find apprenticeship standards and identify approved providers that can deliver training.

Find apprenticeship training provides information to employers about a training provider’s organisation and their apprenticeship offer, including the geographical areas they cover, helping to inform employer choice. It is important that this information is up to date so that employers and the ESFA have an accurate view of coverage of apprenticeship provision across all apprenticeships.

To ensure compliance with your apprenticeship agreement, we are asking all providers to ensure their information is up to date and complete. You can add new apprenticeships, edit and update existing apprenticeships and remove those you no longer offer through Publish to the course directory.

You may also find reading the guidance about submitting your apprenticeship training provision through Publish to the course directory helpful.

3. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) mass testing funding for schools and colleges – allocations now available

Coronavirus (COVID-19) mass testing funding is available to support schools and colleges that have incurred exceptional premises-related costs.

Allocations for the period 8 January to 18 February 2022 and for the extended period 19 February to 31 March 2022 for those special settings that were required to continue testing for a longer period are now available.

Further information, including guidance can be found on GOV.UK.

4. Information: improvements and simplifications to apprenticeships from August 2022

We are introducing a number of changes to apprenticeships through the 2022 to 2023 funding rules:

• We are making it simpler for individuals to accelerate their apprenticeship. By improving how providers assess prior learning and experience at the start of the programme – and funding providers to deliver a robust assessment – apprentices will be able to cut out training they do not require and complete their apprenticeship more quickly.
• We are introducing a new minimum number of off-the-job training hours. From 1st August, the minimum time spent on off-the-job-training will no longer be linked to the apprentice’s working hours. Instead, we will have a consistent figure, irrespective of the hours worked by the apprentice. This will be 6 hours per week. This change will simplify the reporting for providers and create a level-playing field among apprentices who are on the same standard but working different hours.
• We are changing English and maths requirements for those Level 2 apprentices who start with the lowest level of prior attainment in English and maths. People who start a L2 apprenticeship without L1 English and maths will no longer need to automatically attempt L2 English and Maths tests to complete their apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship funding rules are published in draft on gov.uk to give providers and employers an opportunity to provide feedback on how we can make them better understood. Please email any suggestions to fundingrules.comments@education.gov.uk by 24 June 2022.

You can find a fuller description of these changes in this news story on GOV.UK.

5. Information: version 3 of the apprenticeship funding rules 2021 to 2022

We have issued version 3 of the apprenticeship funding rules for 2021 to 2022.

This is to reflect that a temporary exception to the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) requirements for supporting providers (subcontractors) is being introduced to ease capacity challenges for training providers.

The rules also reflect that Ukrainians and their family members supported through the Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, and Ukraine Extension Scheme are immediately eligible for apprenticeship funding and are exempt from the 3-year residency requirement as per the previous apprenticeship funding rules.

6. Information: draft apprenticeship funding rules 2022 to 2023

We have issued the draft apprenticeship funding rules for 2022 to /2023.

We are issuing these funding rules as a draft version to give you the opportunity to provide feedback on how we can make them clearer or better understood.

Please email any suggestions to fundingrules.comments@education.gov.uk by 24 June 2022. Following a review of any feedback, we will issue a final version of the rules in July.

7. Information: temporary exception to Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) requirements for supporting providers (subcontractors) delivering training and testing for the acquisition of a driving licence

In response to supply issues for driver training and testing in the transport sector we have introduced a temporary flexibility to support training providers to increase their capacity to deliver training and testing for the acquisition of a driving licence.

For a limited period, supporting providers (subcontractors) that exclusively deliver training and testing directly related to the acquisition of a driving licence on behalf of a lead provider do not need to be on the RoATP. To be eligible for the exception, the driving licence must be a mandatory requirement of the apprenticeship standard the lead provider is delivering.

The exception is in place from 25 May 2022 until 31 July 2023. Lead providers must submit an application form to the Department for Education to gain approval before subcontracting.

If a supporting provider (subcontractor) intends to deliver training not directly linked to licence acquisition they will need to apply to the supporting route on the RoATP.

Further details on how providers can utilise this exception and access the application form can be found on GOV.UK.

8. Information: resetting reservation levels for employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy from 1 June 2022

From 1 June 2022, the reservation levels for employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy will be reset, enabling each of these employers to make up to 10 new reservations on the apprenticeship service to fund new starts.

This reset will give employers who do not pay the levy greater certainty over their recruitment plans for the year ahead. It is made in recognition of the important role that SMEs play in creating apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for younger people and those in disadvantaged areas.

Any reservations made before 1 June 2022 will not be affected and will not count against the new reservation levels from this date.

Further information on the changes is available on GOV.UK.

9. Information: apprenticeship training provider accountability framework 2021 to 2022 – webinar for providers

We would like to invite apprenticeship training providers to join a webinar on Tuesday 21st June (12:00 to 13:00) to learn more about the Apprenticeship training provider accountability framework for 2021 to 2022.

The Apprenticeship training provider accountability framework came into force in September 2021. The Framework is a new, more timely approach to accountability for apprenticeship training providers, based on a wider range of quality metrics. We have recently updated the Apprenticeship Accountability Framework Technical Specification 2021 to 2022 to provide further information on some of the quality indicators that form part of the framework.

The session will cover:

• Recap of the purpose of the framework and the overall approach
• Updates to the Technical Specification
• Further information in response to questions raised by providers.
• Opportunity for Q&A

Please complete the registration form here to secure your place.

10. Information: we are switching off our original ‘Recruit an apprentice’ service on 30 June 2022

From 1 July 2022, you will no longer be able to create any vacancies for new or existing employers using the original Recruit an apprentice service. All vacancies must be created using our built-in recruitment tool.

You will only be able to use the original Recruit an apprentice service to manage your existing vacancies, until their closing date.

Start using our built-in recruitment tool within your account now.

You should create all new vacancies using the improved built-in recruitment tools within your apprenticeship service account.

10.1 How it works

Once the employer has granted you recruitment permissions, you can login to your account and go to the ‘Recruit apprentices’ area of your home page and follow the steps.

If you need to create multiple or similar vacancies, you can clone them after you submit the vacancy. Each vacancy is usually approved or rejected within 24 hours.

11. Information: UK Shipbuilding Taskforce membership confirmed

Members of the UK’s first Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce (UKSST) have been announced.

The Taskforce will be Chaired by Captain Dr Paul Little, Principal and Chief Executive of City of Glasgow College. An academic leader with a successful part-time maritime career that included deployment with the US Coastguard, Paul successfully transformed 5 UK tertiary institutions, and has a strong international reputation.

He will be joined by 20 members from across the UK, providing coverage from industry including SMEs and larger organisations, training providers and trade representative bodies.

The Taskforce was announced in March 2022, as part of the cross-government National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSbS), to develop a world-leading skills strategy that will boosts training and job opportunities in the shipbuilding industry particularly those related to new and emerging technologies and zero-emissions shipping.

The mailing list remains open for anybody who would like to receive email updates or be part of our consultation group to help to shape the work of the Taskforce.