ESFA Update further education: 1 November 2023
Published 1 November 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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1. Reminder: high needs place change process 2024 to 2025: deadline 10 November 2023
The high needs place change process for 2024 to 2025 closes on 10 November 2023.
Schools and colleges should contact their local authorities about their high needs places for the 2024 to 2025 academic year. Local authorities will use this process to notify us of changes to your high needs place numbers.
We have published guidance on the high needs place change process.
We have also published the spring 2022 census data for high needs pupil numbers in special academies and free schools, and the place numbers for 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024. You can use this to inform local discussions about commissioning arrangements for 2024 to 2025.
2. Reminder: 2022 to 2023 final reconciliation statements
Thank you for submitting your 2022 to 2023 final funding claim.
Reconciliation statements will be available for you to view on Manage your Education and Skills Funding by the end of November 2023. This will set out the final position for the 2022 to 2023 funding year and inform the funding that is required to repay (if applicable) or over delivery funding that we will pay.
Final reconciliation statements are published following submission of a final funding claim for the following funding streams:
- grant funded - ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and Level 3 free courses for jobs offer (previously known as the national skills fund))
- grant funded - advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)
If you are required to repay funds back to us, we will schedule those repayments from December 2023.
3. Information: ESFA Adult Skills Fund - new arrangements for 2024 to 2025
In the response to the DFE consultation Skills for jobs: implementing a new further education funding and accountability system published in July 2023, the ESFA Adult Skills Fund (ASF) will replace the ESFA Adult Education Budget from August 2024 simplifying the funding and accountability system and giving providers more flexibility to respond to local need.
You do not need to take any action right now. We’ll continue to publish details in the ESFA Update. We aim to publish the draft funding rules in March 2024.
There are 2 main parts to the ESFA ASF
1: Skills Fund Adult Core
All formula funded regulated qualifications that include:
- the 4 legal entitlements
- Free Courses for Jobs
- Local flexibility
2: Skills Fund Tailored Learning (further update to follow in November)
- non-regulated provision
- what is currently Community Learning
- what is currently formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning
- and any new employer-facing innovative provision
We can confirm:
- Free Courses for Jobs will remain ringfenced as a separate line within providers’ funding agreements
- ASF will continue to fund learners using the current residency requirements, with eligibility criteria remaining the same for the 4 legal entitlements
4. Information: new funding reports guidance
We have published version 1 of the guidance on the 2023 to 2024 ILR funding reports generated when providers submit a file to Submit Learner Data. This guidance for young people and adult programmes covers:
- 16 to 19 (excluding apprenticeships)
- adult education budget (devolved and non-devolved)
- all apprenticeships
- advanced learner loans bursary
- skills bootcamps
- community learning
The key changes from last year’s reports are:
- added the Devolved Adult Education Destination and Progression Report
- new adult funding line types have been added, and some existing funding line types have changed their names to match policy name changes
- added new columns to the 16-19 Summary of Funding by Student Report to show key information about T level programmes
- ESF Round 2 Aim and Deliverable reports will no longer be produced following the end of ESF Round 2 contracts in April 2023
- added additional detail around the Apps Co-investment Contributions Report
5. Information: version 2 of the apprenticeship funding rules
We have issued version 2 of the apprenticeship funding rules for 2023 to 2024. This is to reflect the new apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) as well as a number of other changes.
Full details of all the updates for version 2 can be found in the accompanying Summary of Changes document.