ESFA Update further education: 13 January 2021
Published 13 January 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-13-january-2021/esfa-update-further-education-13-january-2021
1. Latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Department for Education has published guidance about COVID-19 in educational settings for staff, parents and carers, pupils and students on GOV.UK.
There is also guidance on the apprenticeship service about COVID-19.
Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.
2. Information: Wave 3 T Levels Capital Fund and 2020 T Level Action Plan
We have today launched a £135 million T Levels capital fund to help providers delivering T Levels in September 2022 to fund the building/facilities works and equipment needed to deliver the new qualifications. The closing date for the submission of bids is 26 March 2021 and the published guidance, application form and other information on the fund is available on GOV.UK.
In addition, we have published the fourth in our series of annual T Level Action Plans. The 2020 T Level Action Plan provides information on the delivery of the first three T Levels in September 2020, and on our continued work with a range of delivery partners towards the full rollout of T Levels. The main points include:
- the launch of the first three T Levels, including early recruitment information
- eligibility criteria and how to register for T Level delivery in 2023 and beyond
- updates on the rollout of T Level routes and pathways
- support packages available to T Level Providers; and
- progress with the Level 3 Qualifications Review and Higher Technical Qualifications
3. Information: 2020 to 2021 ESFA grant funded adult education budget (AEB) reconciliation
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, including transferring all learning to online delivery where possible from 5 January, we are currently reviewing the end of year grant funded AEB reconciliation position for 2020 to 2021. We are looking at this in recognition of the difficulties and uncertainties many providers are facing. We will communicate any changes to the published arrangements through Update in the coming weeks.
In areas where the AEB has been devolved, MCAs/GLA are responsible for considering any provider flexibilities in their areas.
4. Information: post-16 monitoring, R04 reports for 2020 to 2021 funding year
We have published 2020 to 2021 R04 ILR data in the new post-16 monitoring reports dashboard in View your education data. This is our first data release for 2020 to 2021 and follows our initial release of the new dashboard after the 2019 to 2020 R14 ILR data submission.
The dashboard indicates which reports we will recover funding for at R14 (if you do not correct data in these reports). It also indicates the reports that we may ask you to provide supporting evidence for throughout the year to support the data.
We have included 2018 to 2019 monitoring data, so you can access the last three funding years’ data in a single place and track progress. Please leave feedback through the dashboard to help us develop the dashboard further.
The post-16 monitoring reports dashboard user guide 2020 to 2021 supports the dashboard and the monitoring plan. You can access both documents from the landing page of the dashboard.
If you need any further support, please submit an enquiry.
5. Information: 2019 to 2020 list of declared subcontractors
The final issue of the 2019 to 2020 list of declared subcontractors has been published on GOV.UK. It is based on information from declarations submitted by providers and for the first time includes 16 to 19 provision.
The list of declared subcontractors shows subcontractors with contracts worth at least £100,000 in total, with one or more ESFA-funded providers of post-16 education and training services, including apprenticeships and traineeships. The list also includes the individual values of these subcontracts.
For further information, please refer to the list of declared subcontractors section of our website on GOV.UK.
6. Information: record keeping and retention guidance for FE training providers
We have published record keeping and retention guidance for FE training providers on GOV.UK.
This guidance sets out:
- an introduction to record keeping
- the minimum that should be kept
- how files should be stored
- the transfer of records
- the retention of records
- how records should be disposed
7. Information: publishing to the ESFA course directory
The National Careers Service wants all ESFA contracted providers to get the most out of its ‘Publish to the course directory’ (Pttcd) platform and access as many potential learners as possible.
Your course information added to Pttcd is available to learners searching for learning and training opportunities on the National Careers Service, Find a course and for employers who want to take on an apprentice, Find an apprenticeship training for your apprentice.
Keeping your course information up to date ensures potential learners and employers have accurate information to make informed decisions and helps with the visibility of your courses and apprenticeship training courses in searches.
As part of our ongoing commitment to providers’ experience of the platform and continual improvement of the service, we are inviting you to take part in our latest user research. If you would like to take part, please email support@coursedirectory.org.uk.
To help ensure course information for learners is kept up to date, our support service will be contacting providers to highlight out of date courses for the new academic year.
7.1 Contact us
If you need help using ‘Publish to the course directory’ please contact the support team.
8. Your feedback: traineeships insight survey for training providers and employers – survey closes Friday 29 January 2021
We are carrying out a short survey for training providers that deliver traineeships, and for employers that have or plan to offer traineeships work placements over the next few months. We would really value your input to the surveys: