Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 14 June 2023

Published 14 June 2023

Applies to England

1. Information: adult education budget allocations 2023 to 2024

We delivered ESFA adult education budget funding allocations for academic year 2023 to 2024 at the end of March. Some providers received an allocation lower than their 2022 to 2023 funding allocation. This is because their delivery was below 90% of their allocation over the past 2 funding years. We used the funding to increase allocations for providers who have overdelivered.

A small number of providers with lower funding allocations will have significantly increased their delivery in academic year 2022 to 2023. This could mean their delivery in 2022 to 2023 exceeds their allocation for academic year 2023 to 2024.

We will operate a review process for these providers in November 2023. We will publish the criteria for this process and further information in the next update of the AEB funding rules later in June. We can confirm now that this process will only apply to those providers who meet both points below:

• have a significantly reduced allocation in academic year 2023 to 2024 and
• can evidence significant increased delivery in their R14 data return for academic year 2022 to 2023

2. Information: apprenticeships accountability framework

An update to the provider-facing dashboard that supports the apprenticeships accountability framework has been made. Providers can view the dashboard (available in test environment) in View your education data.

The update includes a technical fix to the breaks in learning measure to address an issue raised around the levy / non-levy status of learners. This follows an earlier fix on learner reference data within this measure. Both issues have now been addressed and the changes are live.

We will continue to update the dashboard on a rolling basis, considering user feedback as we do so. We will also be adding metrics for the quality indicators included in the framework that are not yet shown in the dashboard, including off-the-job training data, achievement and retention rates, and apprentice feedback. We are working on functionality to allow providers to drill-down to learner level data. This will be included in a future update to the dashboard by early summer.

The apprenticeship accountability framework came into effect in September 2021 and is a more timely, proactive approach to accountability for apprenticeship training providers, based on a wider range of quality metrics. Further clarifications were made to the policy in February 2023.

3. Information: Higher Technical Education Skills Injection Fund

The Department for Education (DfE) are delighted to announce that the application window for the latest round of the Higher Technical Education Skills Injection Fund is now open and will close on 21 July. This £48m fund supports the government’s ambition to grow provision of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), to give learners the skills that employers need to help the economy grow and thrive.

As we build towards the introduction of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, we want to grow the level 4 and 5 market, including HTQs, ensuring learners can access high-quality, job-facing degree alternatives. To help build capacity and ensure readiness to deliver HTQs, this fund can be used on a range of activities, including investment in industry-standard equipment, developing curriculum content, CPD and developing local employer links.

The fund will provide up to £48m to deliver HTQs in all approved IfATE occupational routes. You can view approved routes and qualifications on GOV.UK. Qualifications must be delivered in either academic year 2024 to 2025 or 2025 to 2026, depending on the subject area of the qualification you wish to deliver.

Further information on the eligibility criteria and how to apply is available.

4. Information: expressions of interest for the Teacher Mentoring Programme 2023 to 2024

The Teacher Mentoring Programme (TMP) for 2023 to 2024 is now open for expressions of interest! The latest round of the programme has a specific focus on improving mentoring for FE early career teachers given the need for extra support in the first few years of teaching, and in particular for those transitioning from industry.

TMP is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by Cognition Learning Group. The programme features two professional development courses:

• Mentoring skills for new mentors
• Advanced mentoring for experienced mentors

The programme will run between November 2023 and May 2024 and includes an optional grant of up to £5,000 per mentor. The programme is now open for expressions of interest, with the application process operating on a first come, first served basis. Organisations need to register their interest before applying for TMP 2023 to 2024.

5. Information: MOVEit vulnerability

A recent vulnerability has been identified within the MOVEit application released by Progress Software. The vulnerability was discovered on the 31 May 2023, but it may have been exploited previous to this. We are currently aware of one UK company who has publicly stated they are affected Zellis. However, there may be more.

This is a significant vulnerability due to its remote unauthenticated exploitation vector, which allows a threat actor to install a web page only accessible to them and deploy a malware designed to capture credentials, including ones held for cloud services.

We urge all establishments to check to see if they are affected by this vulnerability as soon as possible. There is guidance available on the Progress Software website, and also from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).