Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 15 May 2019

Published 15 May 2019

This correspondence was withdrawn on 21 December 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Find the latest information from ESFA in the latest ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Reminder: successful condition improvement fund (CIF) 2019 to 2020 applicants must complete returns by Friday 17 May 2019

Before any payment is made on successful CIF 2019 to 2020 projects, applicants must complete the following actions by Friday 17 May 2019:

• submit outstanding project monitoring or completion returns for previous CIF projects
• read and accept the terms of conditions of funding
• submit a project monitoring form for your new project(s) to confirm and/or update your project delivery milestones.

We will not release any project funds until these actions are complete.

2. Information: update to 16 to 19 study guidance for providers

We have published the 16 to 19 study programmes guidance for the 2019 to 2020 academic year.

All students funded through the 16 to 19 funding methodology must be enrolled on a study programme. Study programmes typically combine qualifications and other activities, and are tailored to each student’s prior attainment and career goals.

The study programme guidance is designed to help providers understand their obligations and duties in relation to the provision of 16 to 19 study programmes in their institutions.

The new guidance reflects the change to the 16 to 19 English and maths condition of funding that will apply from academic year 2019 to 2020. This change was first announced on 13 February 2019.

We will continue to update the study programme guidance in line with other reforms, such as the introduction of T Levels, the transition framework and the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below.

We welcome your feedback on how to make this guidance more useful – please email us with your comments and suggestions at Post16.Level3AndBelowReview@education.gov.uk.

3. Information: updated 2018 to 2019 apprenticeships performance-management rules

We have now published an updated version of the apprenticeship performance-management rules.

This document has been updated to cover apprenticeship non-levy extensions. It sets out the performance-management arrangements for providers with non-levy contracts for new starts and/or carry-in.

These rules should be read alongside the relevant funding rules.

If you have any queries, please contact your territorial team lead.

4. Information: 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 19 to 24 traineeships over delivery

We have recently committed to fund an increase of up to 50% in 19 to 24 traineeships delivery at the end of the 2018 to 2019 funding year. This is in addition to funding 3% of delivery above AEB allocations as set out in our adult education budget (AEB) funding and performance-management rules.

To ensure the additional funding is used for increased traineeships delivery and increases are affordable, we have set a minimum value of additional traineeships delivery you need to achieve to receive additional funding and a maximum value of traineeships delivery we will fund. These values only apply if you deliver more than 103% of your adult education budget allocation.

A calculator to help you work out your minimum and maximum traineeships delivery values is now available on GOV.UK.

For the 2019 to 2020 funding year, we are committing to fund 10% of 19 to 24 traineeships delivery above 2019 to 2020 allocations.

More information will be available when we publish the performance-management rules for 2019 to 2020 in June 2019.

Please contact your territorial team lead if you have any queries.

5. Information: 2019 to 2020 Education and Skills grants and contracts

This week we have issued the final Education and Skills grants and contracts to providers who have an Advanced Learner Loans facility in the 2019 to 2020 funding year.

The Education and Skills agreements bring together adult education budget (AEB), 16 to 19 education, 16 to 18 traineeships, apprenticeships carry-in and Advanced Learner Loans into a single document that will provide a consistent framework for managing our legal relationships with providers.

The other allocations will be varied into these agreements before the start of the academic year at the same time that providers without a loans facility will get the agreement for the first time.

Further information about the 2019 to 2020 Education and Skills agreements is available on GOV.UK.

6. Information: T Level transition framework phased implementation delivery support

We will take a phased approach to implementation of the T Level transition framework once the first T Levels are introduced in 2020. The first phases of implementation will be focused on early T Level providers who have a T Level programme onto which their students can progress.

Following a procurement exercise we have appointed the Association of Colleges (AoC) to run our T Level transition framework support programme. Working with their partners, The Challenge Network (TCN) they will support volunteer T Level providers who get involved in phased implementation of the T Level transition framework, running up to first delivery in 2020 and 2021. They will:

• support advisory panels to contribute to thinking on the content of the transition framework
• provide support for participating providers to develop, package and deliver their local transition programme
• encourage and facilitate these providers to explore different approaches to implementing certain elements of the transition programme

We will provide further information on development of the T Level transition framework in due course.

7. Information: qualification achievement rates (QAR) 2017 to 2018

We will remove your provisional QAR 2017 to 2018 reports from the Hub on Monday 3 June 2019. They will no longer be available to download after this date.

The data extracts and final reports for your final QAR 2017 to 2018 will still be available in the ‘QAR reports’ section of the Data Returns page on the Hub.

If you have any questions, please contact the service desk.

8. Information: new DfE support for FE and sixth-form colleges

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a number of updated and expanded guidance and information pages for FE and sixth form colleges. These include more information on the FE Commissioner’s role, and a new page that brings together information on all the available support for college improvement.

The new pages also highlight recently updated advice on college governance and on DfE’s oversight of colleges.

We would like to know what you think about these new guidance pages. Please take two minutes to answer the questions in this survey.

9. Information: National Apprenticeship Awards 2019 are open for entries

Applications for the National Apprenticeship Awards 2019 can be made until Friday 24 May 2019.

The National Apprenticeship Awards challenge top apprenticeship employers, apprentices and those who champion apprenticeships to come forward and show how apprenticeships have made a real difference to their organisation and careers.

Applications can be made on the Apps Awards website. You can also find information and resources to help with making an application. You can also register for our webinars which explain the process in more detail.

The Awards are free to enter and the application process is a great opportunity to take stock and put in writing all your achievements to date.

You can find out more about the Awards in our news story.

10. Information: Green for Grenfell, 14 to 28 June 2019

Friday 14 June 2019 will mark two years since the Grenfell tragedy. Between 14 and 28 June, schools and community groups are invited to mark the anniversary, and celebrate community more generally, by wearing green and helping with a local community project. To join in, students can:

• wear something green to school
• help with a school project or local cause
• use the hashtag #Green4GrenfellDay

You can find more information and downloadable information packs on the Grenfell United website.

11. Your feedback: review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below

On 19 March 2019, the government launched the first stage consultation for the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. The consultation closes on Monday 10 June 2019.

We are keen to engage with a wide range of stakeholders to explore your views and we would like to invite you to one of the events that we are holding to discuss the review:

• Thursday 16 May – Millennium Gloucester Hotel & Conference Centre Kensington, London
• Tuesday 21 May – Newcastle United Football Stadium, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Wednesday 22 May – Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester
• Monday 3 June – Millennium Point, Birmingham

Places are limited to 100 delegates per event, and one representative per organisation. If you would like to attend one of these consultation events, please visit our Eventbrite page to register.

12. Your feedback: consultation on local government pension scheme – changes to the local valuation cycle and management of employer risk

On 8 May 2019, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a consultation setting out policy proposals to amend the rules of the local government pension scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales.

The consultation will be of particular interest to sixth-form and further education colleges as it proposes to remove the requirement to offer new employees access to the LGPS.

You can submit your views by email to LGPensions@communities.gov.uk. The consultation closes on Wednesday 31 July 2019.

13. Your feedback: help us improve the information we give on payment reports and admittance advice

We are looking for volunteers to inform our on-going research into the payment reports and remittance advice that ESFA publishes for schools, colleges and other providers.

If you are interested in taking part in any of the pre-release trials for upcoming releases, please email our User Researcher.