Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 18 May 2022

Published 18 May 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This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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. Action: apply for a grant to train a senior mental health lead

This financial year, a further two-thirds of all eligible institutions in England will have the opportunity to benefit from quality assured senior mental health lead training, backed by an additional £7 million in training grants.

We have published guidance on how to access and apply for your grant.

For more information about the grant, read the senior mental health training lead guidance.

2. Action: review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England

We have published a provisional list of qualifications that will have funding approval removed for 16 to 19-year-olds from 1 August 2024 and the process for awarding organisations (AOs) to appeal the decision to remove funding.

In the second stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, the Department for Education set out its intent to remove funding approval for 16 to 19-year-olds from qualifications that overlap with T Levels. This is because we believe the rigour of T Levels means they provide the best overall preparation for students to enter skilled employment, and therefore are the right choice for most 16 to 19-year-olds who wish to pursue a technical route.

We have also published appeals guidance, which sets out how awarding organisations can to submit an appeal to us for why funding approval should be retained for individual qualifications. Appeals will only be accepted from awarding organisations and must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 8 July 2022.

Awarding organisations can access further support by joining a webinar on the appeals process on Thursday 26 May at 2pm to 4pm. You can submit any queries and log your interest for the webinar.

3. Reminder: the coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund 2022 to 2023 claim form

The coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund 2022 to 2023 form is live.

The deadline for your submission is 11.59pm on Friday 27 May 2022.

We’ve published guidance to help you access and complete the form.

You can read more in the coronavirus (COVID-19) 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance 2022 to 2023.

4. 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. There is a user guide to help you complete the form.

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

If you have any queries, please contact us.

5. Reminder: updating 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 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 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.

6. Reminder: the coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund claim form is open

Eligible schools and colleges can now submit a claim for the cost of absences experienced between Monday 22 November 2021 and Friday 8 April 2022.

We have published guidance on how to complete the claim form.

The deadline for submitting a claim is 11.59pm on Tuesday 24 May 2022.

Further information on the COVID-19 workforce fund is available in our guidance for schools and colleges.

7. Information: benchmarking tool for colleges based on finance records 2020 to 2021

We have published an updated college financial benchmarking tool with data from further education and sixth-form colleges’ 2020 to 2021 finance records, submitted to ESFA up to 10 May 2021. The tool allows colleges to compare their performance with others in the sector.

We have also published the college accounts dataset for 2020 to 2021 based on the finance records.

8. Information: removal of role in Manage your education and skills funding service

The provider support user role in Manage your education and skills funding is redundant and we will remove this shortly. If you only have this role, you will no longer be able to log in. There are no changes to any other roles.

If you have any questions, please contact the Help Centre .

9. Information: latest update on EQA reform progress

Considerable progress has been made with transition of quality assurance reforms for apprenticeship assessment with the external quality assurance (EQA) of over 270 apprenticeships covering around 95% of apprentices transitioning to Ofqual.

By the end of May, a total of 272 apprenticeships previously overseen by the old Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) EQA service will have transitioned to Ofqual, covering more than 95% of apprentices.

This will mean that Ofqual will in total be providing EQA for at least 470 apprenticeships – considering those that it already regulates.

IfATE will provide a temporary, free-of-charge, in-house advice, and quality assurance solution for around 40 apprenticeships that will not transition by the end the May. This will ensure that End-point assessment (EPA) can continue, and that quality will be maintained. For all enquiries, advice or to request further information related to the temporary service please contact IfATE.

Phase two of the transition process covers end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) whose EQA provider service was previously delivered by a professional body. Their first applications should be submitted by 16 May 2022, and it is planned that the transfer process will be concluded by 31 December 2022, in accordance with the programme published in October 2021.

EPAOs already recognised by Ofqual, who want to expand their scope to include other standards, should continue to submit these as soon as possible and there is no limit to the number of times an EPAO may apply for recognition.

10. Information: adult education budget (AEB) funding rules 2021 to 2022 update: National Skills Fund level 3 offer for 19 to 23-year-old learners

The performance management section of the funding rules clarifies the use of the LDM code 378, to record 19 to 23-year-old learners’ delivery for all National Skills Fund level 3 offer when you submit ILR data.