ESFA Update further education: 18 September 2024
Published 18 September 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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Action: Submit your 16 to 19 tuition fund end of year spend for 2023 to 2024 by Friday 11 October 2024
You must submit a digital form to tell us your tuition fund spend if your organisation received 16 to 19 tuition funding for the academic year 2023 to 2024.
Failure to submit a report will result in the full recovery of your tuition funding for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
We have published guidance on how to complete the digital form.
You will need to submit the form by 5pm on Friday 11 October 2024.
Action: Complete framework apprentices by Monday 31 March 2025
The Department for Education (DfE) will stop funding for apprenticeship framework completion and certification on Monday 31 March 2025. Apprentices on frameworks will not be able to receive a certificate after this date, including those that have been on a learning break.
You should withdraw any apprentices still on a framework, unless they will complete their apprenticeship and be certified before Monday 31 March 2025.
There is more information in the completing and certifying apprenticeship frameworks guidance.
Information: Post-16 audit code of practice for 2023 to 2024
We have updated the post-16 audit code of practice for 2023 to 2024 to clarify the Annex G self-certification arrangements for colleges. This does not affect the core audit of the annual report and accounts for colleges.
Information: Financial health assessment guidance updated
We have published updated guidance on ESFA’s approach to assessing the financial health of organisations. This sets out what is required by ESFA to perform a financial health assessment for independent training providers, special post-16 institution, and non-maintained special schools.
This update provides further support and advice to help you make timely and accurate submissions. A list of the main changes is included in the guidance. These include references to the new financial handbook for independent training providers, effective from Thursday 1 August 2024.
It guides organisations through the assessment process, what figures we use to calculate the financial ratios, and a submission route for financial statements. We recommend that the relevant organisations familiarise themselves with the requirement and changes.
This guidance is effective immediately and replaces the previous guidance.
Information: Adult skills and learning dynamic purchasing system is now available to buyers
The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6348 adult skills and learning dynamic purchasing system (DPS) is now live. Designed to empower public sector bodies to source essential training services quickly and simply, it will remain open until October 2028.
CCS has produced a video that explains how this new DPS functions for buyers.
To use the DPS, visit the CCS website which includes a full description and all the documents needed to run a procurement using the DPS.
Information: Applications are open for the teacher mentoring programme (cohort 4)
The further education (FE) teacher mentoring programme, funded by DfE and delivered by Cognition Learning Group, is now accepting applications for cohort 4.
The aim of the programme is to boost mentoring in FE organisations by equipping established teachers with the skills to mentor and support early career teachers.
Eligible FE providers will be able to apply for a grant of up to £5,000 per participating mentor, for up to 5 mentors. The grant has been designed to fund the remission of mentors to complete 27.5 hours of guided learning and undertake a minimum of 18 hours mentoring practice with their early career teacher mentees.
Cohort 4 will start on Monday 4 November 2024 and will run through until Friday 7 February 2025.
To express your interest and to apply for the programme, visit the teacher mentoring programme website.
Your feedback: Help shape the future of the qualification achievement rates by taking part in a short survey
Qualification achievement rates (QARs) give one measure of how well FE colleges and other training organisations perform each year. Find out more about QARs.
We are conducting research into QARs to find out how they:
- are used
- can be improved to meet the needs of view your education data service users
Complete the Qualification Achievement Rate Survey to share your views.