ESFA Update further education: 20 March 2024
Published 20 March 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-20-march-2024/esfa-update-further-education-20-march-2024
Information: Read the new College financial handbook
Today we have published the College financial handbook, which comes into effect on Thursday 1 August 2024. It applies to all:
- further education and sixth form college corporations
- designated institutions with an accountability agreement with the Secretary of State for Education
The handbook gives certainty and clarity to colleges by outlining requirements and recommendations for them and their subsidiaries on:
- roles and responsibilities
- financial requirements
- the audit committee
- annual accounts and audit
- delegated financial authorities
- regulation and oversight
A letter from David Withey, ESFA’s Chief Executive, provides more information.
We have also produced a webinar which introduces the handbook.
Webinar which introduces the handbook
We are grateful to the representatives from across the college sector who have provided feedback during the development of the handbook.
Information: Access your final qualification achievement rates (QAR) for 2022 to 2023
On Thursday 21 March we will publish the final QAR data for 2022 to 2023, including provider level data. This will be in the National Achievement Rate Tables on the Explore our statistics and data service.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the provisional 2022 to 2023 QAR data.
Following a review, we can confirm that the Education and Training QAR logic for final data for 2022 to 2023, will include learning aims for learners aged 19+, funded through funding model 25. This is including small numbers of records for learners identified with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) for funding model 25 for 16 to 18 learner programmes funded through the school or academy funding model.
We will be undertaking a further review of the QAR logic for funding model 25 learners for 2023 to 2024 QAR year to address this.
You will be able to see your final QAR data for 2022 to 2023 through the View your education data portal in late March.
Information: Further Education initial teacher education (ITE) bursaries programme – available for the academic year 2024 to 2025
The Department for Education (DfE) recently announced the continuation of FE ITE bursaries for the 2024 to 2025 academic year, for skilled non-graduates and graduates who are training pre-service, to teach high-priority shortage subjects in the FE sector in England.
The pre-service bursaries are a tax-free cash incentive paid to trainees while completing an approved FE teaching qualification (Level 5 or above).
| Subject | Bursary value |
|---|---|
| Mathematics, Science (including chemistry, physics and biology), Engineering (and/or manufacturing) and Computing | £30,000 |
| SEND | £15,000 |
| English (capped at 100 places) | £15,000 |
More information is available on GOV.UK.
From this academic year, only courses on the list of FE ITE courses approved by the Secretary of State for Education will be eligible for student support funding, and therefore, for bursaries.
Trainees undertaking the new Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills), which replaces the Diploma in Education and Training (DET) from the academic year 2024 to 2025, will not be eligible for bursary funding.
For the list of eligible ITE courses see Recognised further education teacher training courses eligible for student support: 2024 to 2025.
Information: Adult funding allocations for the 2024 to 2025 funding year
This week, we will issue allocations for the 2024 to 2025 funding year. These will include:
- ESFA adult skills fund (non-procured), including free courses for jobs
- advanced learner loan facilities and bursaries
We aim to issue allocations for adult education budget (AEB) contract for services (procured from August 2023) in July 2024.
We will issue allocations in a digital format on manage your education and skills funding.
You need one of the following roles to view your allocation statement:
- contract authoriser
- contract manager
- contract user
- data returns and claims authoriser
We have published a timeline so that you know when to expect information from us. We will update our 19+ technical guidance before the end of March to explain how we have calculated your allocation.
For more information, please refer to your funding agreement.
New method to submit business case requests
We have replaced the form for business case requests with a new digital form. You can access the form through Manage your education and skills funding or our 19+ funding allocations guidance.
If you have questions after reading our guidance, or if there’s anything else you need help with, you can find more support in our customer help centre.
Information: ESFA-funded adult skills fund (ASF) rules for 2024 to 2025
The government’s response to the Skills for jobs consultation confirmed that the ESFA-funded Adult Skills Fund (ASF) will replace the ESFA-funded adult education budget (AEB).
We have now published the ASF rules for 2024 to 2025. These new rules apply to all providers of education and training who receive ASF from ESFA.
The purpose of ESFA-funded ASF is to support adult learners in non-devolved areas to gain skills which will lead them to meaningful, sustained, and relevant employment, or enable them to progress to further learning which will deliver that outcome.
Further updates and support
- We’re still reviewing some minor aspects of the rules for the 2024 to 2025 academic year and aim to publish an update in early summer 2024.
- We aim to publish the new ASF funding rates and formula guidance in early spring 2024.
- We’re developing a Q&A and webinar to assist providers and will share details of these in early summer 2024.
Information: Individualised learner record (ILR) Tailored Learning Outcome Area field from the academic year 2024 to 2025
We have worked closely with the sector on the Outcome Area field, which will capture the outcomes of Tailored Learning provision from the academic year 2024 to 2025.
There will be 11 Outcome Area codes for this field, which can be viewed on Tailored Learning Outcomes: Field.
You should record the primary outcome of learning for each individual learner using one of the 11 Outcome Area codes. The Outcome Area does not need to directly correspond to the learner’s primary purpose for learning (that is, the purpose type).
For example, a learner may have started a course to support their child’s learning, but their primary Outcome Area could be an improvement in their maths or English. This learner would therefore be recorded against ’Improved essential skills’ for that learning aim.
The Outcome Area will be recorded on the individualised learner record at the end of the course.
Information: 19 to 24 traineeships contract extensions
We are planning to give providers a 6 month extension to their current 19 to 24 traineeship contract to cover potential achievement payments.
Providers can earn the achievement payment for an eligible traineeship, within 6 months of completing the traineeship when the learner has a successful outcome recorded on the individualised learner record (ILR).
For more information, please see our funding rules guidance.
This extension is limited and covers only 19 to 24 traineeship learners who may potentially generate an achievement element into the 2024 to 2025 funding year. We will base this on your data in May 2024, so please ensure that you record any achievements and withdrawals accurately.