Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 21 August 2024

Published 21 August 2024

Applies to England

Action: Claim exceptional learning support for 2024 to 2025

ESFA has published the exceptional learning support (ELS) guidance and cost form for the funding year 2024 to 2025. You must complete the form for each ESFA learner whose learning support costs exceed £19,000 for:

• learners aged 19 and over with an identified learning difficulty or disability (LDD) without an education, health and care (EHC) plan
• all age apprentices that have an identified LDD and are with or without an EHC plan
• advanced loans-funded learners with an identified LDD without an EHC plan as part of the advanced learner loans bursary fund

Submit the estimated ELS cost at the beginning of a learner’s programme using document exchange DfE Sign-in. Select ‘exceptional learner support’ as the document’s purpose.

Contact your Mayoral Combined Authority or the Greater London Authority for support funding for learners funded through the devolved adult skills fund (ASF) provision, as referenced in the ASF funding rules 2024 to 2025.

Action: Apply now to be notified of future opportunities to deliver publicly funded skills training for adults and young adults

The Crown Commercial Service RM6348 ’Adult Skills and Learning’ dynamic purchasing system (DPS) is now live for supplier membership applications.

This DPS is available to all public sector buyers to procure a range of training requirements. Supplier applications will remain open until DPS expires in October 2028.

To apply, visit the Supplier Registration Service website. Once registered, visit the adult skills and learning DPS and download the bid pack for full information and guidance.

A recording is available of the supplier guidance event that took place on Wednesday 10 July 2024.

If you have any questions, visit the clarifications page.

Information: Devolution postcode dataset guidance for academic year 2024 to 2025

ESFA has published new devolution postcode dataset guidance and postcode files for the  academic year 2024 to 2025.

We use this data to support publicly funded education and skills in England. The data covers the adult skills fund, both in devolved and non-devolved areas. 

The guidance explains how:

• we use this data
• you can use it to help you enrol learners and create individualised learner record (ILR) data

Information: 16 to 19 exceptional in-year growth for 2024 to 2025 

Each year (subject to affordability) ESFA awards in-year growth funding to grant-funded institutions which have recruited significantly more students than their allocations were based on. For the academic year 2024 to 2025, we have published the rules for calculating 16 to 19 funding: in-year growth for 2024 to 2025 awards. We will fund in year growth in 2024 to 2025 with the expectation that this will be funded based on the same rules and thresholds as for the  academic year 2023 to 2024. 

In the unlikely event that the resulting in-year growth funding would be exceptionally high, we may need to amend the rules to ensure the payments are affordable. We will provide an update on this in February 2025 once the level of growth is known.

We review the thresholds each year because they are usually subject to affordability, so we cannot confirm this will be the same in 2025 to 2026.

Information: Making better use of data held across government to reduce evidence requirements for providers and employers

ESFA are continuing to simplify policies and processes to make it easier for providers and employers to engage and participate in apprenticeships. In July 2023, we announced our ambition to use the data held by other government departments to simplify the way that we verify the employment of apprentices. This will enable us to reduce the evidence requirements we place on employers and providers.

To verify that an apprentice meets the ‘employed status’ eligibility criteria, we will match the information held on the apprenticeship service against the information that the employer has submitted to HMRC through their pay as you earn (PAYE) scheme. 

As we continue to test this process, we may contact providers and employers for further information. Employers may ask you for advice on how to add a PAYE scheme to their apprenticeship account. Direct them the add PAYE schemes to your account webpage, which explains what they need to do.

Information: Guidance to support the widening of the English and maths flexibilities for apprentices who have learning difficulties or disabilities

A change in the apprenticeship funding rules 2024 to 2025 widens the availability of the flexibilities for lower-level English and maths qualifications for apprentices who have a learning difficulty or disability. 

In addition to those apprentices who have been issued with education health and care (EHC) plans, training providers can consider the flexibilities for those apprentices who do not have an EHC plan but face a barrier to achieving the standard English and maths requirements.

The Department for Education (DfE) has produced guidance to support training providers in assessing the needs of these individuals and how decisions should be made and evidenced.

For more information see the support for apprentices with a learning difficulty or disability guidance.

Information: Post-16 qualifications reform update

To allow space for the review of qualifications reform, DfE has paused the removal of 16 to 19 funding from qualifications assessed as overlapping with T Levels, due to take place on Wednesday 31 July 2024. We have published a list which confirms the 2024 to 2025 public funding status for these qualifications.

In May 2024, DfE announced the new level 3 technical and non-technical qualifications approved for funding in England from 1 August 2025. These will remain funded as planned. DfE will also publish, as soon as possible, a list of reformed level 2 qualifications that will be funded from August 2025, including:

• construction and the built environment
• education and early years
• engineering and manufacturing
• health and science

Your feedback: Enrolment survey

ESFA would like to hear from further education providers in this short survey to better understand approaches to enrolment with students.

DfE is currently developing a service that allows students to electronically share their verified education data with further education providers at enrolment.

This survey will inform the future design of the education record service and identify opportunities to better support students, colleges and sixth forms in their enrolment processes.