Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 21 November 2018

Published 21 November 2018

This correspondence was withdrawn on 21 February 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Find the latest information from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in the latest ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Action: customer communications survey

Today we have launched a customer communications survey. The survey gives you the opportunity to tell us your views on our communications and to volunteer to help us test our plans for future improvements.

Customer opinions and feedback are important to us. They allow us to make improvements and ensure our communications are relevant and meaningful.

The survey will be open for 3 weeks and will close at 5pm on Wednesday 12 December. It will take approximately 8 to 10 minutes to complete.

We want as many views from our customers as possible. We welcome you sharing the survey with colleagues who would be interested in participating.

If you experience any technical issues, please contact us via email at Branding.ESFA@education.gov.uk.

We will analyse all findings from the survey and report on the main findings and the actions we plan to take.

Thank you for your time in completing the survey.

2. Action: subcontractor declaration for 2018 to 2019 adult delivery, including apprenticeships and traineeships

As requested previously in Update (7 November 2018), organisations delivering ESFA funded adult programmes, including all apprenticeships and traineeships, must declare their subcontracting arrangements, including if it is a nil-return, by Friday 23 November 2018. This is the first collection for the 2018 to 2019 year.

You are not able to make any further declarations for the 2017 to 2018 year.

The process for collecting subcontractor declarations is through the Manage your education and skills funding service.

You will need one of the following roles to complete and submit a declaration:

• contract authoriser
• contract manager
• data returns and claims authoriser

If you are unsure of your user roles and permissions, you can check on the service.

If you have any questions, please contact us via email SDE.servicedesk@education.gov.uk.

3. Information: individualised learner record (ILR) R04 2018 to 2019

The ILR R04 data collection for academic year 2018 to 2019 closes on 6 December 2018. This is a key return for the calculation of funding allocations for 2019 to 2020, so please ensure that you make an accurate return by the deadline.

We have published a suite of materials to help you return accurate data, including:

• ILR returns guide 2018 to 2019
• ILR specification and validation rules 2018 to 2019
• Provider support manual

There are also a number of reports available to help you validate your data:

• Funding information system (FIS)
• Provider Data Self-Assessment Toolkit (PDSAT) reports

In particular, ILR data for the following report numbers should be checked before submitting the R04 return:

• Report 18E-202 (learners with high weekly study hours)
• Report 18E-203 (learners with high planned hours in-year)

4. Information: qualification achievement rates 2017 to 2018 – R04 data

We use the R04 data as part of the 2017 to 2018 qualification achievement rate (QAR) calculations to identify:

• late notified achievements
• achievements within 90 days for the timely QAR calculations
• restarts for learners returning from a planned break
• overdue planned breaks and overdue continuing learning aims

Please review your individualised learner record (ILR) data before you make your R04 submission. Any data issues in your R04 data may affect your 2017 to 2018 QARs.

If you have completed the field ‘Learner reference in previous year’, you must ensure you record this correctly as detailed in the ILR specification and ILR appendix B, annex 1. Incorrect data in this field may affect the QAR matching process and will affect your QAR calculation.

If you discover errors in your R14 2017 to 2018 ILR data, refer to the provider support manual section ‘Correcting data errors after hard close’ for guidance.

If you have any questions, please contact us via email sde.servicedesk@education.gov.uk.

5. Information: earnings adjustment statement (EAS)

We are changing the way we collect EAS data, to make it quicker and simpler for you. Instead of adding your claims through an online form, you will need to upload them as a CSV file when the ILR period 4 return opens.

We have published guidance and supporting documents, including a template CSV file and validation rules, to help you with your return.

6. Information: updates to 16 to 19 education revenue funding allocations page

We have updated our 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations guidance in preparation for the delivery of 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations for academic year 2019 to 2020.

This guidance provides important information about how we allocate 16 to 19 revenue funding to institutions. It also contains an allocation timeline and the latest 16 to 19 allocation developments, which we will continue to update as we move through the allocation process.

7. Information: 2019 to 2020 non-levy apprenticeship contract extensions

Procured non-levy contracts are being extended for 12 months from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. We will calculate your extension allocation using your November (R04) data submission. Please ensure you submit full, accurate and timely data at R04 as this will improve the accuracy of the allocation we calculate for you.

If you have any queries, please contact your provider manager.

8. Information: governance guide for further education and sixth-form college corporations

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a new governance guide for further education and sixth-form college corporations. The guide provides an accessible summary of the legal and regulatory requirements that corporation boards must meet, together with signposting to other sources of information, advice and support.

The guidance is designed to help governors understand their duties and responsibilities and to meet high standards of governance.

9. Information: chairs’ leadership programme

DfE is funding a new leadership programme aimed at chairs of further education and sixth-form corporations. The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) and the Oxford Saïd Business School will deliver the immersive programme. It will offer opportunities for peer networking and for hearing practitioners and thought-leaders from the world of governance and leadership.

There will be 2 pilots in March 2019 with 20 places each. To express interest or find out more, please go to the ETF’s Leadership Hub.