Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 27 March 2019

Published 27 March 2019

This correspondence was withdrawn on 21 December 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Find the latest information from ESFA in the latest ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Reminder: reporting gender pay gap figures

The statutory deadline for reporting your gender pay gap figures for the 2018 to 2019 reporting year is Saturday 30 March 2019.

If you have not already done so, please register with the government’s gender pay gap reporting service as soon as possible and upload your figures before midnight on Saturday 30 March. Guidance on reporting your figures is available.

If you have previously registered to report but now do not think you are in scope of the regulations for this reporting year, please change your status on the reporting service by logging onto the reporting service.

Please do this before Saturday 30 March 2019 to ensure government records are accurate and to avoid any potential enforcement action for non-compliance.

2. Information: new European Social Fund (ESF) guidance to support contracts starting from 1 April 2019

We have published new ESF funding rates and formula guidance as well as new guidance to help you complete your supplementary data returns. This guidance supports new ESF contracts that start from Monday 1 April 2019.

The main funding calculation principles and qualification funding rates have not changed from the previous ESF programme. However, we have changed the format for the supplementary data returns and we have published a new ESF supplementary data example file.

You must continue to follow the existing guidance for all your activity relating to contracts that end before April 2019.

We will publish a list of successful applicants and further details on the procurement outcome once all contracts are signed.

3. Information: 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statements

We have uploaded the majority of 16 to 19 revenue funding allocation statements to ESFA Information Exchange for all provider types. Any remaining statements are on hold due to institution data issues or where funding arrangements are yet to be confirmed. We will continue to upload these as they become available.

We are uploading allocation statements to the Document Exchange ‘revenue funding’ folder, under ‘AY 2019-2020 (2019/2020)’. We have published detailed guidance to help you understand your allocation. We will consider business cases where there is a significant error in the data you have returned.

The deadline for business cases is Tuesday 30 April 2019. We will apply standard minimum thresholds to decide whether we will consider your case. Please review the thresholds published in the supporting information before submitting your business case.

Please contact us using our online enquiry form if you have any questions.

4. Information: final qualification achievement rates (QAR) for 2017 to 2018

We will publish your final QAR 2017 to 2018 data on Thursday 28 March 2019. The data extracts and reports will be available in the ‘QAR reports’ section of the Data Returns page on the Hub.

The reports will include both national and provider type QARs for benchmarking your rates. An updated version of the report guidance is available now.

We will publish the National Achievement Rate Tables for 2017 to 2018 on Thursday 28 March 2019 at 9:30am.

If you have any questions, please contact the service desk.

5. Information: adult education budget (AEB) update – grant determination letters

Today (Wednesday 27 March 2019) the Department for Education (DfE) published the grant determination letters issued to mayoral combined authorities and the Mayor of London for Greater London Authority. These letters confirm the AEB for each of the devolved areas for the 2019 to 2020 academic year.

More information is available in our AEB devolution guide.

6. Information: 16 to 19 capacity and delivery fund – updated guidance

We have updated the guidance for the capacity and delivery fund relating to academic year 2019 to 2020. The guidance provides important information relating to industry placements for students with special needs, students on an applied general qualification, and the use of discretionary bursary to support students on an industry placement.

The updated documents are:

• industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2019 to 2020 for providers in receipt of CDF in academic year 2018 to 2019
• industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2019 to 2020 for providers not in receipt of CDF in 2018 to 2019 academic year

7. Information: apprenticeships recognition of prior learning

We have published new guidance for training providers, employers and apprentices about the need for, and importance of, recognition of prior learning.

The apprenticeship funding rules state that the training provider must assess the individual’s prior learning (including education, training, qualifications, and work experience) prior to the start of the apprenticeship.

The content, duration and price of the apprenticeship must be reduced to reflect relevant prior learning. The provider must document prior learning in the apprentice’s evidence pack and commitment statement.

Please note that initial assessments are subject to audit checks and funds may be recovered where initial assessment has not taken place, has not been evidenced, or a price reduction has not been made.

8. Information: apprenticeships off-the-job training guidance and commitment statement template

We have updated the apprenticeships off-the-job training guidance to include additional information and answers to frequently asked questions.

We have also published the first version of a compliant commitment statement template, in response to a number of requests from training providers. The template is non-mandatory and training providers are free to use alternative templates, including their own. However, the completion of the ESFA template will ensure that the apprenticeship funding rules have been met.

9. Information: Career Learning Pilot

Thank you to those providers participating in the Career Learning Pilot (CLP). The pilot is helping to inform the development of the National Retraining Scheme, by testing the extent to which funding and messaging can be barriers to adult learning.

This note confirms that the pilot will cease on Wednesday 31 July 2019, as planned. Therefore, please ensure ILR returns are timely and include CLP data to enable accurate payments.

10. Information: changes to the Student Bursary Support Service

ESFA has appointed a new provider to deliver the Student Bursary Support Service (SBSS). The SBSS is the online service that administers the Care to Learn scheme and claims for students in defined vulnerable groups from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. A new portal will be available in May 2019.

Key dates to note are:

• summer retainer applications to retain childcare places over summer 2019 - available through the new portal from Tuesday 7 May 2019
• Care to Learn 2019 to 2020 academic year applications – available through the new portal from Tuesday 7 May 2019
• funding claims for the bursary for students in defined vulnerable groups will be processed through the new portal from Sunday 1 September 2019

Please continue to use SBSS for applications and funding claims for the 2018 to 2019 academic year. We will update you again about changes that may affect you and give instructions about when to start using the new portal.