Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 28 July 2021

Published 28 July 2021

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Department for Education has published guidance about COVID-19 in educational settings for staff, parents and carers, pupils and students on GOV.UK.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Reminder: last chance to access support to deliver T Levels in 2023 to 2024 academic year

Are you planning to deliver T Levels for the first time in 2023 to 2024 academic year?

Please register before 30 July 2021 to access support to help you prepare. This includes:

• support for implementation planning so that you are ready to deliver T Levels
• any support made available for the development of T Level Transition Programmes
• conversations with the T Level support team
• regular updates on the latest T Level news
• guidance on capital funding when this is available
• engagement in the development of the qualifications
• access to up-front funding for additional T Level delivery hours and industry placements
• access to networks of providers delivering T Levels and preparing to deliver T Levels
• access to the full range of T Level professional development resources and support

Providers not registered before this deadline will not receive this extra support to help them prepare to deliver T Levels for the first time in 2023 to 2024 academic year. Please see the registration guidance for more information.

3. Reminder: a consultation on plans to simplify funding for all adult skills training is now open

On Thursday 15 July 2021, the Department for Education made a series of announcements on boosting the nation’s skills, which included details on a consultation on plans to simplify funding for adult skills training.

The Skills for Jobs White Paper sets out our vision to transform further education. We want people to get the advanced technical and higher technical skills they need to get good jobs. Colleges’ place at the centre of their local communities and economies means that they are key to unlocking opportunities and to building back better.

This consultation delivers key commitments of the White Paper – it addresses the underlying system of complex funding for adult skills and limited focus on outcomes, through proposals to reform adult skills funding and the wider accountability system for colleges and other grant funded providers.

The consultation is for:

• further education providers
• independent training providers
• local government (including local authorities, Mayoral Combined Authorities /Greater London Authority)
• employers
• learners
• representative bodies
• other interested parties

The consultation closes on 7 October 2021.

4. Information: 19 to 24 traineeships allocations for the 2021 to 2022 funding year

We have now issued ESFA funded 19 to 24 traineeships (2020 procurement) for the 2021 to 2022 funding year.

We have issued your allocations through Manage your education and skills funding and have published updated 19+ allocations technical guidance for 2021 to 2022.

Please make sure you have set up one of the following roles on Manage your education and skills funding so that you can view your allocation statement:

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

You can request a new role through the Identity and Access Management Service or by asking your organisation’s super user.

Contract authorisers and/or managers will have received an email confirming that your allocation statement is available to view.

5. Information: non-procured apprenticeship carry-in allocations

We will shortly be communicating allocations for non-procured apprenticeship carry-in for 2021 to 2022.

Allocations will be issued via Manage your education and skills funding. Your funding agreement will be updated, and we advise you to promptly sign your agreement to ensure payments are made on time.

For more information, please see the 19+ allocations webpage or contact your territorial team lead if you have any queries.

6. Information: qualification funding approval 2021 to 2022

This week we will publish the principles that we will use to approve qualifications for funding in the funding year 2021 to 2022. This guidance document brings together the approval principles and processes for qualifications funded through:

• ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB)
• offers for students aged 14 to 16
• offers for students aged 16 to 19
• advanced learner loans
• European Social Fund (ESF)
• National Skills Fund Level 3 offer for adults

It sets out how and when we will publish funding approval information for approved qualifications.

Qualifications that are approved for funding can be found on the ESFA list of qualifications approved for funding.

If you have any further queries, please use our contact form.

7. Information: revised version of college oversight guidance

We have published a revised version of our college oversight guidance.

This guidance applies to further education (FE) colleges, sixth form colleges and designated institutions in England. Changes are effective from 1 September 2021.

The revised version sets out increased support for colleges – through the concept of ‘active support.’ This replaces the categories of Prevention and Early Intervention.

There will now be a single Intervention category (previously Formal Intervention).

ESFA territorial teams will contact colleges in the autumn to discuss transitional arrangements.

8. Information: subcontracting standard now published

As part of the subcontracting reforms, we said we would develop and publish an ESFA subcontracting standard by 31 July 2021. The subcontracting standard has now been published and can be found on GOV.UK.

We expect providers will take the 2021 to 2022 year to ensure they are aligning their subcontracted delivery to the standard, where they do not already, and ensure that they have appropriate evidence in place to ensure that they can demonstrate compliance with the standard.

In December 2021 we plan to publish further guidance for auditors and information on the accreditation process. We will make any minor amendments to the subcontracting standard from feedback in March 2022, ahead of the 2022 to 2023 funding year.

9. Information: College Collaboration Fund (CCF) – outcome of application round

We are very pleased to let you know that 18 applications have been successful in securing funding from the second round of the College Collaboration Fund (CCF).

We received 49 applications in total and the high demand meant that we were not able to allocate funding to all those applications that met the assessment criteria. Funding has been allocated based on application merit and the department’s priorities. If funding becomes available in the future, either through the CCF or other programmes, we have encouraged these colleges to consider applying.

Building on the previous round, the CCF is designed to support colleges address current challenges around quality improvement and capitalise on good practice, including that developed through new ways of working. Applicants have worked with partners to better understand the quality challenges faced, and to create a collaborative programme of work that tackles these challenges. Lead colleges will bring their know how and expertise to the individual CCF projects. At the same time, we expect that successful partnerships will strengthen the self-improvement capacity of the college sector as a whole.

Alongside each applicants own approach to sharing the outcomes of their work funded by CCF, we will be working with colleges and representative organisations to support dissemination nationally. This will ensure the whole FE sector can access and benefit from the innovation and expertise developed by the CCF.

The list of successful colleges and their improvement partners are now published on GOV.UK. If you have any questions, please use our dedicated mailbox: college.collaborationfund@education.gov.uk.

10. Information: vaccination and further education students

The JCVI has advised some under 18s can receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccination is now available to everyone aged 18 (and those within 3 months of turning 18) and over.

For those aged under 18, eligible individuals include students aged 16 to 18 years who are employed in, studying or in training for health and social care work or who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

Further information can be found in the COVID-19 vaccination first phase priority groups and the COVID-19 Green Book. For those of you who have younger students attending your settings, eligibility has been broadened to include 12 to 15 year olds with specific underlying health conditions or who are healthy but are household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed.

Further information is available on GOV.UK.

11. Information: Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have launched a second phase of the Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund. Further details can be found on Salix’s website, and on GOV.UK.

The scheme will open for applications on Wednesday 28 July and will remain open until all funding has been allocated.

In total up to £15m is available in this financial year to enable organisations to secure the expert skills required to develop Heat Decarbonisation Plans.

Please do make your own contacts and networks aware. Salix will also be organising webinars, details of which are on their website.

12. Information: IfATE consultation on degree apprenticeships

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute) has launched a consultation on degree apprenticeships. It sets out proposals to improve how degree apprenticeships are developed, approved, and work in practice for employers and apprentices.

The Institute are proposing five specific changes to the requirements of degree apprenticeships:

1. better supporting graduate-entry occupations
2. integration of on-the-job and off-the-job training
3. alignment between apprenticeship knowledge, skills and behaviours and degree learning outcomes
4. integration of assessment
5. participation of an independent assessor with occupational expertise

To support the consultation, they are running a series of stakeholder events to provide an opportunity for people to ask questions about the proposals. You can sign up for these events on Eventbrite:

5 August:

• Higher education institutions and training providers: 10:30am to 11:30am
• Professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies and end-point assessment organisations: 3:30pm to 4:30pm

2 September:

• Higher education institutions and training providers: 11am to 12pm
• Professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies and end-point assessment organisations: 3:30pm to 4:30pm

You can find out more and take part in the consultation on the Institute’s website. The consultation closes 16 September.