Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 30 March 2022

Published 30 March 2022

This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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. Action: gender pay gap reporting 2022

The statutory deadline for publishing gender pay gap data is this week.

Schools, academy trusts and further education colleges with 250 or more employees should publish their figures by no later than Wednesday 30 March 2022.

If you have 250 or more employees, you need to:

• ensure your organisation has a nominated individual registered with the gender pay gap service
• read our guidance on how to identify causes of the gender pay gap in your organisation
• report your gender pay gap data ahead of the 30 March 2022 deadline for public sector organisations

If you previously reported, but are no longer required to, please sign into your account on the gender pay gap service and change your reporting requirement.

2. Information: college financial forecasting return (CFFR) and college financial planning handbook (CFPH)

Later this week, ESFA will publish, on GOV.UK, a July college financial forecasting return (CFFR) template for colleges to complete and return, via the Identity and Access Management System (IDAMS) online portal, by 31 July 2022.

As this is a mandatory return and part of the ESFA’s ongoing review of college financial health and budget forecasting, we will provide ongoing support and guidance to ensure the sector is confident when completing and submitting the returns.

The refreshed CFFR template has been designed, produced, and rigorously tested in partnership with a representative group of college finance colleagues.

If the person responsible for submitting these documents does not have access to the IDAMS system they can request an account using the ‘I don’t have an account’ link on the login page.

At the same time, ESFA will publish on GOV.UK the college financial planning handbook for 2022, which includes important information on some of the budget planning assumptions that underpin completion of the CFFR as well as updates on the assessment and moderation of college financial health.

3. Information: college accounts direction 2021 to 2022

ESFA has published the college accounts direction for the year 2021 to 2022. The document includes a small number of changes from the edition for the year 2020 to 2021 including some additional reporting required for related party transactions and governance reviews. ESFA intends to publish the Finance Record for the year 2021 to 2022 later this year.

4. Information: help for colleges

FE colleges and designated institutions in England have access to a range of support and guidance to make sure their finances are in good health and that they practice good governance. We encourage all FE colleges and designated institutions to look at the support on offer .

The FE Commissioner can arrange informal conversations to explore the support providers might find helpful. You can request an informal conversation by emailing fe.commissioner@education.gov.uk.

5. Information: the 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance for academic year 2022 to 2023 is now available

The 16 to 19 tuition fund guidance for academic year 2022 to 2023 is now published on GOV.UK.

Changes for academic year 2022 to 2023 include:

• more flexibility to allow more students to benefit from the funding
• an automatic renewal process for institutions who received 16 to 19 tuition funding in 2021 to 2022
• the requirement to publish a statement of intent on how the funding will be delivered to be replaced with the submission of an end of year financial report.

6. Information: 16 to 19 funding guidance

We have published the 16 to 19 rates and formula and 16 to 19 funding regulations guidance today.

You will find the changes for the year in the what’s new sections. Changes include:

• increased national funding rates for 2022 to 2023 as confirmed in December
• updated advice to set out the small number of circumstances where planned hours must be adjusted after the initial 6-week attendance period has passed
• confirmation that funding repeat studies will revert to our usual resit and retake policy. This means treating COVID-19, where it has caused severe disruption to a student relative to their peers, like any other exceptional circumstance outside the control of the student or institution.

7. Information: 2022 to 2023 student financial support scheme guides published

We have published student financial support scheme guides for the 2022 to 2023 academic year for:

• 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
• Free meals in further education
• Residential Bursary Fund
• Residential Support Scheme

We ask that institutions review the updated guides and remind themselves of the funding rules which apply to each scheme to ensure their processes reflect them.

For the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund in particular, institutions must remember that they should not award any student a fixed or flat rate of funding without assessing the actual needs the student has. The guide includes a summary of key points for institutions to consider when administering the bursary fund.

8. Information: adult funding allocations for the 2022 to 2023 funding year

This week we expect to issue allocations for the 2022 to 2023 funding year. These will include:

• ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB) including National Skills Fund level 3 adult offer
• 19 to 24 traineeships
• 16 to 18 traineeships (for providers without 16 to 19 funding)
• advanced learner loan facilities and bursaries

These allocations will exclude 16 to 18 traineeships awarded through the recent market entry process which will be covered at a later date.

As part of these allocations, we can confirm AEB procured contract for services will be extended into 2022 to 2023 for one year. We will communicate future arrangements for these contracts in due course and more information will be provided in the technical guidance.

Our timeline explains when you can expect information from us. We will publish our technical guidance for 2022 to 2023 at the same time as issuing allocations. This will help you understand how we have calculated your allocation.

Please make sure you have access to Manage your education and skills funding so that you can view your allocation statement. 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 receive an email confirming when your allocation statement is available to view.

9. Information: funding agreements

In ESFA Update 16 February 2022, we made you aware of the DfE and ESFA changes, and from 1 April territory, ESF and apprenticeships teams will move from ESFA to DfE.

Our agreements will still have the Secretary of State as the contracting authority, and he will act through both DfE and ESFA. We will vary the agreements in April to recognize this change. The current agreements remain fully enforceable, and the change is to clarify our representatives’ roles.

10. Information: gas and electricity contracts

The energy market remains volatile with high prices. This can impact on all sectors, including education. We recommend you do not allow your existing contracts to expire as buying energy out of contract is more expensive. Contact your current supplier to discuss a contract extension if necessary.

DfE approved energy framework suppliers are available to provide renewal quotes for schools and colleges.

Cabinet Office has just issued advice for public bodies with contracts with suppliers from Russia and Belarus. This advises you to:

• identify any contracts where the prime contractor is a Russian or Belarusian supplier
• where a Russian or Belarusian prime contractor is identified, consider terminating that contract in accordance with the terms of the contract, i.e. following a legally compliant process
• only proceed to terminate a contract if an alternative supplier can be sourced in line with value for money, affordability and with minimal disruption to public services

11. Information: adult prison education in all prisons in England – market engagement opportunity

The Ministry of Justice has issued a Prior Information Notice (PIN) containing details of Market Engagement activity relating to Adult Prison Education Services in all Prisons in England:

• Contracts finder
• Find a tender service (Notice No: 2022/S 000-007779)

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is establishing the Government’s vision to deliver a Prisoner Education Service which equips prisoners with the numeracy, literacy, skills, and qualifications they need to get jobs or apprenticeships after they leave custody. We will therefore be seeking to procure new contracts to deliver education services in prisons across England.

A market engagement launch event, will be held via webinar on 26th April 2022. This event is strictly an opportunity to engage and is not a call for competition.

The procurement of these education services will cover the full scope of Prison education and all associated services. A procurement process is anticipated to commence in Spring 2023.

This launch event on April 26 2022, from 10.45am to 12.15pm will commence market engagement. This will include more specific information on service objectives and requirements. There will be an opportunity to ask questions during the live event as well as at any time afterwards.

Suppliers should register on the MoJ Jaggaer procurement portal, details in the PIN (links above) to then register for the Launch event as described in the PIN.

The MoJ Jaggaer procurement portal will also, in due course have access to further information and communication on the Prison Education Service and background to working with the Prison Service.

At the market engagement launch event, we will set out the vision for prison education in all adult prisons in England. Suppliers attending the event will gain a better understanding of how they can engage with and participate in the procurement process.

We are very interested to hear all suppliers’ views throughout this process to enable us to shape the new procurement and improve contracting arrangements.

For queries please contact: CCMD-PrisonEducationService-Programme@Justice.gov.uk.

12. Your feedback: IfATE apprentice survey

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) apprentice panel wants to hear from apprentices across the country in their apprenticeship survey. This is a chance to have apprentices’ voices heard and to help make apprenticeships even better.

This is a short survey and should take about 10 minutes to complete.

This survey is open to any apprentice who is on or has completed an apprenticeship standard. The survey will close on 8 April 2022.