ESFA Update further education: 8 December 2021
Published 8 December 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-8-december-2021/esfa-update-further-education-8-december-2021
1. Information: update on the £3,000 incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice
Incentive applications are now closed for apprentices with an employment start date from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.
Incentive applications will open from 11 January 2022 for apprentices with an employment start date from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022.
It is the employer’s responsibility to apply for the incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice, using their apprenticeship service account.
Share these resources with the employers you work with to support their application:
- how to apply guide including when to apply, steps to take before applying, how to apply and what happens after applying
- guidance page including eligibility, how the payment can be used and when payments are made
2. Information: how to submit college financial statements and supporting documents
Paragraph 2 of the College Accounts Direction for the year ending 31 July 2021 has been updated to clarify that colleges need to submit their financial statements and supporting documents through the College financial data submissions portal.
Colleges are reminded that the deadline for submission is 31 December 2021.
3. Information: update to the College Financial Planning Handbook
ESFA has updated paragraph 8 of the May 2021 edition of the College Financial Planning Handbook to clarify the financial returns required of corporations which are being monitored because they are in receipt of Restructuring Facility, Exceptional Financial Support, Emergency Funding and Exceptional Restructuring Funding. We have also updated the dates by which these returns must be received.
4. Information: the government’s response to the initial teacher training (ITT) market review report
On 1 December 2021 the government response to the ITT market review report was published, following a 7-week public consultation and extensive stakeholder engagement.
The government has accepted the majority of the review’s recommendations, which include introducing a new set of quality requirements for all ITT, accompanied by a robust accreditation process, to ensure providers meet these requirements in full.
£35.7m of funding over the next spending review period was also announced to support the implementation of these reforms, the majority of which is to support mentoring.
Further information about the accreditation process is available.
5. Information: ESFA Adult Education Budget – HGV flexibilities
On 25 September 2021, the Department for Education announced a package of support measures to address the shortage of HGV drivers.
As part of these measures the government will provide funding for both medical tests and HGV licences for any adult who completes one of 5 listed HGV qualifications accessed through the AEB in academic year 2021 to 2022.
6. Information: changes to T Levels and the maths and English exit requirement for academic year 2022 to 2023
The maths and English condition of funding will apply to students starting T Levels from September 2022. T Level students will be subject to the condition of funding in the same way as students on study programmes.
More information on how this applies to students who started T Levels in academic years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 is in the T Level guidance.
7. Information: 2020 to 2021 Final reconciliation statements
Thank you for submitting your 2020 to 2021 final funding claim.
Reconciliation statements are now available for you to view. They set out the final position for the 2020 to 2021 funding year and inform the funding that is required to repay (if applicable) or over delivery funding that we will pay.
We will be contacting providers who submitted a business case for adult education budget (AEB) on the next steps required depending upon the outcomes of the process.
Final Reconciliation Statements are published following submission of a final funding claim for the following funding streams:
- ESFA AEB – adult skills and community learning – grant-funded
- ESFA AEB – covid skills offer – grant funded
- ESFA AEB – 19 to 24 traineeships – grant funded
- ESFA AEB – adult skills learner support – paid-on-profile (AEB procured)
- ESFA AEB – 19 to 24 traineeships learner support – paid on profile (procured)
- advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB) – grant-funded
If you are required to repay funds back to us those repayments have been scheduled from December 2021.
8. Information: managing your school estate
Good estate management is important to ensure children receive education in a safe, well-maintained, and sustainable environment. If you are a responsible body, you must keep the condition of your estate in safe working order and comply with all relevant regulations.
Good estate management for schools (GEMS) provides advice, standards and tools to help you manage your school estate effectively.
Guidance is also available on specific issues such as managing asbestos in your school or college, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in roofing in schools and concrete cladding.
9. Information: structural issues in your buildings
Tell us about significant structural issues in your buildings, so we can consider further support that might help. A structural issue is a significant adverse change in the condition of a building’s structure that may cause harm or full or partial closure of a building.
Responsible bodies should ensure they understand the condition of their buildings, particularly when managing older estates. If a responsible body identifies a significant condition issue (including structural issues), it is important to assess the issue fully and conduct regular condition, structural or other specialist surveys as appropriate.
This is good practice, so that responsible bodies have the information needed to manage estates safely and effectively. This type of independent, professional evidence is also helpful to the department to determine the severity of condition need when considering requests for capital funding, for example, through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
10. Information: School Rebuilding Programme
The School Rebuilding Programme will carry out 500 major rebuilding and refurbishment projects at the worst buildings in the school and sixth form college estate across England over the next decade.
We recently held a consultation to better understand how the sector thinks we should prioritise schools into the programme. We plan to respond to the consultation and confirm details of the prioritisation approach and future rounds in early 2022.