Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 8 July 2020

Published 8 July 2020

This correspondence was withdrawn on 29 December 2021

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for up to date 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.

There is also guidance on the apprenticeship service about COVID-19.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Information: the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a package of measures to support jobs

Today the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a package of measures to support jobs. A total of £1.6 billion will be invested in scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships to help people looking for a job.

You can read more on GOV.UK.

3. Reminder: the deadline to apply to the provider relief scheme is Thursday 9 July

Providers eligible to apply to the provider relief scheme are reminded that the closing date is 11.59pm this Thursday 9 July, and that their transition plan, an essential aspect of the application, should take account of all relevant guidance issued up to that date.

In addition to the 25% maximum contract value limit on supplier relief, we are aware that some providers are keen to know what their monthly funding cap will be. We can confirm that this is now available to all eligible providers, and can be accessed by beginning a relief application on ‘Submit Learner Data’.

For further information you should refer to paragraph 10 of the application guidance.

4. Reminder: all new learners should start on apprenticeship standards from 1 August 2020

This is a final reminder to providers that from 1 August 2020, all new apprenticeship learners must start on new, employer-designed apprenticeship standards. All remaining apprenticeship frameworks will be withdrawn to new learners on 31 July 2020. This follows the government’s announcement on this matter in October 2018.

Existing apprentices on frameworks will still be able to complete the framework, providing they started on or before 31 July 2020. It is our ambition that these learners complete their apprenticeship framework by 31 July 2025 (accounting for any breaks in learning).

There are now over 550 apprenticeship standards that have been designed by employers to meet their skills needs. A full list of available standards can be viewed on the Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education’s website.

It is important that providers work with employers to understand their skills needs and identify the apprenticeship standards that are most suited to the occupational roles they need to fill.

There is a range of helpful resources to help providers finalise their preparations to deliver standards from 1 August. These include:

• resources and guidance available via the Future Apprenticeships offer on the Education and Training Foundation’s website
• an ESFA webinar that provides support and guidance on how to prepare to deliver standards, including a case study from a provider that has made the transition

ESFA webinar

5. Information: subcontracting declarations – new window opening

In accordance with the funding rules, providers are required to make a revised declaration through Manage your education skills funding (MYESF) as and when any of their subcontracting relationships or values change. Please ensure that the most up to date information for the current collection has been submitted ahead of Wednesday 15 July 2020.

The current declarations relate to the following periods:

• 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 for the delivery of any apprenticeship non-levy and levy funded provision and for
• 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 for all other adult education
• 16 to 19 programme for the year from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020 (noting schools and academies are exempt) funded delivery

Please note that if you do not subcontract but receive direct funding from ESFA, you are still required to make a nil return.

For those providers who are unable to submit this information due to COVID-19, please retain this information as ESFA may be requesting this information at a later date.

We will be going live for our next collection of subcontractor declarations on Wednesday 15 July 2020, and will be communicating more details of this in next week’s ESFA Update.

6. Information: announcement on T Level industry placements

Last week the Department for Education announced a new package of support for T Level industry placements.

It outlines additional support, guidance and flexibilities to help employers and providers deliver high quality industry placements and includes:

• new guidance setting out the key roles and responsibilities for providers and employers around industry placements, including a guide for students to help them prepare for their placement
• additional delivery models for industry placements in the Construction and Engineering and Manufacturing routes, to reflect modern practices
• modified delivery targets for capacity and delivery fund placements to reflect the impact of the coronavirus on employers
• extension of both the employer support fund pilot and the employer support package also in response to COVID-19

With the first T Levels launching in September, these measures will help ensure that T Level students starting this year and in subsequent years can access high quality placements that will support their future careers and deliver real benefits to the businesses hosting them.

7. Information: new apprenticeships provider on-boarding

We are pleased to confirm that providers accepted onto the register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP) that have not yet completed the on-boarding process can now resume or start to do so. Providers were sent instructions regarding this process when they were advised of their acceptance to the register.

Please note that RoATP remains closed to new applicants at this time as per our announcement on 1 April 2020. Further advice regarding RoATP’s re-opening will be published here at a later date.

8. Information: recording a change of employer on the apprenticeship service

We have released a new function into the apprenticeship service that streamlines the process of recording a change of employer.

An apprentice can now move from a former employer to a new employer during their apprenticeship training without the need to create a new funding reservation or add a new record to the service. To do so:

1. The former employer stops the record in the service, dated the last day the of the apprentice’s employment with them.
2. The new employer grants the training provider permission to “Create a cohort” in the Provider Permissions section of their employer account
3. The training provider sends a request from the Manage Apprentices section of their provider account, to the new employer requesting the apprentice moves to them.
4. The new employer checks the details of the apprenticeship and approves the request.

This will avoid issues where the original apprenticeship course is no longer available.

For employers that do not a pay the apprenticeship levy, accepting the move of an apprentice will not impact the new employer’s reserved funding.

If you have any queries, please contact the Apprenticeship Service on 08000 150 600.

9. Information: nursing associate apprenticeship standard

We have updated the additional funding guidance that applies to the external placements within the nursing associate standard. We have updated this guidance because the standard was updated. The new guidance is available online.

10. Your feedback: the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP)

The AMSP is asking teachers of maths in Years 10 to 13 to provide feedback on the resources and support it has provided so far, and on additional support it might provide for the autumn term.

In this letter to teachers, Kevin Lord, the AMSP’s Programme Leader, explains the background and rationale for further support the AMSP is considering developing, and provides details of what it might include.

Teachers are invited to provide their feedback by completing this short survey, which will remain open until Wednesday 15 July.

Once plans for the additional support have been finalised, details will be published on the AMSP website.