ESFA Update further education: 9 June 2021
Published 9 June 2021
Applies to England and Northern Ireland
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-9-june-2021/esfa-update-further-education-9-june-2021
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. Action: new subcontractor declaration window open, final collection for 2020 to 2021 including nil returns
Our final mandatory collection of subcontractor declarations for 2020 to 2021 is now open.
In line with the funding rules, organisations delivering ESFA funded post-16 education and training programmes, including AEB, traineeships, apprenticeships, ESF and 16 to 19 programmes, must ensure they submit an updated declaration.
All providers must declare their subcontracting arrangements for the period 1 August 2020 to 31 July 2021 through the Manage your education and skills funding service (MYESF) . Please also note that if you do not subcontract but receive direct funding from ESFA, you are still required to make a nil return.
The deadline for submitting your declaration is Wednesday 30 June 2021 by 5pm.
The funding rules also state that you must update your declaration if your subcontracting arrangements change. Therefore, if your arrangements change after the 30 June deadline, we expect you to update your return.
You will need one of the following MYESF roles to complete and submit a declaration:
- contract authoriser
- contract manager
- data returns and claims authoriser
You can check the user roles and permissions in MYESF.
If you have any questions, please submit an ESFA online enquiry form.
3. Action: 16 to 19 Bursary Fund applications and assessment processes
Ahead of applications starting to be received and assessed for help from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, we ask that providers remind themselves of the funding rules in the bursary fund guide to ensure their processes reflect them.
The guide is clear that both types of bursary funding are designed to help students overcome the individual financial barriers to participation they face.
Providers must ensure funds go to those who genuinely need them and reflect the needs each student has, which will vary depending on individual circumstances. Providers must not award any student a fixed or flat rate of funding without an assessment of the actual needs they have.
The guide includes a checklist for assessing bursary applications and a ‘do’s and don’t’s’ summary of key rules which institutions will find helpful.
4. Reminder: year-end forecast funding claim for 2020 to 2021 – window open
The year-end forecast funding claim window opened at 9am on Tuesday 8 June 2021.
We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone, and time and resources are under strain. However, we will require you to submit an accurate year-end claim as this will enable us to inform you of your indicative reconciliation figure prior to final claim submission in October 2021.
Please submit your year-end funding claim by 4pm on Friday 11 June 2021. The claim form will be available on Submit Learner Data.
You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through:
- grant funded – ESFA adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and COVID-19 skills offer)
- learner support for ESFA AEB procured (adult skills and 19 to 24 traineeships) – paid-on-profile
- 19 to 24 traineeships 2020 procurement - learner support – paid-on-profile
- grant funded - Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB)
- 16 to 19 education
Once you have submitted your claim you will also be able to view it on the Manage your education and skills funding.
You can get further help with ESFA services.
5. Information: digital capabilities for standard versions are coming soon
Over the last 5 months we have been working closely with you through user research to ensure your needs for standard versions are embedded into our design decisions.
We are excited to announce over the coming months you will start to notice changes within the apprenticeship end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) journey and begin to see standard versions embedded as part of the user journey.
From June 2021 EPAOs will be able to record a grade by standard version. This will ensure the apprentice is assessed on the correct assessment and receives the correct certification.
As part of this work, we have looked to make further improvements and have streamlined the privately funded journey for certification and aligned the design to the existing functionality.
EPAOs will no longer need to check a box to confirm privately funded and the manual verification process has been removed.
You will no longer be contacted by the ESFA to assure the privately funded information for certification.
Training providers will have to record privately funded apprenticeships through the ILR using Funding Model 99 before a certificate is requested by the EPAO.
We will look to keep you informed on progress through ESFA Update.
6. Information: categories for qualifications to be included in the qualification achievement rates
Recognising the ongoing impact of the pandemic and published guidance on the awarding of qualifications for summer 2021, those qualifications confirmed as subject to normal assessment (category A) will be included in institution level QARs and shared with Ofsted and providers.
Those qualifications confirmed as teacher assessed (category B1) and those which may be subject to a teacher assessed grade if they cannot safely access an assessment (category B2 and Access to HE courses regulated by QAA) will not be included in institution level QARs or shared with Ofsted or providers for 2020 to 2021.
The spreadsheet within Ofqual’s Summer 2021 Qualification Explainer Tool confirms which categories apply for normal assessment/teacher assessed grades.
7. Information: FE mentoring framework and guides
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) has launched a Mentoring Framework and three accompanying guides as part of its support for mentors and coaches of practitioners in the FE and training sector.
The Framework has been developed with practitioners and leaders from the sector and sets out a series of practices for leaders/managers, mentors and mentees to bring about developmental and nurturing mentoring which supports teachers/trainers with their professional development. It is accompanied by three guides for mentors, mentees and for leaders. They aim to:
- establish a shared understanding of effective mentoring practice
- enhance the quality of mentoring for practitioners
- ensure that mentoring is supportive and nurturing
- help mentees and mentors to develop teaching, learning and assessment strategies which meet learners’ needs
The guides provide additional information and resources to help leaders/managers, mentors and mentees bring these mentoring practices to life. They contain tips, reflective activities, and further useful resources. The Mentoring Framework and guides can be accessed online .
The new Framework and guides are part of a wider DfE-funded package of free support for mentoring. For details, please visit the ETF Mentoring web page.
8. Information: Quality Alliance guidance to support returning apprentices
The Quality Alliance has published new guidance to support apprentices back into work and training after COVID-19 enforced breaks.
The alliance is overseen by the Institute and brings together a wide variety of prominent partner organisations involved with the quality of apprenticeships.
They include: the Education and Skills Funding Agency, Department for Education, Ofsted, Ofqual, Office for Students, Quality Assurance Agency, Universities UK, WorldSkills UK, Association of Colleges, Association of Employment and Learning Providers, and Federation of Awarding Bodies.
Their new guidance is geared at training providers, employers, and apprentices and includes a helpful checklist. The idea is for returning apprentices to get all the support they need in the coming weeks and months.
You can read more about the guidance on the Institute’s website.
9. Information: end-point assessment methods animation
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education have created an animation to show the different assessment methods used in end-point assessments.
This animation will help apprentices understand what is expected from them and what will happen during their end-point assessment.
During the creation of the animation, the Institute consulted with their apprentice panel to make sure it’s engaging and useful for apprentices.
They created this animation in response to their apprentice panel survey 2020, where it found that a high proportion of respondents were not prepared for their end-point assessment.
You can watch the animation on the Institute’s YouTube channel.