Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 9 November 2022

Published 9 November 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This correspondence was withdrawn on 27 December 2023

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date.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. Information: 2021 to 2022 final reconciliation statements

Thank you for submitting your 2021 to 2022 final funding claim.

Following on from this, your reconciliation statements will be available for you to view on the Manage your Education Skills and Funding service by the end of November 2022. This will set out the final position for the 2021 to 2022 funding year and will inform the funding that you will be required to repay (if applicable) or over delivery that we will fund.

Final reconciliation statements are published following submission of a final funding claim and calculated in line with the funding rules for the following funding streams:

1. grant funded - ESFA funded adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and national skills fund Level 3 adult offer)
2. grant funded - advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB)
   

If you are required to repay funds back to us, we will schedule those repayments from December 2022 in discussion with you.

If you have any queries, please use ESFA help centre to contact us.

2. Information: apprenticeship training provider accountability framework 2021 to 2022

Introduced in August 2021, the apprenticeship training provider accountability framework uses a range of quality metrics, as set out in the apprenticeship accountability framework technical specification 2021 to 2022. The Framework provides more timely opportunities to review performance and as it’s the first year of implementation we are treating 2021 to 2022 as a transitional year.

Since its introduction, considering provider feedback, we have updated the Framework and Technical Specification to include more detail on the data definitions and how we would apply them during the first year. We have also been working to develop an overarching dashboard to support providers to understand their position against the indicators used by the Department under the Framework – ultimately providing all the data in a single place.

We are pleased to confirm that the Apprenticeship Accountability Framework Dashboard (AAFD), which forms part of the Analyse FE Data tool, is now available to providers. We have initially released the dashboard in test mode, to give providers time to test and review and enable us respond to feedback. Please share your feedback about how we can improve the AAFD going forward.

Whilst the first release focusses on the data for supplementary indicators, (withdrawals, learners past planned end date and end-point assessment organisation data), we are working to include other indicators iteratively ahead of the next round of reviews in early 2023.

Over the coming weeks we will publish further information to confirm the timetable for the next round of formal discussions under the Framework, the publication of the updated specification and details of the next Accountability Framework webinar.

3. Information: adding qualifications to the European Social Fund (ESF) higher level skills offer

We have changed the last date that you can ask us to consider level 4 qualifications for the ESF higher level skills offer. The new deadline is 21 November 2022, which replaces the previous deadline of 20 February 2023. We will not consider requests for the ESF offer if we receive them after 21 November 2022, and this applies to requests as part of exemptions to the moratorium on approving qualifications for students aged 16 and over in England.

If you have any queries about this, please contact your ESF contract manager.

4. Information: December 2022 College Financial Statements submission

Today we are releasing an updated Finance Record (FR) for submission alongside college financial statements by 31 December 2022. The template will be made available via GOV.UK, along with details of how the FR and other documents can be submitted.

This year, following feedback from the sector and consultation with colleges, we have updated the benchmarking schedule by rearranging the fields and introducing measures around curriculum planning. The aim has been to provide a set of benchmarks that is more useful to colleges without increasing the overall burden of completing the Finance Record.

All colleges will be invited to a webinar in early December where the changes will be explained in further detail.

Please note we will only accept submissions that have been signed off by the accounting officer.

If you have any issues with completion or submission of the return, please use the ESFA Enquiries Service, selecting College Financial Returns as the query type.

Colleges must complete and return the following financial accounts documents for 2021 to 2022 by 31 December:

1. A signed copy of the audited annual report and financial statements for the college corporation/college group
2. Audit committee’s annual report
3. External auditor’s management letter (including the corporation’s responses to the findings raised)
4. Finance Record – the updated template requiring 2021/22 outturn year financial information, per above
5. Audited, signed accounts of all non-dormant subsidiary companies (if any)
6. Optional additional evidence e.g., short period accounts for dissolved colleges; documentation to support moderation requests

Any college that has concerns about meeting the 31 December deadline should speak to their ESFA territorial team contact as soon as possible.

5. Information: update on the release of Provider Data Self-Assessment Toolkit (PDSAT) online

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are no longer able to release Provider Data Self-Assessment Toolkit (PDSAT) online, as initially intended at the end of November. Our transformation plan to stagger the release in 2 phases to assist providers with R04 obligations was dependent on external, third-party, penetration testing being completed to a strict deadline.

We are now aiming to release PDSAT online as a complete product in a single phase, including the sampler, in mid/late December, and will continue to provide updates over the coming weeks.

Providers who do have R04 obligations should maintain their focus on the quality and accuracy of their data returns in line with their normal practices.

This is the final week that pre-registration for PDSAT online will be available, registrations closes as planned on Friday 11 November.

Providers can pre-register by completing this form click here and non-providers can pre-register by completing this form click here.

All pre-registrations will be reviewed by ESFA. Registrants will receive notifications of acceptance or rejection once ESFA have reviewed, post the closure of the pre-registration phase on Friday.

Anyone that does not pre-register, or who is rejected at the pre-registration stage will still be able to register a request for their own login at any time once PDSAT online goes live.