Correspondence

Update: issue 397 (28 March 2018)

Updated 28 March 2018

This correspondence was withdrawn on 17 February 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Find the latest information from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in the latest ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Skills and adult education allocations for 2018 to 2019

We will shortly issue allocation statements for 2018 to 2019. Statements include allocations for: adult education budget, advanced learner loans, advanced learner loan bursary, 16 to 18 traineeships and 16 to 18 traineeships bursary. They also include information on apprenticeship carry-in allocations. Statements include only the funding relevant to you.

Statements are being issued through the Skills Funding Service (SFS) by the end of the week. You will need one of the following SFS roles to view your allocation statement: contract authoriser; contract manager; contract user; data returns and claims authoriser. All users in your organisation who have the contract authoriser role will receive an email notifying them that the statement is available, with a copy sent to all users with the contract manager role.

We will soon be publishing more information on GOV.UK.

If you have any questions about accessing your statement on SFS, please contact the service desk.

If you have queries about your allocation statement, please contact your provider manager.

2. Advanced Learner Loans – Launch of 2018 to 2019 application service

Action

The 2018 to 2019 application service will be available from 14 May for learners who wish to start eligible qualifications from 1 August 2018 funded with a loan.

We have updated the learning and funding information letters. You must issue these to learners, including for offenders in custody, who are considering funding their qualification with a loan. We have also published guidance on how to complete the letter.

Registration will open shortly for the Student Loans Company annual provider events in April/May 2018.

These events are an opportunity to share knowledge and gain an insight into the operational policy, systems and resources of the programme. More details can be found on their website

3. Final Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR) for 2016 to 2017

Action

Last week we published the final Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR) data for 2016 to 2017 on both the HUB and through the Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards. To benchmark the rates against other providers, use the National Achievement Rate Tables for 2016 to 2017.

We would like your feedback on your experiences of the process for delivering the Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR) for 2016 to 2017. If you would like to participate, please complete our provider feedback survey. The survey will close on Friday 20 April.

If you have any questions, please contact the service desk.

4. Employer Satisfaction Survey

Action

The 2018 Employer Satisfaction Survey is now live and runs until July 2018.

You can download a list of employers you need to survey from the Provider Extranet, which you can review and update by following the steps in the Provider Guidance document.

Your organisation has until Friday 4 May 2018 to survey your employers and achieve sufficient responses to be awarded a valid score which passes the quality tests (detailed in our provider guidance) during this first, provider-led, phase of the survey.

For queries and further information please contact the service desk..

5. Apprenticeship funding rules 2017 to 2018

Information

We will shortly publish new versions of the apprenticeship funding rules to include new rules about delivering apprenticeships funded by transfers of levy funds.

We have also taken the opportunity to clarify a few other areas, based on enquiries we have had, at the same time. Updates include:

• amendments arising from the Apprenticeships (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2017
• alignment with the EPAO conditions of acceptance
• incorporation of the English and math’s addendum (published 29 September 2017) into the main body of the funding rules
• further clarifications to existing rules to address frequently asked questions

These versions of the funding rules apply to apprenticeship starts from 1 May 2017 to 31 July 2018, with the exception of the new rules on transfers, which will apply to new apprenticeship starts from 1 May 2018 to 31 July 2018.

For further information please visit the funding rules page on GOV.UK where a summary of changes will be published for ease of reference.

You can also email the service desk..

6. 2018 to 2019 adult education budget – legal entitlements and local flexibility offers

Information

We have published details of qualifications that will be available in the 2018 to 2019 funding year, as part of:

• the English and maths legal entitlement offer
• the level 2 and level 3 legal entitlements offer, for 19 to 23 year olds undertaking their first full level 2 and full level 3
• the local flexibility offer

The offers are the same as they were in the funding year 2017 to 2018, with a minor change to the local flexibility offer.

In the Hub, we will add the legal entitlements and qualifications for local flexibility on 10 April 2018. We will add components for local flexibility in May 2018.

If you have any further queries, please contact the service desk..

7. European Social Funded providers

Information

As a co-financing organisation, the ESFA uses mainstream funding as match for the European Social Fund programme. Funding from the 2015 to 2016 academic year and onwards will continue to be used, and it is important that all ESFA funded providers are compliant with our funding rules and clear in what must be included in your plans (detailed in the rules paragraph 123 and its sub-sections).

A key aspect of ESF are cross cutting themes. Providers must have policies and plans in place for sustainable development and equality & diversity. The plans that underpin the policies must be relevant to the different funding streams. The Managing Authority for ESF has produced a guide to cross cutting themes.

Should you require guidance on ESF publicity can be found on our GOV.UK pages.