Update: issue 345 (8 February 2017)
Updated 22 February 2017
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2017
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfa-update-february-2017/update-issue-345-8-february-2017
1. Funding claims 2016 to 2017 – window closes 4pm this Friday
Action
The 2016 to 2017 mid-year claim form is now available on the Hub and will close at 4pm this Friday, 10 February. The form will be pre-populated with your earnings following the R06 data collection return. You must add your forecasts for the remainder of the 2016 to 2017 funding year.
Full and completed ILR data returns for the adult education budget (AEB) will be required. The value of actual data submitted at R06, as well as the value of your funding claim, may be taken in account when setting up 2017 to 2018 AEB allocations.
For further information or related queries, please email the service desk.
2. Adult education budget procurement 2017 to 2018
Action
Providers intending to submit an application are encouraged to respond to the invitation to tender as early as possible, to ensure you submit before the deadline of 5pm on 27 February 2017.
You can submit partial bids while the procurement is open, but you must fully complete all of the responses before the deadline. Please note that each time you submit an application it will overwrite any previous submissions.
We recommend you save previous applications offline before you submit your final application, which should contain all of the correct information.
3. Apprenticeship grant for employers (AGE) facilities
Action
On 6 March, following the R07 submission, the AGE programme for apprentices with a start date before 1 January 2016 will be closed. No further system payments or recoveries for that period will be made.
Providers should check and ensure that all payment or recovery queries relating to this period are resolved by 6 March 2017.
For more information please contact your business operations provider manager.
4. Work placements in technical education: call for evidence
Action
The Department for Education is gathering evidence on good quality, effective work placements and any challenges to delivering these. From 2019, young people and adults studying on a two-year technical education course will be required to complete a work placement typically lasting 1 to 3 months. This requirement is proposed in the Post 16 Skills Plan.
We would like to hear from providers on their experiences of delivering work placement practice for learners aged 16 to 19 years. If you wish to take part, you can submit written evidence to this call for evidence by completing the online survey by 17 February 2017.
5. Re-opening of register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP)
Information
We will reopen the RoATP for new applicants and/or those who were unsuccessful in their initial application. The re-opening will be soon after the first planned publication, probably in March. Exact timetables will be communicated through our usual media channels. The application process will follow the same format as the first opening.
6. Qualification achievement rates (QAR) and minimum standards MS 2015 to 2016
Information
In Update 343 we informed you that we had extended the QAR provisional data window to allow sufficient time to deal with feedback and to implement corrections where necessary.
Updated QAR dashboards and data extract files will be available on the Hub by the end of this week.
If you have any queries, please contact the service desk.
7. FE Choices learner satisfaction survey
Information
The 2016 to 2017 learner satisfaction survey opened last 31 October and runs until Friday, 7 April.
Colleges and training providers can now access their personalised interim report on the Provider extranet, which includes responses to 13 January. The reports include a breakdown of learner satisfaction by subcontractor, community learning and apprenticeships. A further interim report will be shared in May after the survey has closed.
The final data will be published on GOV.UK and the National Careers Service webpages and will be used within the find apprenticeship training service to give employers information about apprenticeship training providers.
For further information or guidance please email the service desk.
8. Updated apprenticeship performance-management rules
Information
We have now published version 4 of the apprenticeships: common funding and performance-management rules 2016 to 2017. This sets out updated performance-management rules for all apprenticeship starts from 1 August 2016 to 30 April 2017, including the arrangements for funding carry-in learners. Funding rules remain the same.
New starts from May 2017 will be subject to the 2017 to 2018 funding and performance-management rules.
If you have any queries, please contact your business operations provider manager.
9. National Apprenticeship Week 2017
Information
The ladder of opportunity and social mobility are just some of the themes for National Apprenticeship Week (#NAW2017) which takes place 6 to 10 March.
Now in its 10th year, the week will be an opportunity to celebrate the successes of current apprentices, as well as recognising people who started as an apprentice and have progressed to a senior position in their company.
Our media toolkit for employers is on GOV.UK, and we want people to use the Twitter hashtag #NAW2017. Our events map allows employers, schools, colleges and training providers to tell us what they’re planning during #NAW2017.
Find out more at National Apprenticeship Week 2017.