Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 13 September 2023

Published 13 September 2023

Applies to England

1. Action: R12 in-year qualification achievement rate (QAR) 2022 to 2023

The department is planning to release your R12 in-year 2022 to 2023 QAR data this week and will confirm when this data is available through ESFA Update and Communities.  All data will be made available through view your education data portal providing:

• a QAR dashboard that uses your ILR data from the R12 return to show your rates
• a QAR data download to show your learner level information

A small number of providers have been identified as incorrectly recording a break in learning as a learner withdrawal, which is negatively impacting their QAR. In these cases, the learner has been incorrectly recorded as a withdrawal, even though the learner subsequently returned within the same academic year to their apprenticeship on the same standard, with the same provider and employer.

In this case, providing the learner returned to the same provider and employer within the current academic year, providers should amend their data to record the completion status as a break in learning (“6. Learner has temporarily withdrawn from the aim due to an agreed break in learning”).

Providers have until R14 deadline, 6pm on Thursday 19 October 2023, to correct their data and change the completion status accordingly, where they identify that this applies to them.  For further information on correcting errors in the ILR, please refer to Provider Support Manual: 2023 to 2024 - Correcting errors.

If you have any queries in relation to Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR), please contact us via our online enquiry form, and select the QAR query type. Further advice and support can also be found under the Help Centre articles and Communities section for peer support.

2. Information: revised statements available for 2023 to 2024 16 to 19 revenue funding allocations

On 13 July 2023 we announced a further investment of £185 million in 2023 to 2024 financial year and £285 million in 2024 to 2025 financial year to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector.

This funding will help colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to address key priorities as they see fit, including tackling recruitment and retention issues in high-value technical, vocational, and academic provision which are of critical importance to our economic growth and prosperity.

We explained the changes we’ve made to 16 to 19 allocations and updated the supporting guidance. We’ve uploaded revised 16 to 19 allocation statement for academic year 2023 to Document Exchange.

If you have any questions after reviewing your statement and guidance, please contact us using our online enquiry form.

3. Information: update to subcontracting web pages

On Wednesday 6 September we updated the subcontracting post-16 education and training webpages onGOV.UK, the changes aim to simplify and clarify the information provided on subcontracting.

The changes reflect the final stage in implementing the subcontracting reforms, such as the introduction of the subcontracting standard. We have not introduced any new policies or rules for subcontracting.

The following changes to the pages were made:

• updated the ‘Subcontracting funding rules’ section to remove out-of-date guidance pages
• published 3 new pages in the ‘Request approval to subcontract’ section, and a new page on governance in the ‘Other guidance’ section
• removed a section on reforms, and separate guidance on conducting due diligence on subcontractors and providing external assurance on subcontracting controls. Relevant details from the removed pages are now covered in the new or updated pages.

Any queries about subcontracting should continue to be sent to via our online enquiry form.

4. Information: the technical funding guide for ESFA ILR funded Skills Bootcamps has been published

We have published an updated technical funding guide for ESFA-funded Skills bootcamps for learning starts from 1 August 2023.

This guidance covers:

• the different components that make up the funding for skills bootcamps funded by the ESFA through the ILR
• co-funding and how it works
• how we use the ILR to calculate funding

Additionally, this guidance now contains information about how we calculate funding for new contracts starting in the 2023 to 2024 funding year.

For further information please contact us via the help centre.

5. Information: apply today to become an expert apprenticeship training provider

The Department for Education (DfE) is looking for training providers to pilot an expert apprenticeship training provider status. Through this pilot we will work with the selected expert providers to:

• make it easier for you to work with SMEs by giving you more access to our systems
• reduce the time and resource you need to commit to coaching non-levy paying employers through their digital journey
• give you the opportunity to identify and realise operational cost and resource savings
• reward and incentivise good quality delivery by allowing you to use your expert status as a mark of excellence and a marketing tool
• develop a new expert provider status for wider implementation after the pilot

5.1 How to apply

This is not a procurement exercise and is designed to be a light-touch process, with minimal time required to complete the application. There is no additional funding to be awarded.

Training providers can express an interest in participating from Wednesday 13 September 2023.

Organisations wishing to participate should refer to the guidance to check their eligibility before submitting an expression of interest selection questionnaire by 23.59 on Wednesday 27 September 2023.

The pilot will begin on 31 October 2023.

Enquiries relating to this process can be directed to: [email protected].

6. Information: Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) expiry dates

From 1 January 2025 the Home Office are planning to move to a full online system where individuals can prove their immigration status online rather than presenting a physical BRP. Further information can be found at view and prove your immigration status. Because of this planned change, BRPs are being issued with an expiry date of no later than December 2024.

If an individual presents their BRP, this may not reflect the actual expiry date of their leave to remain status so please ask for further documentation if necessary.

Individuals with limited leave should have received a letter from the Home Office confirming when their leave expires and telling them that their BRP may expire earlier. This letter can be used as proof of visa status and expiry date. Individuals who are registered with the website will have a share code which the provider can use to confirm their residency status and expiry date.

We have amended the ‘Individuals with certain types of immigration status and their family members’ section of the ESFA AEB funding rules to reflect this information.

7. Your feedback: volunteers required to test the FE provider performance dashboard

DfE is inviting general further education colleges, sixth form colleges and local authority providers of FE to undertake user testing for the FE Performance Dashboard which forms part of the funding and accountability reforms consulted on last summer.

We are looking for volunteers to take part in a remote interview. Your feedback will help us develop the dashboard in line with your needs and requirements.

Research will be carried out from week commencing 2 October 2023 until 27 November 2023, and we will contact all volunteers to arrange these sessions.

If it sounds like something you would be interested in, or have any questions, please email the project team mailbox at [email protected] with the following information by 22 September 2023:

• name and job role
• provider name
• UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN)
• contact details