Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 19 July 2023

Published 19 July 2023

Applies to England

1. Action: R10 in-year qualification achievement rate (QAR) 2022 to 2023

Your in-year 2022 to 2023 QARs can now be accessed through View your education data, which provides:

• a QAR dashboard that uses your ILR data from the R10 return to show your rates
• a QAR data download to show your learner level information

On reviewing the in-year data you will have until the ILR R14 on 6pm on Thursday 19 October 2023 to identify and resolve potential data issues that may impact on your QAR.  You cannot request fixes or adjustments to your 2022 to 2023 Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data following the ILR R14 hard close on Thursday 19 October 2023.

The technical specifications and supporting documents are now available on GOV.UK.  There will be a further in-year QAR release in early September that uses your ILR data from the R12 return.

1.1 Further support

Any queries or where this includes specific learner queries, download and complete the query form at the bottom of the QAR guidance page, referencing the data from the data downloads, then submit this via our enquiry page, selecting 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: FE funding update

We were pleased to announce last week that we will be investing £185 million in 2023 to 2024 and £285 million in 2024 to 2025 to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector. This funding will help FE colleges, sixth form colleges, and other 16 to 19 providers to address key priorities, including the recruitment and retention of staff. It will enable FE providers to continue to deliver high value technical, vocational and academic provision.

This additional investment will be delivered via core 16 to 19 funding, including through boosting programme cost weightings for higher-cost subject areas as well as increasing the per-student funding rate.

This investment is additional to the £125 million we have already announced we will make available in financial year 2023 to 2024 to boost the national 16 to 19 funding rate and subject-specific funding.

We expect to revise allocations over the summer for the 2023 to 2024 academic year and updated payments to start in the autumn. We will provide further updates in due course.

3. Information: ESFA adult skills provision funding rates: course level detail

The Department for Education (DfE) has published course level details of the new skills funding rates which will apply from 2024 to 2025 academic year for adult skills provision. This accompanies the government’s response to the Skills for jobs: implementing a new further education funding and accountability system’ consultation, which ran from 21 July to 12 October 2022.

The consultation response summarises the responses received and details our FE funding and accountability policy decisions. The department has also published the Equality Impact Assessment of these reforms.

Please direct any questions on the response to [email protected]. The department will also be holding a webinar at the beginning of the autumn term to answer any other questions.

4. Information: adult education budget (AEB) funding and performance management rules version 3 2023 to 2024

We have now published version 3 of the AEB funding rules for 2023 to 2024.

The main change from version 2 published in May 2023, is the inclusion of the performance management rules for 2023 to 2024.

Section 4 includes rules for all AEB allocation lines, including ESFA funded level 3 free courses for jobs offer and continuing learners on 16 to 18 and 19 to 24 traineeships programmes.

We have included a full breakdown of the changes on the ‘What’s new’ page of the rules.

If you have any questions, please contact us using our enquiry form.

5. Information: response to consultation on Level 2 qualifications supporting progression to T Levels

DfE ran a targeted consultation from January to April 2023 on how the NTOs should be used as the basis for the content of future level 2 qualifications supporting progression to T Levels. These will be called T Level Foundation Qualifications and will be available from 2026.

DfE has now published:

• its response to the consultation
• revised NTOs for the 12 T Level routes, following this consultation. This is to make them clearer for awarding organisations to use as the basis of qualifications. The changes are mostly presentational and do not change the focus of the NTO content itself. Further information on the changes made are in Appendix A of the response.

In parallel to the consultation response, Ofqual has launched its consultation on the draft conditions, requirements and guidance it intends to put place for T Level Foundation Qualifications.

The department has also announced that the national name for the T Level Transition Programme is changing to T Level Foundation Year. The department will not expect providers to reflect this locally until next academic year, 2024 to 2025. DfE is making the change to strengthen the relationship with T Levels and signal clearly that this is the first step on a 3-year path to achieving a T Level for those who need it.

6. Information: Skills Bootcamps funding competition update

DfE has launched the second national Skills Bootcamps funding competition on 29 June. This competition invited training providers that have successfully registered as a Skills Bootcamps supplier, to bid to deliver training in one of the skill categories below. For any training providers that have registered as a supplier and have not yet submitted a bid, you have until the 28 July to do so.

Whilst the DPS remains open for applications, potential suppliers should consider before submitting an application that if a supplier is not registered on the Skills Bootcamps procurement framework (DPS) by 29 June, they are not eligible to bid into the current national funding competition. There are no further national funding competitions planned in the next 12 months.

Full detail on the competition and advice on applying to join the DPS are contained in the competition prior information notice. All training providers will need to register on the departments procurement portal jaggaer to apply to join the DPS and to access information on this competition if already registered on the DPS.

Competition to deliver Skills Bootcamps in the following categories from 2024:

• Digital
• Sales Marketing and Procurement (for digital marketing and IT technical sales)
• Construction and the Built Environment
• Engineering and Manufacturing
• Business and Administration (for project management roles that would support the categories above)
• Transport and Logistics (for HGV driving and Transport Managers)
• Education and Early Years (for Early Years Educators)
• Creative and Design (for screen, live and video game production skills)

6.1 Background information on the DPS

The Skills Bootcamps Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a procurement tool that allows suppliers who qualify onto it to subsequently compete for contracts through further competitions.

This procurement tool provides an efficient route to market, where we can procure Skills Bootcamps in response to quickly emerging skills needs and changing employment pattern.

7. Information: changes to the end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) registration and selection process

From the 1 August 2023, when an organisation wishing to deliver end-point assessments meets the requirements of the relevant regulator, they will be placed onto the list of approved EPAOs. This list of EPAOs will form a subset of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP). The RoATP will be renamed the ‘Apprenticeship Providers and Assessment Register’ (APAR).

New organisations will still need to create an account on the apprenticeship service to confirm their place on the register, but they will no longer have to undertake two application processes. Maintenance of the register will be undertaken automatically through data exchanges between the regulators and DfE, however in some cases organisations may need to complete a short tick box exercise to confirm regulatory compliance. Further information on the user journeys for EPAOs entering APAR will be available shortly.

The APAR will not change the application process for providers and supporting providers, it will remain the same.

Both Ofqual and OfS are fully supportive of these changes and are working alongside DfE to implement them.

From the 1 August 2023 apprenticeship providers will be responsible for choosing the EPAO for an employer unless the employer wishes to continue to select the EPAO themselves. Funding Rules and relevant funding agreements will be updated later this year to reflect these changes.

Any questions or queries relating to these changes can be sent to [email protected].

8. Information: exception for training and testing for a driving licence

For a limited time, in response to supply issues for driver training and testing in the transport sector, we introduced a temporary flexibility to support training providers to increase their capacity to deliver training and testing for a driving licence.

This was restricted to the mandatory driving licence required as part of the Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) Driver C + E (level 2) apprenticeship and Urban Driver (level 2) apprenticeship.

Under this exception supporting providers, also known as subcontractors, who are exclusively supporting apprentices to obtain a driving licence, do not need to be on the RoATP.

This exception has been extended until 31 December 2023 and will allow time for:

• providers and supporting providers to support existing learners
• supporting providers to apply to the register

We have published an update on our Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers: how to apply page which provides further advice and support for providers and supporting providers who wish to continue supporting apprentices after this date.

All enquiries relating to this exception can be directed to [email protected].

9. Information: Industry Training Board Review – call for evidence

DfE’s review of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) is part of a wider programme across government to ensure that Arm’s Length Bodies remain effective. It is considering the ongoing need for and delivery model for the Industry Training Boards (ITBs) and their associated statutory levies.

Mark Farmer, CEO and Founding Director of Cast Consultancy, is leading the review which will run until late 2023.

The Industry Training Boards (ITBs) are responsible for the improvement of skills in their industries (construction and engineering construction). This is an opportunity for you to share your views on how the ITBs can help best meet the priority needs for these sectors. We would welcome your contribution to the review call for evidence.