News story

Great progress in developing a simplified funding system

Results of the SFA's fifth annual college and training organisation survey show we made many improvements and developments.

SFA

Out of the 469 respondents, over 85% were positive about the effectiveness of our role in funding FE skills training and over 75% of respondents thought that actions we have taken over the last 12 months have improved how we operate.

Our simplification work has been recognised - 73% of respondents were positive about our simplified funding rules, and over 72% of respondents recognised the progress we have made to reduce the bureaucratic burden by streamlining the funding system.

We continue to receive a high approval rating in how we communicate with colleges and training organisations as 96% respondents recognised the effectiveness of our weekly provider newsletter Update. In addition, 91% approve of our efforts to communicate in plain English and 84% were positive about the information and data we produce.

We will use the findings from this survey to continue to improve our communications and how we operate. This includes working with National Careers Service contractors to prioritise partnership working with colleges following survey feedback that suggested there are issues around the visibility and role of the service. We will also work to provide clarity on roles and responsibilities within the organisation, in line with the Skills Funding Letter 2015 to 2016, as the findings showed a decrease of 5% in understanding of this area.

We thank all participants who took the time to respond to the survey.

To read the findings in full, visit the SFA college and training organisation survey page.

Published 21 December 2015