Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 5 May 2021

Published 5 May 2021

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Department for Education has published guidance about COVID-19 in educational settings for staff, parents and carers, pupils and students on GOV.UK.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Reminder: Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP)

Paragraphs 164 and 165 of version 6 of the AEB funding rules for 2020 to 2021 set out the rules for what data to record for SWAP learners. It is important that SWAP learners are recorded accurately in the ILR using LDM code 375, including where delivery is subcontracted, so that the success of the programme can be monitored.

3. Information: apprenticeship levy transfers

The 2021 to 2022 transfer allowance will now be showing in levy paying employer’s Apprenticeship Service accounts.

Levy payers can transfer up to 25% of their levy funds to other employers of their choice. A transfer can help support other employers within their sector, location or supply chain to take on an apprentice.

For more information on transfers please refer to the transfer pages on GOV.UK.

In August, we will be launching a new online matching service (on GOV.UK) whereby levy employers can advertise their intent to transfer, to other employers. This will give organisations the opportunity to reduce skills gaps, within their sector/location, by enabling them to easily identify other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds.

Other employers will be able to access the new service, this will enable them to see available transfer opportunities. Employers can then apply for a transfer from within their apprenticeship service account.

Providers and intermediary bodies will also be able to see these opportunities and will be able to promote these with their networks.

We will be issuing further communications on the new matching service soon.

4. Information: webinar on ransomware, the risk to schools and ways to prevent it on Wednesday 12 May at 3.30pm

This session which is being run by NCSC and the Department for Education will focus on ransomware, following a recent spate of ransomware attacks against the education sector. There will be an overview of ransomware and an exploration of how, to back-up school data, and the NCSC Incident Management team will talk about managing a ransomware incident in a school or trust, ending with a high-level panel discussion on cyber resilience in the education sector.

Details are here Overview - NCSC.GOV.UK including the YouTube link for joining the session.

5. Information: reminder of the approach to awarding Functional Skills qualifications (FSQs) results and Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs)

The department and Ofqual launched a joint consultation in January setting out proposals on exams and assessments for Vocational Technical Qualifications, and alternative arrangements for awarding.

Following the consultation, we announced that all efforts should be made to allow learners to take FSQ assessments, in line with public health measures or remotely, otherwise TAGs are available. As set out in the consultation response, FSQs differ from GCSEs in their size and assessment structure. Many are on-demand and taken by a range of adults, 16-19 year-olds and apprentices, in a variety of contexts, therefore a more flexible approach is required.

Careful consideration should be given to individual learner needs for a TAG rather than for whole cohorts. The department has published further information on GOV.UK, but you should also speak to your awarding organisation (AO) for details of their TAG decision-making process.

AOs continue to collaborate to make remote invigilation a viable solution for assessing FSQs and have reported positive roll-out and success in a range of settings. As well as speaking to your AO for details of their remote invigilation arrangements, including transferring learners between AOs where necessary, we encourage you to read Ofqual’s Awarding Functional Skills guidance.

6. Information: remote Ofsted progress monitoring visits for new providers

We have published additional information on how ESFA will respond to remote progress monitoring visits carried out by Ofsted between January and March this year. New providers who received an ‘insufficient’ progress judgement will normally be requested to develop and implement an improvement plan to resolve the issues identified by Ofsted.

The ESFA will normally remove from the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers any new provider with two consecutive ‘insufficient’ progress judgements. This includes if one of them was a remote visit and one an in-person visit.

Further information can be found as part of our guidance on Removal from register of apprenticeship training providers and eligibility to receive public funding to deliver apprenticeship training.