Guidance

Individual learner record (ILR) field list 2014 to 2015

Updated 25 November 2015

This guidance was withdrawn on 28 February 2017

Information to help further education (FE) providers collect, return and check the quality of Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and other learner data.

1. Introduction

This guide has been produced in response to requests raised by special post-16 institutions for a condensed list of ILR fields to be completed on the ILR during 2014 to 2015 academic year.

For 2014 to 2015, new data fields and data entities have been added to the ILR. Institutions are advised to review this updated guidance to note all the changes, in particular, how EFA funded and fully funded Local Authority (LA) placements should be coded under ‘funding model’ and ‘source of funding’.

For the first time, EFA are collecting data on fully funded LA placements so that it is aware of all 16-24 high needs students who are funded from the LA high needs block. Institutions should wherever possible, complete the same fields for these students as you would for EFA funded students, but should be aware that this guidance differs from the collection requirements for non-funded students detailed in the ILR Specification for 2014 to 2015 academic year. There are two fields that need to be completed differently for LA funded students to avoid validation errors. These are:

• Prior Attainment field – this field is mandatory and must be completed for a fully LA funded student
• Core aim – Aim type code 5 cannot be used for LA funded students. All aims should be recorded using an Aim type code of 4, unless they are part of a Traineeship or 14 to 19 diploma

The field list is based on information published by the Skills Funding Agency and additional notes are provided where available. Any queries on the ILR submission should be raised through the Skills Funding Agency service desk, telephone number: 0370 267 0001, email: servicedesk@sfa.bis.gov.uk.

2. Required Field List

Detailed information including validation for field entry is available in the ILR Specification for 2014 to 2015 academic year and Provider Support Manual.

3. Learner Fields

Field	Additional notes if required
Learner reference number	Mandatory
Learner reference number in previous year	Only required if a different student reference number was used for the student in 2013 to 2014 academic year
Unique learner number	Mandatory
Family name	Mandatory
Given names	Mandatory
Date of birth	Mandatory
Ethnicity	Mandatory
Sex	Mandatory
LLDD and health problem	Mandatory
Prior attainment	Complete for fully Local Authority funded students only
Accommodation	Mandatory for institutions with residential placements
Learning support cost	To be completed for all high needs students. This field should contain the total learning support cost (element 2+ element 3) for the student for the year. This will ensure consistency of data reporting with FE institutions
Planned learning hours	Mandatory
Planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours	Mandatory

4. Learner Contact Fields

Field	Additional notes if required
Postcode prior to enrolment	Mandatory
Address lines	Mandatory
Current postcode	Mandatory
Telephone	Optional
Email address	Optional

5. Learner Contact Preference Fields

Field	Additional notes if required
Restricted use indicator	Only required if the student has opted out of being contacted
Preferred method of contact	Only required if the student has opted out of being contacted

6. Learner LLDD and Health Problem Fields

Field	Additional notes if required
Disability	Required for all high needs students
Learning difficulty	Required for all high needs students

7. Learner Funding and Monitoring Type

Field	Additional notes if required
Learning difficulty assessment	Use Code LDA1 if the student has an LDA
High Needs Students	Use Code HNS1 for all high needs students (EFA funded and fully funded by Local Authorities). Note that Code ALS1 has been removed for 2014 to 2015
Education Health and Care Plan	Use Code EHC1 if the student has an EHCP
Learner support reason	Required if the student has received support from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund or residential support. If not applicable, leave blank
National learner monitoring	Use Code 19 where student is exempt from GCSE Maths conditioning of funding. Use Code 20 where student is exempt from GCSE English conditioning of funding
Maths GCSE achievement	Use Code MGA1 where student has GCSE Maths (at grade A* - C) – achieved by end of year 11. Use Code MGA2 where student has GCSE Maths (at grade A* - C) – achieved since the end of year 11. Use Code MGA3 where student does not have GCSE Maths (at grade A* - C)
English GCSE achievement	Use Code EGA1 where student has GCSE English (at grade A* - C) – achieved by end of year 11. Use Code EGA2 where student has GCSE English (at grade A* - C) – achieved since the end of year 11. Use Code EGA3 where student does not have GCSE English (at grade A* - C)
Free meals eligibility	Use Code FME2 where 16 to 19 year old student is eligible for and in receipt of free meals

8. Learner Employment Status

Field	Additional notes if required
Employment status	Only required for part time students (less than 540 hours)
Date employment status applies	Only required for part time students (less than 540 hours)

9. Employment Status Monitoring

Field	Additional notes if required
Employment intensity indicator	Only required for part time students (less than 540 hours)

10. Learning Delivery Fields

Field	Additional notes if required
Learning aim reference	Use a regulated learning aim reference from LARS or one of the Z codes from: Category E: non-regulated learning by level and sector subject area, Category G: non-regulated English, Maths and ESOL Provision, Category K: programme for Traineeships or 14 to 19 diplomas, Category I: work experience/placement, Category J: supported internship. See appendix H for full details of non-regulated learning aim codes. The full list of codes in each category can be obtained from the Learning aims search on the Hub
Aim type	For EFA funded students, one aim must be Code 5 (core aim) and all other aims are Code 4 (unless the student is studying a Traineeship or 14 to 19 diploma). For Local Authority fully funded students all aims must be Code 4 (unless part of a Traineeship or 14 to 19 diploma)
Aim sequence number	Mandatory
Learning start date	Mandatory
Learning planned end date	Mandatory
Funding Model	Use Code 25 for all EFA funded high need students (do not use Code 82 as this under records the number of EFA funded students at the institution, which should all be recorded against the EFA Funding Model. Use Code 99 for all high need students fully funded by the Local Authority (no Skills Funding Agency or EFA funding for this learning aim). Students who are social care funded are NOT included on the ILR
Programme type	Only required for Traineeships or 14 to 19 diplomas
Framework code	Only required for 14 to 19 diplomas
Subcontracted UKPRN	Collected where applicable
Delivery location postcode	Mandatory
Completion status	Mandatory
Learning actual end date	Mandatory
Withdrawal reason	Must be completed if the student withdraws from the aim before completing
Outcome	Mandatory
Outcome grade	Should be completed if applicable for the type of qualification achieved

11. Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring Type

Field	Additional notes if required
Source of funding	Use Code SOF107 for all EFA funded high need students (unless student is over the age of 25). Use Code SOF998 (Other) for all high need students fully funded by the Local Authority
Restart indicator	Not applicable
Learning delivery monitoring	Use Code 331 if delivering Princes Trust Team Programme
Special projects and pilots	Not applicable at time of writing
HE monitoring	Only required if student is studying at level 4 or above

12. Learning Delivery Work Placement

The Learning Delivery Work Placement entity is used to collect additional data about a work placement that is being undertaken by a student as part of a Traineeship or 16 to 19 study programme.

Data about work placements is collected by recording one of the non-regulated learning aims listed in Appendix H. A single learning aim should be recorded to reflect the total planned hours being undertaken on external work placements by the student during 2014 to 2015.

Each work experience learning aim must have one or more work placement records associated with it. If a student undertakes multiple work placements during their Traineeship or study programme then separate work placement records will be recorded for each placement. This applies to work placements starting on or after 1 August 2014.

Field	EFA funded students
Work placement start date	Mandatory
Work placement end date	Mandatory
Work placement mode	Mandatory
Work placement employer identifier	Only required for Traineeships and Supported Internships

13. Learner Destination and Progression

Data about a student’s destination and progression following the end of learning is collected in the ILR to demonstrate how the FE sector is contributing to the future success of students.

Destination data for student who completed their programme of study in 2013 to 2014 should be included in the R04 return for 2014 to 2015.

Destination data can either be returned in the same ILR file as the Learner and Learning delivery records for the student or can be returned on its own in the following teaching year.

The Learner reference number and Unique Learner Number (ULN) are also included in this dataset to enable data from this dataset to be matched to Learner and Learning delivery data for reporting purposes.

As with other learner and learning delivery records, providers must continue to include destination and progression records in each ILR file that they send for the teaching year, in line with the ILR collection timetable.

Field	EFA funded learners
Outcome type	Collected for all learners
Outcome code	Collected for all learners
Outcome start date	Collected for all learners
Outcome end date	Collected for all learners
Outcome collection date	Collected for all learners