Funding Summary (for March 2017) for funding management and strategies. Information and results obtained from the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) regarding funding. As well details about the involvement of The Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency (now merged). An overview of the main minimum standards and codes of practice have also been included.

1. Funding Management & Strategies
FUNDING SUMMARY: MARCH
2017
Prepared by Rob George

2. INTRODUCTION: Some Figures
We have the RoATP (Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers)
result with 170 employer providers, 1,303 main providers and 235
supporting providers.
2,327 applied for the register with a success rate of 74%. We are now
seeing an accelerated re-opening of the process (21.3.17 to 7.4.17)
which is to help established providers that failed at the first hurdle.
It would appear that those succeeding at the 1st or 2nd opening will be
allocated non levy funds from the £440m pot, however the delays in
announcing the results of this ITT is causing serious planning concerns
to many providers.

3. Introducing the Problem
There is no doubt the market is a tough place to operate and I would expect to see
more business failures in the coming months to add to the well-publicised Positive
Outcomes, First4Skills and SLIC Training. Surely the government needs this
capacity to meet the 3m target?
MP’s have agreed with the sector in the report at appendix 4 stating that
apprentices should not be started on a ‘standard’ where no end point assessment
organisation is approved.
The turmoil of introduction of standards continues with over a third of
apprenticeship standards approved for delivery including no qualifications, more
than half (87 out of 162) of the apprenticeship standards approved for delivery still
do not have an approved assessment organisation.
I attended the AELP conference on 30.3.17, in a session run by CIMPSA, Spencer
Moore stated that every existing standard is under review and that the DfE are
using unpublished guidance to now assess all new standards, with many failing to
be approved as trailblazer groups are using the current guidance. I would like to
think the IfA is going to quickly get a grip of this situation.

4. New Agency to Provide Joined-up
Education & Skills Funding
The Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency
are to merge to become one body, the Secretary State for
Education announced on Tuesday 28 March.
The new, single funding agency - to be called the Education
and Skills Funding Agency - will sit within the Department
for Education and begin to operate from April 2017.

5. New Agency to Provide Joined-up
Education & Skills Funding
The Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency
are to merge to become one body, the Secretary State for
Education announced on Tuesday 28 March.
The new, single funding agency - to be called the Education
and Skills Funding Agency - will sit within the Department
for Education and begin to operate from April 2017.

6. Seminar’s Provided by the Student
Loan’s Company
The Student Loans Company will be holding 5 events across the country in
April/May 2017.
These events are an opportunity to share knowledge and gain an insight
into the operational policy, systems and resources of the advanced learner
loans programme.
More information and registration details can be found on the website.

7. Employer Satisfaction Survey (2015-2016)
National Reporting
The purpose of FE Choices is to provide consistent and comparable
information for learners and employers to help them make informed
choices about publicly funded education and training as well as providing
consistent management information on key performance indicators.
The link provides an overview (at national level) of the findings of the FE
Choices employer satisfaction survey 2015 to 2016. The survey asked
employers to rate their providers on training delivered in 2015 to 2016.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/employer-satisfaction-survey-
2015-to-2016-national-reporting

8. Learner Satisfaction Survey (2015-2016)
National Reporting
The purpose of FE Choices is to provide consistent and comparable
information for learners and employers to help them make informed
choices about publicly funded education and training as well as providing
consistent management information on key performance indicators.
This page provides an overview, at national level, of the findings of the FE
Choices learner satisfaction survey 2015 to 2016. The survey asked learners
to rate their providers on training delivered in 2015 to 2016.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-satisfaction-survey-
2015-to-2016-national-reporting

9. Post-16 Audit Code of Practice
The post-16 audit code of practice sets out the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and
Education Funding Agency (EFA) assurance and accountability requirements for
post-16 providers.
Providers must read the audit code alongside any agreements setting out the
conditions of funding, including any contract with SFA/EFA.
The audit code is updated by SFA/EFA each year.
This version of the audit code is relevant for all periods commencing on or after 1
August 2016.
SFA/EFA plan to publish the regularity self-assessment questionnaire in due
course.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
595833/CF_-_post-16_audit_code_of_practice_2016_to_2017.pdf

10. High Needs Funding Arrangements: 2017-
2018
The high needs funding operational guide 2017 to 2018 describes how the high needs
funding system will work for all types of provision.
Local authorities were invited to submit changes to 2017 to 2018 high needs place
numbers in EFA-funded institutions by 25 November 2016. This presents all institutions
for which local authorities submitted a return to change high needs place numbers.
The individual outcomes have been determined in line with the principles set out in
high needs place change notification process technical note 2017 to 2018.
Place change outcomes will inform the funded place numbers for academic year 2017
to 2018 in further education colleges, commercial and charitable providers and
academies. If an institution is not listed in the workbook then this means that no local
authority change request was submitted for that institution and the published 2016 to
2017 place numbers will be used as the basis of the 2017 to 2018 allocation.
Local authorities and institutions were able to submit any enquiries relating to these
outcomes to EFA by 14 February 2017 and further changes notified after this date will
be not be considered.

11. 16-18 Minimum Standards for 2016
This document describes how the Department for Education (DfE) is
applying 16 to 18 minimum standards to the performance of schools
and colleges in the 2015 to 2016 academic year.
By establishing separate measures for performance in level 3
academic, applied general and tech level qualifications we can
compare like with like to give a clear picture of how institutions are
performing in different areas of their level 3 provision.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-18-minimum-
standards-for-2016

12. Post 16 Code of Practice
SFA and EFA have updated the post-16 audit code of practice for
2016 to 2017.
The audit code sets out a common standard for the provision of
assurance in relation to funding of post-16 providers.
The regularity self-assessment questionnaire will be published as a
separate document, in due course.