AELP – Skills providers urgently needed by Jobcentre Plus

24th July 2011

Following earlier information published via AELP Countdown issue 525 last month, AELP received a letter from Jobcentre Plus Chief Executive, Darra Singh, reconfirming the new arrangements which encourage skill providers to liaise with their local Jobcentre Plus colleagues to provide focused skills training linked to work experience and a guaranteed job interview.

The letter is available to download here.

via AELP

Lsect – update 24-07-11

Nick Linford has published his latest UPDATE 24-07-11 (click here for MS Word version)

• YPLA funding guidance and presentations published
  ~ With just a week to go before the 2011/12 academic year the YPLA have this week published the last few booklets that make up their funding guidance. This includes a document with a link to all the individual booklets, which can be downloaded from: http://tinyurl.com/3fbwur3
  ~ There are also a series of PowerPoint presentations to help explain:
  ~ Funding regulations, rates and formula: http://tinyurl.com/3sfeq8r
  ~ ILR Funding returns: http://tinyurl.com/3s9frrc
  ~ Learner eligibility: http://tinyurl.com/3kcsjy6
• SFA funding guidance still not published
  Whilst we have Guidance Note 6, 7 and 8 for 2011/12 (http://tinyurl.com/639m74h), the SFA have yet to publish the Adult Learner Responsive Funding Requirements or Apprenticeship Funding Requirements documents for 2011/12. With just a week left until the 2011/12 academic year starts, this does seem rather overdue (the LSC used to publish these documents in March). It would be a little embarrassing for the year to start without published funding guidance, not least as funding auditors have been instructed by the SFA to crack down on providers starting sub-contracting delivery without contracts in place.
• Potential data/policy changes for 2012/13
  – The information authority (IA) has this week published the list of data change requests for the 2012/13 ILR (click here: http://tinyurl.com/3b3gq8m). There have been 34 change requests, some of which the IA are recommending to their board that they ‘reject’. It can be worth reading these rather technical documents, to find out what policy changes are planned for the sector. For example, on page 7 it says: “2011/12 funding guidance suggested there should be no more than one level of sub-contracting. The Skills Funding Agency has clarified that, in 2012/13, there is likely to be further levels of sub-contracting allowed”.

via Lsect – update.

LSIS Policy Update 7 – 20 July 2011

LSIS has published its latest Policy Update – Highlights from this edition include:

• Details of the Public Services White Paper;

• Details of the interim report on from the Commission on Colleges in their Communities;

• John Hayes’ speech on careers education and guidance;

• Promise of new forms of support for informal, community-based learning of English;

• Consultation on qualifications for 14 to 16 year olds;

• TUC publishes best practice code for internships;

• £30 million fund for charity support services opens; and

• EHRC research on the implementation of public sector equality duties.

This and previous issues of the Policy Update are available to download from our website.

The Data Service publishes 2011/12 Large Employers list

The Data Service has published the 2011/12 Large Employers list.

Large employers are defined as those with 1000 or more employees in their company, subsidiaries or group. Further details were published in a previous news item.

If you have any queries on this please view the FAQs on the Data Service website. If you cannot find an answer to your query please call the Service Desk on 0870 2670001.

via The Data Service – News and Updates – The Data Service publishes 2011/12 Large Employers list.

YPLA – Rolling learners over to next academic year

The YPLA has issued the following information for FE Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges, Independent Private Providers and Independent Specialist Providers

Article 6 – Rolling learners over to next academic year – importance of start dates

Providers are reminded that the information authority’s ILR specification states that the start date for an aim must not change between academic years. This has been in place since at least the 2004/05 ILR Specification. The information authority’s Data Management FAQs reiterate this point, and the success rate methodology is very clear that changed start dates will generate duplicate enrolments in the Qualification Success Rate (QSR) data.

Further details can be found on the information authority website.

See Issue 28 – 20th July 2011 of the YPLA e-bulletin .

YPLA – 16-19 Bursary Fund – Updated Q&A

The YPLA has issued the following information for: Local Authorities (School Sixth Forms, Directors of Children’s Services, 14-19 teams), FE Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges, Academies and Independent Private Providers.

Article 4 – 16-19 Bursary Fund – Updated Q&A

This week we have added some new questions (questions 61 and 62) to the 16 -19 Bursary Fund Provider Q&A, which give further clarification on the definition of a care leaver and their eligibility for the Bursary Fund. We have also updated questions 1, 19 and 35 to give further clarification.

The Q&A and other useful reference documents to help you find out more information about the 16-19 Bursary Fund, are available on the YPLA website at: http://www.ypla.gov.uk/learnersupport/16-19-bursary

Queries on the 16-19 Bursary Fund should be emailed to mailto: 1619BursaryFund@ypla.gov.uk.

See Issue 28 – 20th July 2011 of the YPLA e-bulletin .

YPLA 16-19 Transitional Arrangements for students previously in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance

YPLA has issued the following information for Local Authorities, Maintained Schools with Sixth forms, FE Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges, Academies, and Independent Private Providers.

Article 3 – 16-19 Transitional Arrangements for students previously in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance – Guide for 2011/12 and Notices of Entitlement.

Transitional arrangements are in place for the 2011/12 academic year for young people aged 16-19 who were awarded Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in 2009/10 or 2010/11.

A guide setting out the transitional arrangements that will be in place to 26th August 2012 has now been published. This is available to download from the YPLA website.

Over the next few weeks, we will be sending Notices of Entitlement (NoEs) to all students who may be eligible for transitional payments in 2011/12, who fall into the following categories:

 • All students who successfully applied for EMA in 2009/10 will continue to receive payments at the level set out in their EMA Guarantee for each week they are in education or training, until the end of the 2011/12 academic year.

 • Those students who successfully applied for the maximum weekly EMA payment of £30 in 2010/11 will be eligible for £20 for each week they are in education or training, until the end of the 2011/12 academic year.

We are also in the process of writing to those who successfully applied for £10 or £20 weekly EMA payments in 2010/11 to tell them they will not be eligible for transitional support in 2011/12. However, they may be able to apply to their school, college or training provider for support from the16-19 Bursary Fund.

Sample copies of the NoEs are available to download from the YPLA website. 

See Issue 28 – 20th July 2011 of the YPLA e-bulletin .

Skills Funding Agency – Update – Issue 66

The Skills Funding Agency has published its latest weekly update of sector news.

In this issue:

• 2011/12 Subcontracting – Declaration of Subcontractors form
• Subcontracting Management
• Our Annual Report
• European Social Fund Awards for sustainable development and gender equality
• WorldSkills London 2011 Skills Equipment Fund
• Audit of Employer Responsive (Apprenticeships/Train to Gain) and European Social Fund data 2010-11
• Lifelong Learning Account – coming soon
• Energy and Utility Skills qualifications within the Qualifications and Credit Framework
• National Qualifications Framework provision extended to 31 December 2011
• Minimum Contract Level Support (online events)
• The Data Service releases Learner Information Suite 19.01 Beta V1.04

Update – Issue 66

FE Week website launched

Nick Linford has sent me the following email plugging his new FE Week website.

I am delighted to say that today I’ve launched the shiny new http://www.feweek.co.uk/ website, which includes all the content from both the first and second pilot edition, including all the news items and the already much loved FE Week campus round-up.

At the end of every FE Week article you can add a comment, so if you have time today it would be great if you found one or two articles of interest to you and added a comment at the end – this will encourage others to do so – and I’d be forever grateful 🙂

Have a fantasitc weekend.

Kind regards,

Nick (busting with excitment about http://www.feweek.co.uk/)

Schools try out ‘vocational baccalaureate’

A recent article in The Guardian Newspaper reports on a vocational version of the International Baccalaureate is being trialled, but there are fears for its prospects.

The International Baccalaureate has traditionally been seen as an elite qualification taken by brainy students at independent or selective sixth forms. But a new “vocational bacc” could be about to change that.

The IB Career-Related Certificate (IBCC) currently being trialled in a number of UK schools combines the academic rigour of the IB with vocational study.

Read the full article at Schools try out ‘vocational baccalaureate’ | Education | The Guardian.