Ofqual Regulated Qualifications

All apprenticeship frameworks and standards that include a qualification must be Ofqual regulated in order to receive funding by the ESFA and be eligible for delivery to Levy paying employers.

The ESFA funding rules are lengthy and specific and follow in the next section.

Ofqual regulates all awarding organisations and qualifications accepted for funding by the ESFA.

It seems that you really only have two options open to you if the qualifications you offer are not Ofqual regulated:

1.    Register with an Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation.

2.    Register with Ofqual as an Awarding organisation and have your qualifications regulated.  

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Option One -  Register with an Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation:

Should you choose option one then you will need to find an awarding organisation which offers the qualifications you want to deliver.

You can download a list of all the Ofqual regulated qualifications and organisations from the Ofqual site.

You will need to apply to your chosen awarding organisation to become an approved centre or partner etc before you can deliver their qualifications.

Each awarding organisation has an application process which is available on their website and as an example I have randomly selected two awarding organisations to demonstrate. ( I’m not a training provider so I don’t have any affiliations with either of these organisations. They have been selected purely for informational purposes.)

Example One:

Pearson – Work -based Learning

You will need to decide which qualifications you want to deliver and then Register your interest and fill in the form.

In most cases there is an initial fee (possibly upwards of £400) and once accepted you will have access to the qualifications you have requested plus support, advice and external verification to make sure you are on the right track with your delivery of their qualifications.

Example Two:

Partner with BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT

Again you will need to register your interest to deliver BCS qualifications.

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Option Two - Register with Ofqual as an Awarding organisation:

You can only include your own qualifications in the apprenticeship if you are an Ofqual Regulated Awarding Organisation.

There is a rigorous application process to follow but once accepted you and your qualifications will be accepted for delivery in ESFA funding streams.

There are several organisations on the Ofqual Register who have locations around the world, so as an international company you can still apply but must have a UK company registered.

Ofqual Recognition explained - a short video guide to the process

 

 

There is a wealth of information regarding:

•    Understanding Ofqual Regulations

•    General Conditions of Recognition

•    Some qualifications also have extra rules

•    Awarding organisations: understanding Ofqual's regulatory requirements

•    All current Ofqual Regulatory Documents are set out in the Regulatory Documents List

•    Additional certificate requirements.

 

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Non- Levy Procurement Competition Opens!

The ESFA has just announced that the  ITT is now open for applications, so login to the Bravo Solutions portal and get cracking!

If you have been accepted on the RoATP as a main provider then you are eligible to apply.

If you applied the first time you will find that the questions and requirements are different.

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Critical Differences

There are a number of critical differences between the new procurement and the old one, including:

• New tender value caps and contract award limits to ensure greater confidence that awards are set at realistic levels.
   
• Awards in line with current levels of geographical delivery in the 9 English regions.
   
• Improved scoring criteria and evaluation methodology.
   
• The ability to grow above award values in year, subject to a number of conditions.
   

This will be a highly competitive exercise, which will attract interest from a wide range of training providers.

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Key Features Part One

Areas to be tested:

• Readiness to deliver.
   
• Delivery planning.
   
• Meeting employer and apprentice needs.
   
• Management reporting and quality assurance.
   
• Outcomes and impact.

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 Key Features Part Two

• The scoring criteria has changed see the ITT.
   
• New tender value thresholds.

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Key Features Part Three

• ESFA will maintain the current levels of geographical delivery.
   
• Organisations will submit a single bid and specify funding needed out of each regional funding pot.
   
• Performance management in place to allow providers to grow above award values in year if delivering inline with their tender. 
   
• See performance management rules in the ITT.

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New Funding Allocation

 

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Watch the video for more information!

 

 

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RoATP Remains Closed!

Until the ITT application window is completed the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers will remain closed to new applicants.

This procurement is open until the beginning of September and with luck the next round of the RoATP will open soon after.

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What's the Impact?

You are NOT eligible to apply for this non-levy procurement unless you've been accepted on the RoATP as a main provider.

So this means that you won't be able to secure a contract to deliver non-levy apprenticeship training until after April 2019 as long as you make it as a main provider on RoATP.

There is no information regarding the opening frequency of the non-levy procurement, but as soon as I hear anything I will let you know.

 

 

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Regardless of how small your company is, if you collect and store personal data you are in scope for GDPR compliance!

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Basically personal data about your staff and your learners needs protecting and to comply with the GDPR you must have a whole host of new policies and procedures in place.

GDPR has been ratified by the UK government, so as it stands it will be enforced regardless of Brexit.

If you haven't made a start by now there's no way you will become GDPR compliant by May 25th, but as the Information Commissioner says, don't panic!

 "To small and micro businesses, clubs and associations who are not quite there, I say … don’t panic! As the new ICO Regulatory Action Policy, out for consultation very shortly, sets out, we pride ourselves on being a fair and proportionate regulator. That will continue under the GDPR. 25 May is not the end of anything, it is the beginning, and the important thing is to take concrete steps to implement your new responsibilities — to better protect customer data."

It's not going away, If you're yet to make a start check out the 12 Steps to Take Now document to see what's in store.

Download the full General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to see just what changes are on the cards.

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GDPR & ILR's

You should all be GDPR compliant, or at least working towards compliance as the ESFA are checking up!

As of 25th May 2018 your application/enrollment forms should now include the updated contact preferences fields, as set out in the ESFA's Appendix F - Privacy Notice.

The Learner Contact Preference Entity Definition is explained on pages 61 - 64 of the Specification of the Individualised Learner Record for 2018 to 2019 Version 3 documentation.

You should also check out the Education and Skills Funding Agency privacy notice: May 2018 page if you haven't done so already.

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Questions You Should Be Asking!
 
•    What data am I collecting?
 
•    What is the lawful basis for me storing and processing this information?
 
•    Where does it go and what happens to it?
 
•    Do I share this information with anyone – are they GDPR compliant?
 
•    Do I share the information with anyone outside the UK? Does the country it goes to have legal rules in place to comply?
 
•    What's the information going to be used for?
 
•    What do I tell the person when I collect the information?
 
•    How have they actively shown that they agree to this?
 
•    How long do I need to keep the information for?
 
•    Why do I need to keep it as long as I do?
 
•    Do I need to do anything to comply in these instances?

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Six Core Principles

These are the six core principles of the GDPR, are the basic foundations on which the regulation was constructed and what you need to deliver in order to comply.

1. Personal information shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner

Principle one in a nutshell is the concept of clear consent. In any situation where personal information is collected, it should have clear consent of the data subject. Opt-in tick boxes are still allowed, but the regulation explicitly prohibits consent by non-action or opt-out boxes. You are non compliant if you still offer an opt out!

2. Personal information shall be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes.

When you collect personal information, it must be explained to the data subject the purpose for its collection and why it's being processed. Organisations will to need to become much clearer with data subjects about what their personal information is going to be used for.

3. Personal information shall be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary.

When collecting personal information, the data controller must only collect personal information that is absolutely required for the specified purpose. For example, collecting personal information to send to the ESFA in an ILR, there's no basis for the requirement of my marital status.

4. Personal information shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up-to-date.

As data controller you are obligated to ensure – to the best of your abilities – that the information collected is correct. The regulation is trying to address situations where processing incorrect personal information may cause distress or harm to data subjects.

5. Personal information shall be retained only for as long as necessary.

All personal information must now have an expiration date applied appropriate to its collected purpose. Indefinite retention isn't an option and will probably seriously upset the ICO!

6. Personal information shall be processed in an appropriate manner to maintain security.

This is the principle that has had a huge impact, as it requires data controllers and processors to ensure that their systems maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data processing systems.

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New ICO Fees for GDPR

The ICO's new fee structure takes affect on 25th May 2018, if you are already registered the new fee will be required on renewal.

"The new structure was laid before Parliament on Tuesday 20 February as a Statutory Instrument and will come into effect on 25 May 2018, to coincide with the General Data Protection Regulation."
March's e-newsletter

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ESFA Privacy Notice

The ESFA will have to make updates to their privacy, consent and data protection policies as of 25th May.

The current ESFA privacy notice which contains the following:

"Changes to this Privacy Notice

The ESFA may amend this Privacy Notice from time to time. If we make any substantial changes in the way we use your personal information we will make that information avai lable by amending this notice."

 

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Creating ILR's for Validation

If you are choosing to create your ILR's using the SFA's tools then this information is for you!

 I've been doing some research and thought I would share this information as it will come in handy for when you become a lead provider.

If you plan on using an MI system then Step 1 won't be relevant to you but you may find the rest useful.

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Downloads

ILR Learner Entry Tool:
ILR Entry application for 2016 - 2017 or  The Hub to select other funding years.

Rule Violation Spreadsheet:
ILR Validation Rules 2016 - 17 spreadsheet.

The FIS:
FIS software application.

The Hub:
Data returns overview: December 2015 document.

 

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Step 1 - ILR Learner Entry

To create a correctly structured XML document you will either need to use an ILR compliant MI system or the SFA's ILR Learner Entry tool.

If you have several people inputting data you will need to amalgamate all the individually exported XML files to make one XML file prior to import into The Hub.

NOTE: The ILR Learner Entry tool does not validate your data!

Example:

You will have to be super careful when inputting data items such as post codes, as there are strict rules regarding formatting.

You must have a space between the two the two parts of the post code and as this is a mandatory field it cannot be left blank.

If a postcode is unknown or does not apply then ZZ99 9ZZ must be input.

If the format is incorrect then this will throw validation errors in the FIS and stops the validation process from continuing.

All these type of rules can be found in the various SFA funding rules: 2016 to 2017 and ILR specification, validation rules and appendices 2016 to 2017 documentation.

Start by:

1. Data input into ILR Learner Entry tool.

2. If you have lots of people helping to input this information you will end up with several exported XML files.

3. Export your ILR data and validate each individual file in the FIS.

4. FIS - To start with I would suggest:

    a) Import and Validate an ILR submission
    b) Export Rule Violation Summary Report as PDF.

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Step 2 - Fix Rule Violation Errors

I would recommend that you download the ILR Validation Rules 2016 - 17 spreadsheet so you can find any error codes listed in the Rule Violation Report.

Fix any errors in the ILR Learner Entry tool before re exporting the ILR and running it through the FIS again.

This could be a very repetitive process so it's best to validate each file individually before you amalgamate them.

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Step 3 - Amalgamating ILR's in the FIS

When you installed the Funding Information System (FIS) on your PC an ILR folder was created too.

This is the default location for all the exports you request from the FIS.

I would suggest the following:

1. Open FIS - select your DataSet and Reference options.

2. Click the Amalgamate check box and nothing else.

3. Click Execute - this allows you to add the individual XML files one at a time.

4. Once ALL of the XML files are added click the Import button.

5. The FIS will amalgamate all the individual files into one XML file.

9. The completed XML file will be automatically exported to the ILR folder.

NEXT:

1. Uncheck Amalgamate and check all the other items you need

Again, to start with I would suggest:

    a) Import and Validate an ILR submission
    b) Rule Violation Summary Report as PDF

2. Click Execute

3. Browse to the ILR folder and select the newly amalgamated ILR XML file

4. Click Import

5. Your data will be validated and a report of any errors will be generated as a PDF. This will be exported to the ILR folder.

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Step 4 - Import ILR into The HUB

The Data returns overview: December 2015 document gives you step by step instructions on how to complete the process.

"Each provider should have a single super user... Super users manage access for their users and give them responsibilities within their organisation in the Hub. This allows a super user to restrict what the organisation’s users can view."

For future reference here some links to get you started:

Information Management Services: Self Registration

The Hub: guide to user roles

The Hub: guide to the contracts and finances area

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 Athena MIS & RAIL - ILR Creation for Lead providers and Subcontractors

We have worked really hard to make ILR creation as easy as possible in Athena MIS & Rail and have developed two types of ILR files:

•    individulal ILR for subcontractors to return to lead providers
•    complete ILR, in XML format, for lead providers to submit to The Hub.

With just a click of a button the ILR spreadsheet or XML document is exported straight from Athena MIS & RAIL.

Watch the videos on how to create an ILR spreadsheet for your lead provider, or, a complete ILR in XML format for submission to The Hub.

You can also subscribe to our You Tube channel to receive notification of new videos.

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