ESOL funding & qualification changes 2014

How ESOL is funded now

• • On GLH per learner up to 450 hours per year

: ESOL will no longer be calculated on Guided Learning Hours (GLH) Instead, ESOL will be listed on the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF). Currently, providers are paid for delivery up to 450 hours, 1 Standard Learner Number (SLN) so if a student completes a course of study in 100 hours, the provider is paid for 100 hours; if she does 420 hours, the provider is paid for 420 hours.

Learners are unaccredited or take ESOL qualifications E1- L2

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First the good news.... some unaccredited provision remains

Categories of non-regulated provision approved for funding

69.Non-regulated provision eligible for funding in 2014/2015 must be one of the following.

69.1. Provision for learners with learning difficulties or disabilities as part of a personalised learning programme where there is no appropriate vocational or non-vocational regulated qualification available.

69.2. Provision for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), where there is no appropriate regulated qualification available. (You must take account of the introduction of new ESOL Skills for Life QCF qualifications before enrolling an individual onto non-regulated provision).

69.3. Provision in the area of Preparation for Work, where there is no appropriate alternative regulated qualification available. (We expect the volume of your provision in this area to be at the same level as in recent years.) 70.For any non-regulated provision we fund in the categories above, you must: 70.1. apply the Recognising and Recording Progression and Achievement (RARPA) standards and keep the necessary evidence within each Learning Agreement; and 70.2. provide the learner with a clear record of their achievement. This can be in the form of a certificate.

71.Any non-regulated learning aims not in one of the categories above will not be available for funding in 2014/2015, with the exception of learners who are continuing learning aims.

Changes in the funding structure

• • • • • The funding goes from GLH to listed qualifications on the QCF In 2014 to 2015 existing ESOL adult basic certificates will be funded at the same published rates as 2013 to 2014. These were based on historical national delivery patterns and awarding organisation recommended guided learning hours (glh).

Unaccredited provision: rules.

during the extension, if any ESOL learner needs to progress before starting a regulated ESOL qualification or needs to broaden their learning beyond the scope of the regulated ESOL qualification, these additional requirements can be recorded using ‘learning aim class codes’ and will be funded using providers’ planned guided learning hours. This is the same as for non regulated ESOL provision and is defined and explained in appendix H of the ILR specification. Learning support is also available for ESOL learners where required in accordance with our funding In summary, funding for existing ESOL qualifications and units in 2014 to 2015 will be based on: – the published rates for the adult basic certificates in ESOL skills for life – non-regulated ESOL provision – learning support to meet an identified need Once there are new ESOL qualifications available from awarding organisations for delivery providers will be expected to deliver them to new students. These will be funded in line with the Adult Skills Budget approach and not on the basis of these interim arrangements.

How the QCF works

• • • • All qualifications are built up from units Each unit has a credit value of 1 or 2 credits in the case of E nglish and M aths Each credit covers a notional 10 hours of learning and c. £50 of funding in E & M .

Units are bound together to form an ward

ESOL qualifications are now listed

Qualification & (Credits)

n/a

Programme Weighting (PW)

Please note these figures are approximate

Programme Weighting (PW)

Award (1-4) Award (5-12) Certificate (13-24) Certificate (25-36)

A –Base

(un-weighted rate) £148 £336 £724 £1,265

B – Low

£166 £376 £811 £1,417

Programme Weighting (PW) C –Medium

£193 £437 £941 £1,645

Programme Weighting (PW) D – High

£237 £537 £1,159 £2,025

Programme Weighting (PW) E

– Lower Specialist or G* – Higher Specialist £255 £578 £1,246 £2,176

English& Maths Listed Qualifications

Please note these figures are approximate

Qualification

Functional Skills in English and maths Functional Skills in IT Free Standing English Awards Entry Level Free Standing Maths Awards at Entry Level

Funding Band

Certificate (13-24) Award (5-12) Award (5-12) Award (1-4) Award (5-12)

Funding

£724 £336 £336 £148 £336

When do the new qualifications begin?

• • • • •

New skills for life qualifications

In February 2013 we set out the principles to shape the future suite of new skills for life (SfL) ESOL qualifications. Since that time awarding organisations have been developing a number of new ESOL SfL qualifications and some of these have been submitted to Ofqual for accreditation.

To enable providers to complete their planning for 2014 to 2015 and to ensure there is time to prepare for the delivery of the new qualifications we have agreed with BIS and Ofqual to put in place interim arrangements to December 2014.

continue funding the existing ESOL adult basic certificates and ‘units’ for a further period up to 31 Ofqual are writing to awarding organisations with provision to extend the end dates of the existing suite of qualifications and associated assessments.

Once the new ESOL qualifications are accredited and approved for funding, we will update our funding lists. Providers should also speak with their awarding organisations as they will know the exact switch over point for their individual qualifications.