As you may be aware, we value the input from professionals working with FE learner data and software. Consequently, among other things, we host regular advisory group meetings for college staff, data users, employer responsive learning providers, adult safeguarded learning providers, software suppliers and own software writers.

These advisory groups work with us to improve sector information systems and where possible avoid, identify and resolve information and data issues. Colleagues from other agencies, such as the Data Service and the Skills Funding Agency, also often join in with members’ discussions or present to the groups.

Members of the groups represent organisations who return or use individualised learner record (ILR) data, or are involved in supplying or writing software to collect ILR data. They tend to be the staff responsible for providing or using data and/or management information (MI) within each organisation.

Hosting the groups enables us to seek expert and informed opinion and advice from colleagues involved in data collection and transformation. Each group meets around three times a year, to discuss information and data related topics such as data collecting, interpreting, reporting, quality and use; software; audit issues; and reducing bureaucracy.

Making changes

With the move to a single ILR and the plans for a Single Adult Skills budget, we are intending to make changes to a couple of our groups, to reflect provider type rather than funding provision. Starting in March, the Employer Responsive and Learner Responsive advisory groups will be replaced by a group for colleges and another group catering for all other training organisations. The first meetings for these new groups will be held at our HQ in Coventry on the following dates: 

• 15 March – College Group
• 29 March – Training Organisation Group

Later in the year we are also planning to introduce occasional themed meetings. These will be open to all members of the advisory groups and will cover topics such as foundation learning and course information.

You can find out more about all of our advisory groups on the information authority website

If you want more information, or would like to join any of the groups, please email the information authority

This week’s news round up

Updated version of LIS
The Data Service has released an updated version of the Learner Information Suite (LIS) v19.02.015. This release has fixed the issue relating to the calculation of Adult Learner Responsive Funding. If you have any issues with the LIS please contact the Service Desk on 0870 2670001 or email the Service Desk.

PFR in the OLDC online
The Provider Funding Report (PFR) functionality within the Online Data Collection system is now back online, following a fix to the issue with the Adult Skills Budget funding calculation. Providers can now request PFRs.

New Challenges, New Chances FAQs
The Skills Funding Agency is in the process of compiling a collection of FAQs on the Agency website which you may find of interest, following questions raised by providers at a series of Skills Investment Strategy briefings.

Reducing Bureaucracy in Further Education
Geoff Russell (Skills Funding Agency CEO) and Peter Lauener (YPLA CEO) gave evidence at the Public Accounts Committee on Monday: “Reducing Bureaucracy in Further Education” – a transcript of the meeting is now available.

All the best
Greta

New Employment Outcomes Guidance

Following my post on the Job Outcome Incentive Payment (OIP) Fund at the start of January, a couple of you requested some clarification around recording ‘employment outcomes’ in the 2011/12 ILR. I am pleased to be able to report that the Skills Funding Agency has now released additional guidance on this topic, which is as follows: 

If the Adult Skills Budget learner is in receipt of JSA or ESA(WRAG), or is part of the wider offer to unemployed individuals on a state benefit who needs help into work, a successful job outcome should be recorded in the Employment Outcome field where the learner is in employment for four weeks or more and if they were in receipt of JSA or ESA (WRAG), but no longer receive it.

Since no direct funding is associated with specific numbers of job outcomes in Adult Skills Budget in 2011/12 this data will not be audited by the Agency.

As part of the development for 2012/13 it is expected that providers will be starting to develop processes and systems to capture job outcomes, which would include the development of a self-certification process for learners gaining employment as evidence of getting a job.

Nested Qualifications Guidance

In response to recent discussions on provider forums we have reissued the guidance that was agreed by Ofsted in August 2010, about the use of nested qualifications in curriculum planning.

Examples of incorrect use of nested qualifications are being added to the guidance. Ofsted are also reissuing guidance to their inspectors regarding the use of nested qualifications, which emphasises that a learner-centred approach should be taken in all cases.

Publication of Outputs on FE Choices

Performance indicator scores for 2010/11 were published on 26 January on the FE Choices website, which is part of the Further Education Public Information (FEPI) framework (formerly known as the Framework for Excellence).

The FE choices website enables learners and providers to compare performance information about all further education providers that receive government funds. Information is provided about organisations that offer academic and vocational subjects, apprenticeships, and training on and off the job.

More information about FE Choices can be found on the Skills Funding Agency website

This week’s news round up

• The latest issue of Inform (issue 56) is out now
• An updated version (2.01) of the 2011/12 ILR Appendix A Collections Timetable is now on our website – dates remain the same, but we have changed the colour coding in response to providers’ requests
• The papers and presentations from our Software Supplier Group meeting on 23 January are now on our website

All the best
Greta

Hello blog reader and welcome to my latest post. As you can see from the title, this week I am going to be taking a brief look at the next ILR specification, but before that, for those of you who are new to the world of further education (FE) learner data, I should just explain that the ILR is a collection of data about learners in the FE sector, which is gathered by learning providers and processed by the Data Service.

The ILR specification defines what data is collected for each academic year, from 1 August – 31 July. This is where we come in. Any changes to the data collected in the ILR or the collection arrangements must be approved by the information authority board.

The amendments to next year’s (2012/13) ILR have been approved and were published on our website last month. One of the main changes is that all ILR returns for 2012/13 must be in XML format. The Data Service will continue to make the Learner Information Suite (LIS) available to all providers in 2012/13 but the LIS will no longer include a conversion facility to produce XML files, so providers are expected to have the facility to create them without support.

However, the Data Service recognises that a small number of providers may not initially have a system capable of producing an XML file and they will make a temporary alternative method for sending ILR data available to these providers. In 2011/12, this was the provider online system (POL). The arrangements for 2012/13 are still to be confirmed. It is expected that these providers would typically have less than 500 learners.

Your XML ILR files must arrive by specified dates though the year, (which will be published in Appendix A of the 2012/13 spec) but it will only be necessary to send an ILR file if there have been any changes or additions to the learner records since the last transmission was made.

For more details of changes to the spec visit our website to view the 2012/13 ILR Specification

We will be publishing version 2 of the 2012/13 specification, which will include the validation (previously business) rules, towards the end of February.

This week’s news round up: 

• Our Software Supplier Group meet on Monday 23 January in Coventry
• A fully searchable 2011/12 ILR specification, with the facility to save your favourite pages for quick reference, is now available on our website
• Reminder: the 2011/12 R06 ILR return is due in on 06 February 2012

All the best
Greta

In this week’s blog the Skills Funding Agency has asked us to let you know about a couple of opportunities coming up for you to get involved in supporting the further education (FE) sector. The Agency has provided the information below, inviting you to develop a sector survey, or contribute to the further development of the Provider Data Self-Assessment Tool. Think you might be interested in one, or both opportunities?  Then read on…

 Skills Funding Agency seeks sector engagement for Provider Access Project

 The Skills Funding Agency needs sector representatives to attend a three-hour workshop in Coventry on 26 January 2012 (11am – 2pm) to support the Provider Access Project in shaping a sector engagement survey framework.

Background to the Provider Access Project

Following a commitment made by the Skills Funding Agency to the FE sector and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Provider Access Project will enable providers to access their contract information directly.

As the Agency is seeking to deliver this collaboratively with the sector, as a tool for the sector, it recognises that it is crucial to have strong engagement with the sector throughout the duration of the project. The Agency, therefore, is planning to launch a survey aimed at the FE sector (colleges, training organisations, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), the Association of Colleges (AoC) and the third sector, to gauge views on key topic areas such as:

• Scope of the project
• Benefits of the project to the FE sector
• Planned requirements and areas of delivery
• Suggested priorities
• Sector involvement  

Over the next few weeks, the Agency will be designing a draft framework for the survey. In order to ensure that the survey is fit for purpose it needs involvement from sector representatives to help shape its design.

For any further information, please email Anita Holcroft

Data Self-Assessment Tool – future development sessions

The Skills Funding Agency will be holding three divisional Data Self-Assessment Tool (DSAT) Technical User Group sessions. The aim of these meetings is to bring together internal and external DSAT stakeholders to contribute to and inform the future development of DSATs.

• South – 8 February 2012 at the KPMG offices in London
• Central – 16 February 2012 at the Agency’s National Office in Coventry
• North – date and venue will be confirmed in due course.

Places are limited to 25 attendees at each venue. Please email Natalie McIntyre to register your attendance by 23 January 2012, confirming the name of the provider you will be representing and the meeting you will be attending.

This week’s news round up:

• Reminder: 2010/11 SL05 returns deadline is 16 January 2011
• You can check your FE Public Information Framework (formerly Framework for Excellence) data on the Provider Gateway and have until Thursday 19 January to submit any comments about your 2010/11 scores.
• The Data Service will be releasing the Learner Information Suite (LIS) v19.02 later this month. Further details are available on the Data Service website.

All the best
Greta

As we start the new year we thought we’d take a look back over 2011, to see which issues have been cropping up in conversations in our advisory groups and write a blog post or two around these topics…

Towards the end of last year we became aware that there were a number of providers unsure of how job outcome incentive payments (OIPs) are paid and exactly what is expected of them in 2011/12. So, we thought it might be useful to point people towards the Skills Funding Agency’s OIP guidance.

There have been three documents published so far that include information you may find helpful. You will find the bulk of the detail about how providers are being paid for employment outcomes for 2011/12 in paragraphs 123 to 134 of version 1.1 of the 2011/12 Adult Skills Budget Funding Requirements.

Other relevant information can be found in paragraphs 24 to 32 of the Skills Funding Agency Guidance Note eight and in Update (issue 86), the Agency’s weekly round up of information and news for the further education sector.

In essence, the guidance to date states that OIPs for colleges are paid from within their allocation – no additional claims are required. Private training providers use the Training Provider Statement (TPS) to claim 2.5% of their monthly allocation. All providers are asked to record job outcomes in the Employment Outcome field in the ILR. We are working with the Agency to clarify the guidance around recording job outcomes.

If there is a topic you would like us to blog about please leave us a comment and let us know.

This week’s news round up:

The Chair of the information authority, Geoff Hall, has been awarded a knighthood in the 2012 New Year’s Honour’s List. Geoff, formerly Principal and Chief Executive of New College Nottingham, received the honour of Knight Bachelor for services to further education.

John Perks, Head of the information authority, will be speaking at the Association of Colleges MIS Managers Network meeting in Shrewsbury on Tuesday 10 January

The Data Service will be publishing the end of year 2010/11 Employer Responsive (Period 15) Qualification Success Rate (QSR) and Minimum Level of Performance (MLP) reports on the Provider Gateway on Thursday 12 January.

All the best
Greta

Hello colleagues

You will have seen our news item about our new chairman, Geoff Hall.  Many of you will know him from his many years in the further education sector.  We are looking forward to working with him to deliver the best service for you.  As a baptism of fire, one of Geoff’s first actions as chairman will be to chair the board meeting to consider the exceptional 2011/12 ILR change requests put forward by the funding agencies.  We will update you on the board decisions as soon as possible. 

Things are also getting very interesting on the Single Restructured Learner Record in XML project.  We met software suppliers and own software writers on 20 January 2011 to consult with them on developments and timescales.  The presentations and notes of the meeting will be available on our website shortly.  We also ran sessions which were attended by the Data Service, Skills Funding Agency, YPLA and Ofsted to discuss the intricacies and detailed impact of the change.  Their input will ensure that everything works as planned.  As an attendee at all these meetings, I can assure you that they posed questions that taxed our specification team!

We are also starting on the conference circuit soon.  We will be presenting at the Spring College Data Conference on 03 March 2011.   

Lastly, although Get it in! Get in Right! is ‘taking a break’, the usual reminder applies – ULNs are compulsory on the LR02 due on 14 February 2011! Best to warn the partners that Valentines may be late this year….

Selvy

Hi all

Although the name is quite a mouthful, it was essentially a meeting with change requesters, data users, provider representative organisations and the Data Service to work through the ILR change requests for 2011/12. The main objectives were to generate questions and issues to consult with the further education system as well as identify conflicts with existing data use. We found it extremely useful as it meant we could combine policy, information purpose, process issues and potential data burden aspects of each of the change requests going forward.  We also think it has helped us scope the change requests going forward and that the consultation process will be more focused – of course you will be the judge of that…

Those who attended the meeting also seemed to find it useful in understanding the different perspectives of those present.  They recommended that we permanently adopt this meeting into the change request process.

The consultation process with learning providers and software houses will start with the ILR Change Request Stakeholder event on 15 July 2010.  The consultation on feconnect will commence shortly after so please contribute as and when these come up.

Selvy

Hi all

There is quite a lot going on at the moment. We’re running consultations on the redevelopment of the LAD and the timeliness of Employer Responsive data. Thanks to those of you who have contributed so far. Please do keep your views and suggestions coming.

We’re also preparing for a Connexions meeting on 28 May. The plan is to bring together the various stakeholders to look at the information needs of Connexions services and the best way of getting the data they need to them. What we’d like to achieve is a standardised dataset for Connexions, with an agreed collection timetable and possibly a central system for collecting and disseminating information. Attending the meeting will be representatives from Connexions services, learning providers, the DCSF, the Young People’s Learning Agency and the Data Service. There are a few places left so if you are interested in attending, please email me (Paul.Kelman@theia.org.uk) for further details.

Version 2 of the 2010/11 ILR specification was published last week. We’ve had quite a few requests to tone down the highlighting used for amended text. I’m afraid that as the specification is produced in Word, afraid we’re limited by its highlighting palette. However, colleagues are working on an online version of the ILR specification, which we hope the FE system will find useful. The long term aims is to make it possible for people to only download the parts of the ILR specification that they need.

The output from the March Employer Responsive group meeting are now available on our website. The outputs include an excel sheet to map local authorities to LSC areas. Providers wanted that to assist them with any information requests they receive from local authorities.

Finally, if you are involved in delivering ESF provision, please take a few minutes to complete our short online survey on reducing the ESF data burden. We’re keen to find out whether the steps taken to remove redundant ESF data fields from the ILR is actually making any difference and, if so, how much time is being saved. We’re also keen to know whether there are ad hoc ESF data requests and hear suggestions for ways that the data requirements for ESF provision could be made even more streamlined.

Paul

Hi

We have now opened up the final two consultations via feconnect. These two consultations are on:

• Change request 40: Amend recording of eligibility for enhanced funding
• Change request 53: Aligning C0 return dates with the F0 return dates

All of the consultations that are currently open will continue until Friday 4 September – that’s next Friday! Please make sure that you have your say about these changes, as your comments will help to shape our recommendations to the board about which changes should go ahead, and which shouldn’t.

Two other change requests will be consulted on at a later date. This is because the solutions to these proposals are fairly complex, and the secretariat is still working with the LSC to finalise how these changes will be implemented. The changes this relates to are:

• Change request 19:Removal of L25 and creation of new code to take into account Machinery of Government changes
• Change request 37: Linking destination field to bonus payments based on employment status

As always, the full proposals and their current status can be read in the ‘Change Requests for the 2010/11 ILR’ document, which is on the ILR Request for Change page.

You can also sign up to our web alerts for notifications of News items from the information authority, which will include updates on requests 19 and 37, and any outcomes from the board meeting.

Wishing everybody a really sunny Bank Holiday!

Anna

Hi all

As promised, we have launched some further consultations here on feconnect as part of the 2010/11 ILR change process. The four change requests that were published today are:
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