1. Funding Process Set Up & Agreements
An Overview
Thanks you Mr X.
My name is Y. I am from the Contracting and Funding team. Our job is to manage the lifecycle of the funding agreements on our systems, from the initial set up and any variations that are required, to the termination of the agreement. We also manage the payment process to make sure they are correct.
I will give a brief overview of the funding process and how you get paid that shows why we are setting you up on the systems. This provides a good overview of how the other sessions will fit in. My colleagues will go into the detail later.
This part of the presentation will recap on the process to set you up in our systems so that you can accept our agreement, accept apprentices from employers, report progress and be paid. I will also discuss some of the key roles required in our systems.
I will then give you a brief overview of the contractual documents and some of the main terms and conditions you need to be aware of.

2. Funding Process Overview
These slides show how the agreement and the systems link together to record delivery and pay you what you earn. They show why we have asked you to set yourself up on these systems. This will also help set the context for the rest of the day because my colleagues will pick up on some of these points in more detail.
It all starts with the funding agreement. Your funding agreement was posted onto SFS last week. Until you sign it digitally on SFS, the systems will stop you from accepting apprentices from employers and we will not process any data you send us.
You then need to work with the employers to agree the apprentice delivery that you will have. You need to agree this on the Apprenticeship Service or we will not process any data that you send to us.
You then need to deliver the apprenticeships adhering to the contract and its associated documents, such as the funding rules. And also bear in mind other wider policies around intervention, quality and due diligence (which we will talk about later). During delivery you may contact the Service Desk with queries.

3. Funding Process Overview
You must then submit data to us each month to tell us about the learners and the learning by the 4th working day of the month after the activity has occurred. You will submit data through the Hub to the specification in the ILR documentation, or using the other HEI methods in the ILR guidance (own MIS, our tool, FE college partners, HESA records). You may need to refer to the EDS for workplace information and to the LRS for learner reference numbers. FE Connect is a good source of information and support in the submission of data and understanding the funding.
We will take your data and calculate your earnings based on the rules in the Technical Funding Guide. You may use the Earnings Adjustment Statement (EAS) to submit large learner support earnings. Its important to read this document so that you can understand how we calculate your payments. We may not pay you all of your activity if it is not eligible.
Finally we will process your earnings and pay your earnings into the bank account you have nominated through the BAN1s form. We will pay you through BACS on the 11th working day of the month.
FE Connect is a good source of information and support in the submission of data and understanding the funding.

4. Initial Set Up Confirmation communication via Bravo
s to confirm next steps to be taken by your organisation
The first requested
Your contact for apprenticeship delivery
The name of the super-user for the Identity Management System (IDAMS)
Bank details to set up your account for apprenticeship funding payments
Registration on the Learning Records Service to generate and collect Unique Learning Numbers (ULN) for each new apprentice
Make sure that the apprenticeship offer is on the Course Directory Provider Portal
So we’ve been through the funding process. This next bit is to recap what we have done so far to helping you to set yourself up on our systems so we can contract with you and pay you. My colleagues will go through the systems in more detail next.
Firstly, you will have been sent a communication via Bravo confirming that you had been successful in your application.
We used the contact address that was supplied in the register exercise to contact you with what you needed to do next. To date, we would have sent you two main s detailing what we needed from you.
The first asked for details of the person we should contact for day-to-day discussions about your delivery and also the name of your system super-user. This was so we could confirm we were giving access to the right person.
We need your bank account details so that we can pay you. We carry out a number of due diligence checks to make sure you are who you say you are. Your account will be set up in time for the first payments in June – if you have apprentices starting in May.
It also asked you to set yourself up on the Learner Records Service so you can see information about your learners and also for you to put details of your apprenticeship offer on Apprenticeship Service so employers can find you.

5. Initial Set Up The second email requested
You set up your IDAMS super user
You set up your systems’ roles
You set yourself up on the Employer Data Service
You will then to able to sign your agreement
You will also be able to accept apprentices from employers
We staged the set up s because we needed to set you up internally before you could use the identity management system, IDAMS.
The first stage was to set up your IDAMS super-user. This person will then be able to set up other people in your organisation with roles on our systems to carry out a number of activities.
These activities include: digitally signing the agreement; accepting business from employers; entering data; viewing data across our systems. We’ll go into these in more detail shortly.
You also need to set yourself up on the Employer Data Service to get employer information.
The levy agreements were put onto Skills Funding Service for you to sign on Wed 22 March. Once you have set up a contract approver in SFS you will be able to sign your agreement.
Having gone through the set up process you will now be able to digitally sign your agreement; report learner, learning and employer data, accept business from employers and get paid.

6. Application Roles Apprenticeships Service for providers
Apprenticeships Editor Role to respond to Employer apprenticeship requests and update the offer.
SFS (Skills Funding Service)
SFS - Contract authoriser - allows the user to sign apprenticeship agreements or contracts and receive alerts.
SFS - Contract manager role - allows the user to view apprenticeship agreements or contracts and receive the alerts. Cannot digitally sign any documents
SFS - Contract User role can view all areas of the SFS. Cannot sign any documents or get the alerts in SFS.  
DCFT (Hub – Data Returns)
Provider Submissions User role - for submission of ILR return and viewing the validation reports
Provider Information Officer role allows the user to view the funding/financial reports.
Colleagues will go through these in more detail, but this is an overview of the roles you need to set up through the identity management system, IDAMs.
Our newer systems and applications use this method to give access.
Apprenticeship Service is application we use to manage the business between you and the employer. You need to have a role to respond to apprenticeship requests and to manage the offer.
SFS is the system we use to manage your agreement/contracts. This is all done online. You will be notified when there is an agreement/contract to approve and the contract manager role will need to be set up to do that. [read through roles]
The Data hub is where you enter your data about the learners and the learning they are doing. You need to have a role to enter the data.
The same person can have a number of roles. It is up to the super-user to set these up and manage them.

7. Other Systems
 Employer Data Service (EDRS)
Registration needed to allow adverts to be posted on the Find an Apprenticeship (FAT) service
Allow your organisation to to return information in the individualised learner record (ILR).
Learner Records Service (LRS)
Allows access to learners unique numbers or create new ones
LRS has a unique support help desk
FE Connect
The online forum to talk to colleagues about funding and data issues
Some of our applications or systems are older and have legacy registration processes. Also, some of them are not unique to the SFA and so are managed differently.
The Employer Data Service contains information about the workplace where the apprenticeship is based. It contains a code for the workplace that you will need in the Apprenticeship Service and also when returning data. This is used across the Agency on a number of funding streams.
The Learner Records Service contains information about the learner and the learning they have done. The learner is assigned a unique learner number and you will need access to this system to confirm the ULN and to set up ULNs for new learners. Providers will be registering bodies.

8. Apprenticeship Contracting Framework
This diagram shows the four agreements that are involved in delivering the apprenticeships going forward.
Employer agreement
Allows the use of the Apprenticeship services
Manages the funds to/from HMRC
Ensure the employer will co-investment where required
Puts in place requirement for P-E contracts and support the delivery of the apprenticeship
Training Provider Agreement
Allows the Agency to pay the provider
Enforces funding rules and ways of working
Requirement to collect co-investment
Puts in place requirement for sub-contracting agreement
This is your agreement and I will focus on that today.
Employer/provider
For delivery of apprenticeship
For payment of co-investment
Sub-contracting
For delivery of elements as agreed by the employer
Back to back with the Training Provider agreement
Contract for
Services
Sub-Con

9. Provider Agreement The agreement is made up of: Terms and conditions
Funding & Performance Rules
ILR specification & validation rules and appendices
Agreements commence on 1 May The levy agreements have no contract value, non-levy contracts do have a contract value.
The levy agreement has no end date. Non-levy ends July 2019.
Payment can only be made once the agreement has been digitally signed and will be inline with Technical Funding Guide.
Agency can vary the agreement/contract at any time
The funding agreement is made up of a number of documents that together constitute the agreement. When delivering the apprenticeships you need to make sure that you adhere to them all, because not doing so could be a breach of the contract.
The funding agreement is between you and the Secretary of State for Education, acting through the SFA.
Your agreement commences from 1st May. You can only deliver to apprentices from this day. We will not accept or pay for starts prior to this day. The levy agreement has no end date. It will continue until it is terminated by one of the reasons in the funding agreement, which we shall look at next.
The levy agreement also has no funding attached to it. Unlike our other contracts, you will not get a ‘contract value’ as the funding will come from the digital accounts of the employers you will work with.
You will not be able to accept apprentices from employers until you have signed this agreement on SFS

10. Levy Terms & Conditions
Agreement purpose
Support training and end point assessments
Warranties include
Resource available to deliver the agreement
No restrictions on delivering the agreement
Comply with necessary legislation, including Health& Safety
Put in place necessary controls to prevent fraud and admin malfunction
No material change in financial position
This is focused on the levy agreement, but the points are relevant to both levy and non-levy. It is important to remember that this funding is just for the delivery of apprenticeships and end point assessments. We are not asking you to deliver anything else.
Warranties are the assurances that the agency needs from the providers to be able to enter into the agreement. They give us assurance that you are ready to go.
We need to know that you have the necessary resource to deliver the agreement. That is both in the delivery team and also in any back office support team managing the data and evidence
You must be able to enter into an agreement with us and also you must not have agreements in place with any other organisations that would stop you delivering our agreement.
You must comply with the necessary legislation. This would include Health & Safety, Freedom of Information for delivery queries, Data Protection to safeguard people’s data and discrimination legislation in your recruitment and delivery.
You need to give us assurance that you have the necessary controls in place. Firstly to make sure that fraud is avoided and also to make sure that the returns you give us are accurate and timely.
Its also important that there has been no material change in your financial health since you applied as this may affect the number of apprentices that you can take on. If there has been a change then you will need to inform us.

11. Levy Terms & Conditions
The agreement key points:
Termination for breach of agreement/contract documents; HEFCE recommendation, failing the Register, delivering poor quality
SFA could suspend payments, reasons include fraud, mis- information, breaching the agreement, dishonesty/neglect, insolvency/administration
SFA can impose funding limits based on performance, financial health and quality
SFA can have access to all learning documentation associated with the agreement and you must maintain an audit trail
Be transparent with your sub-contracting
The agreement sets out how we will manage our relationship with you. Rather than go through all of the terms, as you can read them for yourself, I would like to draw your attention to some the terms in the agreement that can have negative consequences. This is so you are aware and put in place controls to avoid them; we have all put in a lot of effort to get to here and we want it to continue. I am not finger wagging, but its important that you are aware because we do implement these.
There is no end date in the agreement, but there are a number of ways you can get it terminated that are either associated with the terms in the agreement or the wider provider management in the Agency. Firstly, you can not do what we ask you to do in the agreement and the associated documents, which is called ‘breach’. There are then a number of interventions we can make if HEFCE recommend we terminate if your delivery is poor. Make sure you understand our intervention and minimum standards/achievements policies that are on GOV.UK. You also can then fail our due diligence process called the register that you have to update each year.
Short of terminating the agreement, we can suspend your payments. This would generally be while we investigate any concerns or potential breaches of the agreement or if we think public funding is at risk, as in administration or insolvency.
We can also restrict the growth in your levy activity if we think you are over stretching yourself. We have assessed your financial health and that gives us a measure of your capacity to deliver, as would achievement rates. FH assessment information is on GOV.UK
You must allow us into your premises to look at learner and learning documentation to verify your delivery, and so you must make sure that you maintain a robust audit trail or your funding will be at risk.
Sub-contracting can introduce risks to delivery that you must manage and you must inform us of your subcontracting arrangements through regular returns. You must agree the sub-contract with the employer. You must carry out appropriate procurement and due diligence on your sub-contracts and have an agreement in place that mirrors ours with you.

12. Associated Documents Funding & Technical Rules
A suite of documents that set out the basis for funding. Includes learner and learning eligibility and required controls.
ILR specification
Technical documents that define the learner and learning data that publicly funded providers must collect and return
The agreement suite is also made up of other documents that you need to read and adhere to.
The most important is the funding rules. This document tells you what you have to do to make sure your delivery is eligible, both in terms of the learners and the learning. It also covers some controls that you have to have in place to make sure you have a robust audit trail and also manage sub-contractors soundly. For non-levy this include performance management rules.
The ILR specification is referenced from the agreement. ILR information is very important. We can’t pay you without it. We use it to drive our funding systems and also to collect MI so stakeholders can see what the funding has delivered. This is reported in the Statistical First Release (SFR). We also use the data for assessing the quality of your delivery and attaining minimum standards. It must be correct and timely.
Other funding streams have performance management rules. But because you don’t have a value or delivery profile for the levy funded apprenticeships, there are no specific funding rules.
In addition, you need to be aware of our intervention, minimum standards and register policies for happy contracting.
Note: the non-levy contract will include appendices of expected profiles that are used for performance management

13. Important Links
Apprenticeship Information Individual Learner Record (ILR) Specification Business Operations Service Desk at or telephone FE Connect
This slide gives you some of the main links that will be useful to you.
From our Apprenticeship page, you will be able to access funding guidance through technical guides, funding rules and performance management rules. There is also more information on apprenticeships in general.
Here we have shown the link to the ILR specification. This page gives you information on what data to collect and how to return it. There are e-training modules that give a background to the ILR and how the data is structured.
If you have any questions about the Agency’s processes or systems you can call the service desk on the number shown here, however in the first instance you should attempt to find the answer in the Agency documentation that is online.
You can also use FE Connect, which is an online forum for discussions on FE data and funding. You may find other providers have experience that can help you.

14. Questions? Background reading Presenter information:
s send to providers
Provider contracts/agreement
Funding rules
Performance management rules
Technical rules
Look at: LRS and EDRS sites
Intervention policy
High risk providers
Minimum standards
Register