Devon EAL (EdIT) Autumn Census 2015 – Post 16 Learning Aims

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DfE School Census Autumn 2015

Post-16 Learning Aims Information for Schools with Sixth Forms

This document is a quick reference guide to help schools returning the Post-16 Learning Aims module of School Census 2015. The data you provide on this return will determine your sixth form funding from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) in the 2016/17 Financial Year. This guidance includes extracts of information from the Department for Education (DfE), Education Funding Agency (EFA) and CAPITA and includes instructions on using SIMS for recording, reporting and producing this element of your school census.

Contents Page

New Items and Changes to Existing Items 2

Why is this Collection Needed 2

Learning Aims - CHANGE 3

Planned Hours

- planned learning hours (qualification hours in sims)

- planned employability, enrichment & pastoral hours (non-qualification hours in sims)

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Core Aim – for students following a vocationally EFA funded study programme or mixed academic and vocational studies

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Students in Full-Time Employment 10

Maths & English Condition of Funding - CHANGE 11

Sub-contracting Partners UKPRN - NEW 12

Learning Aim Withdrawal Reason – NEW 13

GCSE Maths & English Prior Attainment Levels - NEW 14

Changes to Recording A Levels - CHANGE 15

Preparing the Post 16 Data for the School Census 16

Running the School Census 18

Using the Detailed Reports to Check your Learning Aims Data 19

Further Support 20

Further Information 21

Annex A – Examples of Recording A Levels 22

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New Items and Changes to Existing Items

The following items are new to the Autumn Census 2015 for Post 16 learning aims;

Learning Aim Withdrawal Reason - a reason for withdrawal will be captured where learning aims have a completion status of withdrawn in 2015/16.

Learning Aims - Prior Attainment – the prior attainment achieved in GCSE English and Maths is collected for each pupil in year 12 and above, as well as when the prior attainment was achieved.

Learning Aims - Sub-contracting partners UKPRN – the UKPRN (UK Provider Registration Number) is collected for any learning that is sub-contracted out by the school to be provided by a partner organisation (which includes another school).

The following are changes to existing items in the Autumn Census for Post 16 learning aims;

Learning Aims Collected – information on all learning aims is being collected in this Autumn Census regardless of their duration. Learning aims that did not reach the funding qualifying period should also be included. Please see page 3 for further information.

Maths & English Condition of Funding - there is a new condition of funding relating to students who have a grade D or equivalent Maths and/or English, with the 2014/15 condition continuing for those who don’t meet the new criteria. Further information can be found in the “Maths and English Condition of Funding” section on page 11.

Changes to Recording A Levels - from August 2015 new linear A-levels will be introduced in a number of subject areas with all external assessment at the end of the course. The AS will be decoupled from the A-level, which means that AS marks will not count towards the A-level. Learners do not need to enter for an AS level in order to pursue a subject to A-level. Please see section “Changes to Recording A Levels” on page 15.

Why is this collection needed?

Learning Aims data will be used by the EFA to calculate funding. As a result this data is subject to audit. It is also used to calculate performance measures for schools. Ofsted will use this data in inspections and in their risk assessment processes. Except where otherwise indicated the information required is for students who:

Have been on roll at any point between 1 August 2015 and 1 October 2015 and

Were in National Curriculum Year group (NCY) 12 or above in that period, regardless of their age, and

For whom the school wishes to claim funding from the EFA

Learning Aims (taken for the previous year) are also required for students who:

Have been on roll in school at any point between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015, and

Were in NCY Group 12 or above in that period, regardless of their age, and

For whom the school wishes to claim funding from the EFA

This will include students who have left school prior to the Autumn Term Census day.

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Learning Aims – For completion by all NCY 12 & 13 pupils in 2014/15 and 2015/16

Learning aims are required for any student who is undertaking the majority of their learning at Level 3 or above, as they would be expected to be in actual NCY 12 or above. Students

in NCY 11 or below studying towards some level 3 (or above) qualifications but with the majority of their learning at level 2 (or below) should not be included in the census.

Funding is usually agreed for students who have passed the age of 16 and hold qualifications at least equivalent to a full level 2. This means that EFA will agree to fund those aged under 16 in schools who are studying in the sixth form and who are studying most of their courses at level 3 – For further details please see EFA’s funding guidance. Schools may need to exercise some judgement as to what is meant by the majority of a student’s programme at level 3 or above.

Schools should only include learning aims for those students who have (or had at the time of the learning aims) current or main registration at the school. For dual registered students, funding will only be provided to the main school. All learning aims for dual registered students must therefore be returned by the school which holds the student’s main registration, i.e. the main school should return the learning aims being taken at both the main and subsidiary schools. Subsidiary schools should not submit learning aims in respect of students with subsidiary registration. Which learning aims should be included?

Learning aims should be included in the Autumn School Census if the learning aim finished after 31st July 2014 or is on-going (i.e. the Actual End Date is blank).

All Learning Aims Collected – CHANGE for 2015/16 In addition, all learning aims are being collected in the Autumn 2015 census, regardless of their duration. Learning aims that did not reach the funding qualifying period should also be included (previously, learning aims of less than six weeks duration at census day were not collected). Capita have modified their coding to ensure that they no longer take account of the qualifying period when adding learning aims to the Learning Aims Panel in the School Census. Learning Aims for a duration of less than six weeks will now be included for both 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. Given the amount of changes to learning aims that take place in the first six weeks of the year in most schools the following advice should be borne in mind by schools; 1. Use Curriculum Assignment by Student when sixth form students change learning

aims and ensure that the end date is the system date or a date in the past. Ensure that the correct learning aim status and, where appropriate, from September 2015 onwards, ensure that the correct withdrawal reason is entered. Use the Leavers Routine when sixth form students leave the school and, from September 2015 onwards, ensure that the correct withdrawal reason is entered.

2. If Exceptions are being used in Maintain Course make sure that the corresponding

course membership is for a single day; we will ignore single day actual memberships for Exceptions.

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Re-sits and Re-takes

The Department for Education School Census guidance states that, with the exception of GCSE English and Maths leading to an A* - C grade for those students who have yet to attain that level, re-sits and re-takes are generally not fundable and should not be included as aims or in the planned hours recorded. Further guidance on re-sits (including possible exceptions due to circumstances outside of the student or school’s control) can be found in the EFA Funding Regulations at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447126/EFA_Funding_guidance_2015_to_2016.pdf Note: The minimum study programme duration for funding purposes is two weeks where the planned length of year is 2 – 24 weeks, or six weeks where the planned length is 24 weeks or more. The eligibility for funding are shown below, however all aims regardless of duration are included in the data return.

Study programme planned hours and planned length in-year

Qualifying period

450 hours or more 6 weeks (42 days)

Fewer than 450 hours >= 24 weeks 6 weeks (42 days)

2 to 24 weeks 2 weeks (14 days)

What Learning Aims data is needed?

The following data items comprise this module

Qualification Accreditation Number (QAN)

Discount Code

Learning Aim Start Date

Learning Aim Planned End Date

Learning Aim Status

Learning Aim Actual End Date

Partnership UKPRN Please note: The School Census generates Learning Aims Reports for On Roll pupils and No Longer On Roll pupils (available via Detail Reports) that will allow you to view and print this information. It is important that you check this report meticulously as this data is used for you Post-16 funding.

QANs and Discount Codes

Every course of study leading to any level of qualification that is funded will have been allocated a QAN and discount code. The QAN specifies the qualification offered and the discount code identifies the subject covered. It is essential that the correct QAN for the learning aim is returned in the School Census. A comprehensive list of QANs (with associated date) is available via the QAN Web Services (QWS) website at https://collectdata.education.gov.uk/qwsweb/default.aspx Please check this site regularly to ensure you have the latest version downloaded. Most matching is achieved via the QAN reference, but discount codes are used in the process for some qualifications and it is important they are correct. In some cases they are the only way to distinguish between related qualifications that share a QAN (i.e. multiple pathway qualifications). For example a QAN for Art & Design may cover qualifications in Fine Art, Photography and Art History. Following the Wolf review there are some

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qualifications where different discount codes are used for KS4 and for post-16. The discount codes on QWS are, in all cases, the post-16 codes and these codes should be used in the school census return. It is possible that data files from awarding bodies may use the KS4 codes. The discount codes in the RaiseOnline document library https://www.raiseonline.org/documentlibrary/ViewDocumentLibrary.aspx will show the KS4 code and the Post-16 code, under the title of “Original Discount Code”, and this may be useful if your MIS is trying to match awarding organisation data to learning aims data. If this causes you any difficulty the DfE advises that you contact your software supplier (e.g. ScoMIS) who may be able to advise on the best course of action. If in doubt please use the QWS discount code. Students should not start on any course after the approval end date has passed, unless they are re-taking the course. Even for re-takes the final assessment or examination must be taken before the certification end date.

Care should also be taken when selecting a QAN as a new learning aim where the Approval End Date is near expiry. Schools should check with awarding organisations to find out whether the qualification is being extended, or if a new (or successor) qualification is available which the awarding organisation intends to use for examinations.

QWS will be cleansed on a regular basis of all QANs where the Certification End Date has passed.

The DfE’s Section 96 database at http://www.education.gov.uk/section96/ is another source of information about QANs. It provides information on all those QANs that have been approved for funding. Schools may wish to use Section 96 to check the approval status of qualifications. Section 96 is a more definitive source of QAN information than QWS and is updated earlier. QWS data is derived from that on Section 96 and is consequently slower to show changes. Section 96 does not however show discount codes, or give breakdowns of multiple pathway qualifications and so QWS must be used to obtain these. The DfE should be grateful if any major discrepancies between QWS and Section 96 that prevent a school from correctly returning post-16 learning aims information in the census eg a QAN appears on Section 96 but not QWS are reported to them via a service request form https://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/stats/requestform Please note that Section 96 uses the term “Archive Date” rather than “Approval End Date” which is used on QWS, but these dates should be the same.

As some qualifications may be approved on Section 96 but not eligible for EFA funding, to ascertain the EFA funding status of a qualification you should refer to the Learning Aims Reference Service http://data.gov.uk/dataset/learning-aim-reference-service Learning Aim Start Date

The date on which the student began the learning activity necessary to achieve the learning aim. This date should not be later than the census date (1 October 2015). Learning Aim Planned End Date

The planned end date is the date by which the school and student plan to complete the activities related to the learning aim, as agreed when the learning commenced. It will therefore reflect the length of the course being and should remain unchanged throughout the duration of the learning aim unless it has been entered in error. Where the learning aim finishes before or after the planned end date this would be reflected in the actual end date, the planned end date should NOT be changed.

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The planned end date should not be more than 5 years after the start date and should be on or before 31 July in the academic year in which the learning aim is planned to end. The planned end date is used to identify the cohort of students in the calculation of performance measures and is also used by the EFA to determine whether students qualify for 16-19 funding. It is therefore important that this date is in the correct academic year. If schools are unsure of the exact planned end date for a learning aim at the beginning of the learning aim, they may simply use 31 July. AS levels normally have a one year planned end date e.g. a student starting an AS level in September 2014 would normally have a planned end date of 31 July 2015. Any subsequent A level would be shown as a new learning aim in the 2015 to 2016 School Census. However, due to the introduction of the new linear A Levels, the way A Levels are to be recorded is changing. For further information please see section “Changes to Recording A Levels”.

Learning Aim Status

This should reflect the status of the learning aim at the time of the Autumn Census (1 Oct 2015). There are four possible values for completion status; 1 - The learner is continuing or intending to continue the learning activities leading to the learning aim

2 - The learner has completed the learning activities leading to the learning aim.

3 - The learner has withdrawn from the learning activities leading to the learning aim

4 - The learner has transferred to a new learning aim. That is, the learner has withdrawn from this learning aim and as a direct result has, at the same time, started studying for another learning aim within the same provider. Learning Aim Actual End Date The date that the student completed the learning activities or the date they withdrew or transferred from their learning activities. This should include time for examinations and assessment. Unless a student has completed, withdrawn or transferred to another learning aim prior to the Census Day then the Learning Aim Actual End Date should be left blank.

Planned Hours – Planned Learning Hours and Planned employability, enrichment & pastoral hours – For completion by all NCY 12 & 13 pupils 2015/16

The 2015 autumn census only collects one set of hours for students on roll in the on-going academic year (2015/16). All planned hours data are collected and returned by the school which holds the pupil’s ‘main’ registration. Where a pupil is dually registered, the school with the ‘main’ registration will make the return: i.e. if school ‘A’ holds the main registration and has 120 planned hours and school ‘B’ (subsidiary registration) has 250 planned hours, the return would be made by school ‘A’ (370 planned hours), with school ‘B’ making no return for planned hours (or post 16 learning aims for the pupil). Planned hours are split into two categories, ‘planned learning hours’ and ‘planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours’ each of which are described in more detail below. These fields collect the planned hours for each student for the whole academic year.

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This information can be manually input or brought forward from SIMS Course Manager via Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Maintain Programmes of Study. Please be cautious if you are bringing data forward from Course Manager as it will include retakes which should not generally be included in qualification hours.

If you click on the Report option you will see the following which will allow you to more easily check your data and identify any errors e.g. the inclusion of planned hours for retakes. Please remember this information is subject to audit so accuracy is essential.

Note: for the current Autumn 2015 census this data must be completed at the start of the academic year with the planned hours for the year. Last year’s Autumn 2014 Census collected information for the previous year, but this was a one off requirement for the Autumn 14 Census alone. The previous year’s data is not required for Autumn 2015.

Qualification Hours (i.e. Planned Learning Hours)

This field should be completed with the total planned timetabled and supervised hours, for the student for the current academic year, spent on EFA funded qualifications only. Timetabled hours for learning aims that are not funded by the EFA must not be included in the total number of hours recorded in this field.

The value in this field must be finalised and confirmed as correct within the funding qualifying start period as defined in the EFA funding documentation. No changes are permitted to the data in this field after this time apart from to correct data entered in error. If the student withdraws from a qualification before the qualifying start period then the hours for that qualification should not be included in this field. There should still be a learning aim record for the withdrawn qualification.

Select Academic Year

Click here to bring Qualification Hours from Course Manager

Qualification and Non-qualification hours can

be entered or amended here

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Where a student progresses to subsequent learning in the same teaching year, after completing all the activities on their original learning agreement or plan, the EFA has set out in their funding documentation exceptional circumstances in which schools may change the planned hours to reflect this additional learning.

Planned Learning Hours are those that are timetabled, organised and/or supervised by the school and take place within the school’s normal working pattern to deliver the programme of study.

Where students are allowed time away from the institution’s premises to revise and prepare for exams, this must also meet the criteria of being planned, being explicit in the student’s timetable, and supervised and/or organised by a member of staff. Study leave should be time limited and the weekly number of hours should not exceed the student’s planned weekly hours for the overall study programme. Study leave should be supervised or organised by the school, for example by requiring the completion of structured revision or practice papers that are marked by a member of staff and where the student is given feedback. These hours can be counted for both years 12 and year 13. The time when the student is taking the exam can also be included in the total planned hours.

Non Qualification Hours (i.e. planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours)

This field should be completed with the total planned timetabled and supervised employability, enrichment and pastoral hours for the student for the current teaching year. These are the planned hours for the year at the start of the programme. This data is NOT to be updated in year.

Include in this field all planned, timetabled hours included in the study programme that are not included in the planned learning hours field. The total of both hours fields are used to determine the full or part time funding rate for the student.

This field must be finalised and confirmed as correct within the funding qualifying start period as defined in the funding documentation. No changes are permitted to the data in this field after this time period apart from to correct data entered in error.

Where a student progresses to subsequent learning in the same teaching year, after completing all the activities on their original learning agreement or plan, the EFA has set out in their funding documentation exceptional circumstances in which providers may change the planned hours to reflect this additional learning.

What can be included in Non Qualification Hours?

Work experience, including Traineeships, supported internships, or other work-related learning or activities are designed to help students secure experience, job-related or specialist skills of direct benefit to their future employment or study goals. Work experience and supported internships which the provider has planned, organised and supervised will be recorded as “non-qualification activity” and will be identified in data returns as one of six work experience learning aims to indicate the length of the work experience. Many students will also look for work experience opportunities independently, or take part time jobs and in such cases this independent work experience or part time work would not be funded as part of a study programme.

Personal and social development activity is included as part of the non-qualification activity provided it is planned, timetabled, organised and/or supervised. Any virtual learning element of the study programme should be planned, timetabled and organised by the school.

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Other activity, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, that might lead to an award but is not listed on S96 will not count towards qualification hours, but can count towards non-qualification hours.

The following should not be included in Planned Learning Hours:

Voluntary extracurricular activities and clubs that operate during breaks or outside the institution’s normal working day.

Study that is homework or independent study/research that is not timetabled.

Time spent in employment and or work experience organised by anyone other than by or on behalf of the organisation.

Time spent on volunteering and/or community activities that are not organised by or on behalf of the institution.

Retakes or resits (except for Maths and English) Note: Further information on planned hours can be found in the Department for Education’s 16 to 19 funding: planned hours in study programme available via the following;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-planned-hours-in-study-programmes

Core aim – only for completion by students on a vocational EFA funded study programme in NCY 12 and 13 during 2014/15 and 2015/16

This field must be used to identify the core aim within a vocational EFA funded study programme for students on roll from 1 August 2014 onwards (including those continuing from the 2013 to 2014 academic year). As the autumn census collects learning aims taken in the previous and current academic year this will mean that a core aim should be returned for each year where a vocational EFA funded study programme is being followed.

If a pupil is following an academic programme a core aim does not need to be identified. Students on mixed academic and vocational studies must have a core aim identified.

It is quite possible for students to have a different core aim for 2014/15 than 2015/16. Course Manager allows only one course of study per student to be flagged as a core aim per academic year.

For those programmes that are a combination of vocational and academic qualifications, schools will determine whether it is an academic or vocational programme by deciding the core purpose of the study programme. This will normally reflect the majority of the planned hours. If the majority of planned hours are for the vocational qualification, then the core aim is vocational. If the majority of planned hours are academic in the mixed programme, then the core aim is academic.

General Studies and Critical Thinking A levels should not be recorded as core aims as the Department for Education do not consider them to be substantial. (Planned hours associated with A Levels in Critical Thinking and General Studies should be included in the total for the purposes of determining the planned programme hours.).

The core aim is the substantive vocational learning aim being undertaken in a student’s programme of study. Should a pupil withdraw from the core aim, the core aim should only be reassigned where the new core aim is clearly demonstrable to be a substantial and core component of the learner’s study programme. If an alternative aim that meets these criteria cannot be identified, the withdrawn aim should remain as the core aim.

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It is expected that schools will be able to identify the substantive learning aim for the pupil at the start of their study programme. If the core aim is unknown by the end of the funding qualifying period, then another aim should be designated as core until the substantive learning aim is decided upon and recorded. The aim type should then be re-assigned. The core aim must be finalised by the end of the teaching year.

The table below indicates those qualification types that are academic. If the student’s core aim is not one of the listed types then their programme is vocational. For school census purposes if the core aim is not returned for a student, their programme will be deemed academic.

Level Qualification Types

3 GCEs: AS, A2, A with AS levels; double awards count as two academic qualifications (General Studies and Critical Thinking are excluded)

IB Diploma

IB Certificates

Cambridge Pre-U Diploma

Access to HE Diploma

2 GCSEs – including vocational

GCSE short courses

Free standing maths qualifications (FSMQs)

Further information on core aims can be found in the Department for Education’s guidance on 16 to 19 Funding: core aims in study programmes at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-core-aims-in-study-programmes#study-programmes.

How to Allocate Core Aims in Sims

Core Aims can be allocated at individual pupil level in SIMS via Focus | Student | Courses where you search for the relevant student. Alternatively the core aim can be allocated for groups of pupils via Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Maintain Course and use Find Course. This second option will also let you select individual students studying the course. See Capita guidance pages 18-21 for detailed instructions, available from the ScoMIS website http://news.scomis.org/new4128/ (Preparing Post 16 Data for the School Census Autumn 2015 Return).

Students in full-time employment

Students in NCY 12 or higher on roll on census day

Under the raising the participation age (RPA) policy post-16 pupils must be in full-time education/training unless they are in full-time employment (20 hours or more per week). Where a young person’s employment hours vary, employment of an average of 40 or more hours over a two week period can be considered as meeting the requirement. Part-time work (eg a weekend or evening job) is not affected by these requirements. This field indicates those pupils who are in full-time employment and are therefore eligible for part-time education/training, which will be collected each term.

Full details on the RPA policy are available on the DfE website https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-opportunities-for-young-people-and-helping-them-to-achieve-their-potential )

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The LA does not anticipate that there will be many schools who have students on roll who are also deemed to be in full-time employment. However, if the situation does arise please enter the relevant information against the student’s record in SIMS (click on the Additional Information hyperlink and go to Post 16 Employment at the bottom of the screen);

Student Details | Section 9 Additional Information | Post 16 Employment (last panel)

Any students who have been recorded as being in full-time employment will be indicated as such on the School Census Detail Report: Programmes of Study.

Maths & English Condition of Funding

Students on roll in NCY12 or higher on census day

The teaching of English and Maths qualifications is a condition of funding for students undertaking new study programmes who do not hold an A*-C in these subjects and are studying for 150 hours or more in the academic year. Please note: any students who do not meet the following conditions will be removed from lagged student numbers for future years. New Condition for 2015/16 – Grade D Requirement

Full time students (those on a study programme of at least 540 planned hours if age 16 to 17 or at least 450 hours if age 18) starting their study programme who have a grade D GCSE or equivalent qualification in Maths and/or English must be enrolled on a GCSE or approved IGCSE qualification, rather than an approved stepping stone qualification.

A student who has grade D in both Maths and in English will need to be enrolled on GCSE or approved IGCSE in both subjects in each academic year and is required to continue to study until they achieve at least a grade C. Students commencing their study programme in autumn 2015 and planning to follow a two year GCSE course must enrol on a new GCSE qualification because the current GCSEs will not be available when students are examined in June 2017. The last examination for the existing GCSE will be in June 2016 with retakes in November 2016.

Students with prior attainment of grade D, including those with learning difficulties or disabilities, should be capable of improving their grade with the right teaching and support. Institutions have flexibility over the length of time to prepare students for GCSE, can provide extra support and give the student time to reach their potential. Continuing Condition from 2014/15

For students who do not have a GCSE at grade A*-C and are not covered by the 2015/16 condition above, the 2014/15 condition continues to apply. For these students the condition of funding will be met if students are enrolled to take either a GCSE or a Level 1/Level 2 certificates (approved IGCSE) counting towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure, or an approved stepping stone qualification. To count as enrolled on a qualification that meets the condition of funding these students must meet the qualifying period for funding (6 weeks for a qualification with a planned length of 24 weeks or more and 2 weeks for a qualification with a planned length of less

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than 24 weeks) against the Maths and/or English aim. The condition of funding relates to enrolments rather than exam entries, this provides flexibility for providers to determine when best for a student to be entered for and sit an exam. Exemptions

There are a small number of students who are not able to take a GCSE or a stepping stone qualification, for example those with multiple and complex needs. These students can be exempt from studying qualifications but appropriate literacy and numeracy should still be included in their study programme. Students who have studied in a country that does not provide GCSEs are also potentially exempt from the condition of funding where the overseas qualifications they hold are established as equivalent to GCSE grade C. If a post-16 student achieves a GCSE A*-C or qualification deemed as equivalent by other means, e.g. entering for, and studying a qualification outside of their study programme, then they will have met the condition of funding for the remainder of their study programme.

Qualifications Meeting the Condition of Funding

The list of qualifications that meet the condition of funding will be maintained throughout the academic year on the Learning Aim Reference Service (LARS), accessible via the following weblink https://hub.imservices.org.uk/Learning%20Aims/Pages/default.aspx. From the learning aims search screen in the LARS users can retrieve a comprehensive, up to date list of maths and English qualifications that meet the condition of funding by using the English qualification validity for EFA Funding condition and Maths qualification validity for EFA Funding condition filters on the search screen. The list will be updated monthly reflecting any changes to existing qualifications and any new qualifications meeting the condition. Schools should refer to LARS for an up to date list of qualifications.

Guidance on how to access the information in LARS is also available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/condition-of-funding-on-maths-and-english-qualifications-list

Schools should check the qualification validity with the relevant awarding organisation before enrolling a student on the qualification: awarding organisations may make changes to qualifications that could shorten their effective length, extend their effective length or mean they are no longer valid for delivery at all. Further information regarding the Maths and English condition of funding (including exemptions to the condition and rules pertaining to foreign equivalent qualifications) can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maths-and-english-conditions-of-funding-post-16.

Partner Sub-contracting UKPRN – NEW

Where learning is sub-contracted out by the school to another organisation (including other schools), the sub-contracting partner UKPRN (UK Provider Register Number) must be recorded against the learning aim(s) sub-contracted to the partner.

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Where a UKPRN is present, this confirms that learning was sub-contracted to be provided by a partner organisation with the individual UKPRN number identifying the partner learning provider. Where learning is provided by another school, the UKPRN of that school is used. Note: If your school delivers all the learning aims for your post 16 students, no action needs to be taken. If you need to record a UKPRN, go to https://www.ukrlp.co.uk to find the UKPRN. Then in sims;

go to Tools | Academic Management | Maintain Course Classification

in the Classification Codeset, select Provider UKPRN and click on New on the right hand side of the screen

in the Code field type in the UKPRN and in the Description field type in the name of the school and then click ok. Click on save and then ok.

open the Course in Maintain Course (via Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager)

Go to Panel 4. Classification and click on New, select the Provider UKPRN as the Codeset to add the Provider and Save the Details.

NB if the provider differs for students in the same course then the UKPRN will need to be added to the students in Panel 7. Memberships and Results (column to the right of the Panel).

Learning Aim Withdrawal Reason – NEW

This item is being collected for the first time in this Autumn Census and is only required for learning aims with a completion status of withdrawn in 2015/16 (there is no need to backdate if you have withdrawals in the 2014/15 year). When a pupil has withdrawn from a learning aim the learning aim is recorded with a completion status of withdrawn and a reason for withdrawal should now also be recorded (where the learning aim ended in 2015/16).

The reason which most closely matches the reason for the student leaving the course is selected from the list of options. If more than one reason applies the one which is considered to be the main driver for the withdrawal is selected. Unless a student has withdrawn from the learning aim prior to census day, the learning aim withdrawal reason is left blank.

The Department for Education monitors non-completion of courses to calculate the completion and attainment accountability measure for ‘tech levels’ and level 2 vocational courses using this data. Students withdrawing from these courses to take up apprenticeship, traineeship or supported internship placements are excluded from the measure.

For 2015-16 this is for learning aims started at the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year. For future years, this will be for students who withdraw following the 6 week qualifying period.

In sims, the options for Withdrawal Reason appear when you end a membership to a class through the Curriculum link in the student’s record. Alternately, go to Panel 7. Students and Memberships in a Course via Tools | Academic Management | Course Manager | Maintain Course. There is an extra column called “Reason” which can be updated.

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Prior Attainment for GCSE Maths and English – NEW

This item is being collected for the first time in the Autumn Census. The prior attainment (grade achieved) in GCSE Maths and English must be recorded for each NCY 12 and above pupil who has at least one learning aim. It records the grade achieved and when it was achieved. The grade will be used to determine whether or not a student is required to undertake an approved English or Maths GCSE or stepping stone qualification in order to meet the condition of funding on English and Mathematics. Any student who has not achieved GCSE A*-C or equivalent qualifications by age 16 will need to continue to study Maths and / or English in each academic year until they achieve at least a grade C or are no longer EFA funded. From 2015/16 students with a GCSE grade D or equivalent qualification in English or Maths must be enrolled on a GCSE or approved IGCSE qualification, rather than an approved steppingstone qualification in the appropriate subject in order to meet the condition of funding. Those students with GCSE prior attainment below grade D can undertake an approved GCSE or stepping stone qualification (where appropriate) in order to meet the condition of funding. The prior attainment data is used to determine whether or not a pupil generates block 2 funding as part of the disadvantage element of the 16-19 funding formula. Further information on disadvantage funding can be found in the EFA Rates and Formula guide at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-rates-and-formula.

There are two exemptions to this condition of funding (which is also captured in the Census):

1) A student’s learning difficulty prevents them studying at this level, supported by an evidenced assessment (that the high needs student cannot benefit from studying an approved maths and English qualification) by a professional in the education institution if, and only if, the student has a statement of SEN or an education, health and care plan (EHCP)

2) A student’s overseas qualification is equivalent to a grade A*, A, B or C GCSE. Institutions are required to establish that the qualification is a suitable equivalent and that the student possesses the necessary competency in the subject in question. Overseas qualification equivalents are to be determined by using the UK’s national agency responsible for providing information and opinion on academic, vocational and professional qualifications from across the world, the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC)

Additionally a student who does not hold a GCSE in English or Maths may meet the condition of funding by holding an approved UK qualification equivalent to a GCSE grade A*, A, B or C in each of these subjects. Please refer to the 16-19 Funding: Maths and English condition of funding guidance on .GOV.UK for more information, available at https://www.gov.uk/16-to-19-funding-maths-and-english-condition-of-funding. Please note: Students not meeting the condition of funding will be removed from lagged funding numbers in future allocations. Prior Attainment information can be viewed and edited in sims via | Tools | Statutory Return Tools | Update Prior Attainment;

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When populating the Prior Attainment panel with data from Examinations Organiser, the criteria used is as follows:

GCSE English - Discount Codes 5110, 5010, 5030, FC4, FK2A, FK2B GCSE Maths - Discount Codes 2210, 2214, 2212, RB1, RB1G, RB7J

If the student is new to sixth form and has taken these exams while on roll at another school, results can be entered manually in this panel.

Changes to Recording ‘A’ Levels

From August 2015, new linear A-levels will be introduced in a number of subject areas with all external assessment at the end of the course. The AS will be decoupled from the A-level, which means that AS marks will not count towards the A-level. Learners do not need to enter for an AS level in order to pursue a subject to A-level.

For further information please see https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reforming-qualifications-and-the-curriculum-to-better-prepare-pupils-for-life-after-school/supporting-pages/a-and-as-level-reform and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/reform-of-as-and-a-level-qualifications-by-ofqual . How will this affect the recording of A-levels?

From 2015, with linear qualifications, schools can choose between three approaches:

where a learner is studying towards an A-level and is not intending to sit the AS level, the school should record the A-level for the first year with a learning aim planned end date reflecting the planned two year length of the course, e.g. for a student starting an A-level in September 2015 the start date would be 01/09/2015 and the planned end date would be 31/07/2017

where a learner is planning to enter for the AS level as well as for the A-level, the school should record the AS-level for the first year with a learning aim planned end date reflecting the planned one year length of the course, e.g. for a student starting an AS-level in September 2015 the start date would be 01/09/2015 and the planned end date would be 31/07/2016. Assuming the learner goes on to the A-level the school should, in 2016, record the A-level as a one year course, ie the start date would be 01/09/2016 and the planned end date would be 31/07/2017

where a learner is only planning to complete the AS level the school should record the AS-level with a start date of 01/09/2015 and a planned end date of 31/07/2016. Should the learner decide to go on to do the A-level as well, the A-level should be recorded in 2016, as in the above case

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In all cases, providers should accurately record the learning aim that a learner is working towards; either an AS or A-level learning aim. Are there any funding implications?

For EFA funded A levels, no funding adjustment is required, as these are funded through the EFA’s funding per student methodology which uses planned hours for the year to determine funding levels. Transfers and withdrawals

Where a learner changes the AS or A level learning aim that they are working towards, or withdraws from the learning aim, this should be recorded in the usual way on the school census. Examples

Examples illustrating how some different scenarios should be recorded can be found in Annex A at the end of this document. Recording in SIMS Information on how to record this in sims can be found on the ScoMIS website via the following links; Changes in sims to deal with 2 year A levels: http://faq.scomis.org/kb4153/ New Levels for 2 year A Level Courses: http://faq.scomis.org/kb15271/

Preparing the Post 16 Data for the School Census

Before you begin your school census your Examination Results should have been downloaded into the Examinations module and the latest QAN and Outcome file should have been imported.

It is also important to ensure that the data entered in Course Manager is up-to-date, which includes;

Core Aim for students on vocational courses

Planned Hours (Qual and Non-Qual) before starting the return

Prior Attainment for GCSE English and Maths

Reason for withdrawal (where withdrawn in 2015/16)

Note: The QAN catalogue is downloadable from the QWS website as detailed below and should be imported via Tools | Examinations | Import Qualification Data.

QAN catalogue: https://collectdata.education.gov.uk/qwsweb/default.aspx

For step by step instructions on importing the latest QAN catalogue please see ScoMIS website, via the following link http://faq.scomis.org/kb12294

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Even though the entire QWS QAN catalogue has been downloaded and imported, not all of them may be available initially in Course Manager, e.g. a new course. To make a QAN code available for selection, go to Tools | Statutory Return Tools | Update QANs and Discount Codes for Course Manager;

Use the filters to search by Board, Title, QAN and/or Level, for example:

Once you have highlighted the required QAN click Add, then click Update to make the QAN available to link to a course;

Click here to Add

Click Update

Use the filters here

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Running the School Census

To run your School Census, go to Routines | Statutory Returns | School Census Click New, then Calculate All Details as normal. The following screen appears where you need to select “populate planned end date from previous returns” and then select the Autumn 2014 Census file;

Note:

if you have more than one version of the previous year’s census please ensure you select the correct one

please do not change the selected source. The option to Populate planned end dates from course manager is only useful if there were a significant number of errors in last year’s census.

Please read the standard Autumn School Census Quick Guide for information on panels 1-5. Once you have completed Panels 1 to 5 scroll down to Panel 6. Learning Aims (or use the quick link). The following information will be displayed in the Learning Aims Panel;

There are several routines that will assist you with checking your information:

Compare with Course Manager - This enables you to compare against the data held in Course Manager in order to identify and resolve any discrepancies.

Compare with Previous Autumn – This report will highlight any differences between the information in Panel 6 (not Course Manager) and the Census information submitted last Autumn e.g. in Planned End Dates

Click to highlight

Click OK

Core Aims only be completed for vocational qualifications.

Click to select

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Using the Reports to Check your Learning Aims Data

There are five reports that are available once you have Created and Validated the return (they are available within the Detailed Reports option in the Census);

On Roll Learning Aims Report – provides information contained in Panel 6 Learning Aims, including QAN, discount code, start and end dates, withdrawal reason and core aim (where applicable) – for pupils on roll

Leavers Learning Aims Report – provides information contained in Panel 6 Learning Aims, including QAN, discount code, start and end dates, withdrawal reason and core aim (where applicable) – for pupils no longer on roll

Learning Aims by Status Report - this is a Summary report providing information on the number of learning aims in use for each academic year and the number of aims completed, continuing, withdrawn and transferred.

Programmes of Study Report - this shows a breakdown of Planned Hours (Qualification Hours and non-Qualification hours) in 2015/16 and includes information on students’ full-time employment status.

Prior Attainment Report – provides information on the prior attainment grades in Maths and English and any funding exemptions that apply.

Whilst there are a variety of ways of searching for pupils, QANs etc. within the Learning Aims Panel, as all of these reports will be in your SIMS\STAR\ASCout folder it might be easier to use Excel to check your data. If you go into Excel and open them from that folder you will be able sort or filter the data in ways that will help you identify problems. Alternatively, once you have opened the reports in the census you can export them to Excel. Simply hover over the report, right click your mouse and select “Export to Microsoft Excel” from the available options. Note: if you wish to edit any of the information in Panel 6 Learning Aims you will need to unlock the Panel by clicking on the padlock icon to the right of the Panel. However this is not recommended as amendments made in the census are not transferred back into sims. The data should be amended within Course Manager and then Panel 6 Learning Aims should be recalculated. Remember that the Create and Validate routine may also highlight some additional errors or queries with your sixth form data. There are two other reports that you may find useful, under Tools | Statutory Return Tools. These are:

Reconcile Post 16 Course and Exam Results

Reconcile Post 16 Course and Exam entries

Further Support

If you require assistance in amending your data in Course Manager or the Examinations Module (including the QAN file) and you have a Service Level Agreement with ScoMIS please contact them on 01392 385300.

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Further Information

If you wish to refer to the full guidance provided by the DfE, EFA and CAPITA please use the links below:

Department for Education, School Census 2015 to 2016 Guide, Section 4.10:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-census-2015-to-2016-guide-for-schools-and-las

Education Funding Agency, Advice: funding regulations for post 16 provision 2015 to 2016;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-funding-regulations-for-post-16-provision

Capita (via ScoMIS website): http://news.scomis.org/new4128/

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Annex A – Examples on Recording A Levels

The following examples illustrate how some different scenarios should be recorded in respect to the new linear A levels being introduced from August 2015

Change

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Change

Change

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Change

Change