General FAQs

1. Is there an ILR form for the Foundation Learning Programme?

2. When is an employer number required in the Employer Identifier field?

3. How should a learner who turns 19 during their learning aim or programme be recorded?

4. Is the Unique Learner Number mandatory for all learners?

5. How should learners who are 16-18 be recorded in the Eligibility for Enhanced Employer Responsive Funding field?

6. How should the Contracting Organisation Code field be completed for 16-18 funded learning aims?

7. How should Additional Learning Support (ALS) costs of more than £19,000 be recorded?

8. How should agreed breaks in learning for Learner Responsive learners be recorded?

9. If a new learning aim was opened for a Learner Responsive learner after returning from an agreed break in learning, how will the learning aims be treated for success rates?

10. How long can a proxy aim be used for?

11. Invalid postcodes - why is there no automatic default? Currently, 80% of 'invalid' postcodes are valid, e.g. they are new postcodes. However, the provider has to enter a temporary postcode of ZZ99 ZZZ and then re-enter the original postcode once it has been verified, which creates burden.

12. Why does a college need to make monthly returns for 16-18 Apprenticeships when the rest of its returns are quarterly?

13. Are there plans to ask colleges to send data through the ILR for 14-16 learners funded directly by a school?

14. Are there any changes planned in relation to Functional Skills being included in success rates?

15. Where learners have been transferred into a provider due to Minimum Contract Levels, should they be excluded from the new provider's Period 13 return?

16. How should the Planned Group-based Hours and Planned One-to-one Contact Hours be recorded in 2011/12?

17. How should the Source of funding and Contracting organisation code fields be recorded for the different funding models?

18. How should classroom based learning delivered by training organisations funded through the Adult Skills Budget be recorded in the ILR?

19. What is the guidance about recording employment outcomes in the 2011/12 ILR? (NEW)

20. How do I transfer an LR funded learner onto an Apprenticeship? (NEW)

1. Is there an ILR form for the Foundation Learning Programme?

There is no form for collecting ILR data for Learner Responsive funded learning aims (this includes Foundation Learning). Providers are expected to capture the data needed in the most appropriate way to support their own business processes, and create their own enrolment forms, if required. Not all ILR fields need to be captured on paper as providers are likely to store much of this data in their MIS systems. Further information about how to capture ILR data can be obtained from the Provider Support Manual (available from the 2011/12 Guidance and Forms page)..

2. When is an employer number required in the Employer Identifier field (field A44)?

A valid employer number taken from the Employer Data Service (EDS) is required in the Employer Identifier field for all Employer Responsive-funded learners.. This can be obtained from http://edrs.lsc.gov.uk. To obtain a new employer number, you will need to contact Blue Sheep by either calling 01242 545 346 or emailing eds@bluesheep.com.

The Employer identifier field must contain a valid employer number for all Apprenticeship programme aims (unless the learner is unemployed as recorded in the Employment Status field) and all other ER funded learning aims.

A temporary number of 999999999 can be used for up to 60 days from the learning aim start date. After this time, providers must update this field with an employer number.

All employer numbers entered in the Employer ID field will be validated against a table of employer numbers taken from the EDS system. This check will be carried out when the return is uploaded to the Data Service web portal. The LIS will not perform this check.

3. How should a learner who turns 19 during their learning aim or programme be recorded?

Learner Responsive funded learning aims

The learner is paid using the 16-18 Learner Responsive funding model in all years, but the source of funding will need to be updated to indicate that the funding will come from the Skills Funding Agency for learners who are 19+. The exception to this is for sixth form colleges where the learners will continue to be funded by the YPLA for the duration of their learning.

The Funding model field remains recorded with code 21 (16-18 Learner Responsive provision)
The Source of funding Learning Delivery FAM record must be updated at the start of the next academic year following the learner's 19th birthday to code 105 (Skills Funding Agency)
The Full or Co-funding indicator remains recorded as code 1 as the learner continues to be eligible for full funding and does not have to pay tuition fees.

A definition of a 16-18 year old learner is provided in the YPLA Funding Guidance for 2011/12,. This document can be found at http://www.ypla.gov.uk/aboutus/ourwork/guidance/funding/.

Apprenticeships

For 16-18 Apprenticeships, no change to the learner's data is required. They should continue to use the following:

Funding model = 45
Source of funding = 105 (Skills Funding Agency)
Eligibility for enhanced ER funding. This field should not be returned.

4. Is the Unique Learner Number (ULN) mandatory for all learners?

The Unique learner number field must be completed as follows:

All funded learning aims (with a planned or actual duration of 14 days or more), where the learning start date is more than 60 calendar days before the reference date for the return must have a valid ULN except those that are Adult Safeguarded Learning (ASL) funded. This validation rule will be enforced from 1 January 2012 onwards. Prior to this date, providers will receive validation warnings for records that do not contain a ULN.
If you return Employer Responsive funded data using the Provider Online system, then the learning aim start date will be referenced against the date that the record is created or edited rather than a return reference date. A validation error will be generated if the learning aim start date is more than 60 calendar days before the system date.
Providers should also try to obtain a ULN for non-funded learners or learners who are ASL funded. If it is not possible to obtain a ULN, then the value of all 9999999999 is permitted.

All ULNs recorded in the ILR will be validated against a table of ULNs taken from the Learning Records Service. This check will be carried out when the return is uploaded to the Data Service web portal. The LIS will not perform this check.

5. How should learners who are 16-18 be recorded in the Eligibility for Enhanced Employer Responsive Funding field?

If the learner is 16-18 years old at the start of their Apprenticeship programme, or turns 19 during their programme, the Eligibility for Enhanced Employer Responsive Funding Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring field does not need to be returned.

6. How should the Contracting Organisation Code field be completed for 16-18 funded learning aims?

For 16-18 Learner Responsive learning aims contracted and funded by the YPLA in 2011/12, the Contracting organisation code field must contain a YPLA subdivision code as stated on the provider allocation schedule.

This includes provision for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (LLDD) delivered by an Independent Specialist Provider (ISP).

Appendix E to the ILR Specification for 2011/12 contains the YPLA subdivision codes.

7. How should Additional Learning Support (ALS) costs of more than £19,000 be recorded?

If a learner requires ALS with a cost greater than £19,000, then the value should be recorded in the Additional learning support cost field in the normal way. The validation message generated where the ALS cost is greater than £19,000 is a warning only and does not prevent providers entering costs above this amount.

Further information on ALS is available on the YPLA website.

8. How should agreed breaks in learning for Learner Responsive funded learners be recorded?

Where a Learner Responsive funded learner withdraws temporarily on an agreed break in learning, the learning aim should be closed using code 6 in the Completion status field .The use of this code will not affect the funding for the learner, so funding will continue to be generated whilst the learner is absent as long as the learner has passed the initial qualifying period for funding.

When the learner returns from the agreed break, then the original learning aim should be re-opened, by removing the date in the Actual end date field and setting the Completion status field back to code 1 ('The learner is continuing or intending to continue the learning activities leading to the learning aim'). Providers should not start a new learning aim when the learner returns.

The planned end date should not be amended on the original aim.

The learning aim will be counted as a successful outcome if the learner returns and achieves within the expected end year.

9. If a new learning aim was opened for a Learner Responsive funded learner after returning from an agreed break in learning, how will the learning aims be treated for success rates?

If a new learning aim was opened after a Learner Responsive funded learner returned from an agreed break in learning, then the original learning aim will be treated as a withdrawal without success and the new learning aim (if achieved) will count as a successful outcome.

10. How long can a proxy aim be used for?

A proxy aim should only be used as a short term solution until the actual learning aim being undertaken becomes available on LARA. Once the learning aim is available, the Learning aim reference field should be updated with the correct learning aim reference for the learning aim being undertaken and the Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring (FAM) code LDM118 must be removed.

If the learning aim being delivered has not been approved for funding then providers must update the Learning aim reference field and remove the FAM record for code 118. The learning aim must be set to non-funded using code 99 in the Funding Model field.

In all cases, proxy aims must be updated by the end of the academic year or before the learner completes or withdraws from the learning aim. A validation error will be generated where proxy aims are used in the final return of the academic year. This will mean that the learner record will be rejected.

Under no circumstances should providers remove code 118 without updating the Learning aim reference field to indicate the correct learning aim being undertaken by the learner.

11. Invalid postcodes - why is there no automatic default? Currently, 80% of 'invalid' postcodes are valid, e.g. they are new postcodes. However, the provider has to enter a temporary postcode of ZZ99 ZZZ and then re-enter the original postcode once it has been verified, which creates burden.

We recognise that providers were concerned about the additional burden that would be created by stricter validation on postcodes. Therefore, we will not implement tighter validation rules for 2011/12 as planned and are looking at alternatives for 2012/13.

12. Why does a college need to make monthly returns for 16-18 Apprenticeships when the rest of its returns are quarterly?

Since 16-18 Apprenticeships are paid on actual delivery to a monthly timetable, a college needs to send data in for this provision monthly in order to receive timely payment.

13. Are there plans to ask colleges to send data through the ILR for 14-16 learners funded directly by a school?

There are no plans at present to ask providers to send data through the ILR for 14-16 learners funded directly by a school. A provider with such provision should include it in an aggregate return using the ILRSUBCON form.

14. Are there any changes planned in relation to Functional Skills being included in success rates?

Decisions about success rates are made by the YPLA and the Skills Funding Agency. The Data Service recently (July 2011) published the 2010/11 Learner Responsive Qualification Success Rate methodology on its website, which includes the introduction of a secondary measure to include Functional Skills.

15. Where learners have been transferred into a provider due to Minimum Contract Levels, should they be excluded from the new provider's Period 13 return?

Any learner records that have been transferred in from the sub-contractor will need to be excluded from the main contractor’s Period 13 return.

Processes for managing sub-contracting provision will vary between different providers and software suppliers but the code in the National Learner Monitoring field (field L40) that identifies the learners as ‘moved as a result of Minimum Contract Level’ (code 18) could be used to exclude the learners from the return.

A guidance note on the process of transferring learners as a result of MCL is available in the ILR Guidance and Forms for 2011/12 section of the information authority website at: http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_guidance.htm.

16. How should the Planned Group-based Hours and Planned One-to-one Contact Hours be recorded in 2011/12?

Data in the PlanGrpHrs field and PlanOneToOneHrs field will no longer be used by the Skills Funding Agency in 2011/12. However, providers still need to return a value in both these fields for Employer Responsive (ER) funded learning aims in 2011/12 to avoid business rule errors being generated. Providers can therefore either return a value of zero or the number of hours.

If data has already been recorded in these fields (either for continuing learners or learners starting in 2011/12) then this data does not need to be amended.

The PlanGrpHrs and PlanOneToOneHrs fields must not be completed for aims funded by other funding models eg. Learner Responsive, Adult Safeguarded Learning, ESF, etc, otherwise a business rule error will be generated.

The PlanGrpHrs and PlanOneToOneHrs fields will be removed from the ILR for 2012/13.

17. How should the Source of funding and Contracting organisation code fields be recorded for the different funding models?

The completion of the Source of funding and Contracting organisation code fields is dependent on a number of factors including:

Age of learner;
Level of additional learning support costs; and
Funding model

A Guidance document has been published on the 2011/12 ILR Guidance and Forms section of the information authority website at http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_guidance.htm that sets out how the Sources of funding and Contracting organisation code fields should be completed for each of the funding models.

18. How should classroom based learning delivered by training organisations funded through the Adult Skills Budget be recorded in the ILR?

The information authority has produced a guidance document for training organisations (non-colleges) which are delivering classroom based learning aims in 2011/12. It sets outs how these learning aims should be coded in the ILR and is available on the 2011/12 ILR Guidance and Forms section of the information authority website at http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_guidance.htm.

19. What is the guidance about recording employment outcomes in the ILR in 11/12?

The Skills Funding Agency have released the following guidance on recording employment outcomes in the 2011/12 ILR:

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.

20.  How do I transfer an LR funded learner onto an Apprenticeship?

When an LR funded learner wishes to move onto an Apprenticeship programme, there can often be a ‘common aim or aims’ that the learner will continue with as part of the programme. Where this is the case, then all but the ‘common aim(s)’ would be closed and coded as a transfer, using code 40 in the Withdrawal Reason field.

The ‘common aim(s)’ must remain funded through the LR funding model. The planned end date must not be changed even if the learner has now become part time.

The additional aims required for the Apprenticeship framework, including a programme aim, would be added to the learner’s record and will be recorded as ER funded, ie. have a funding model value of 45, and include a programme type and framework code.

New start and planned end dates, for the ER funded programme aim and component aims of the framework, need to be agreed and recorded. Providers should note that the start dates for these aims will be after the start date of the unchanged LR aim.

Where there is no ‘common aim’, all the LR funded aims would be closed and coded as a transfer, using code 40 in the Withdrawal Reason field. New aims for the Apprenticeship framework, including a programme aim, would then be added onto ER using a funding model value of 45, as detailed in the Provider Support Manual.