FAQ’s Valid Provision

Which bodies assure quality?

OFSTED is the most common Inspectorate and we would expect the majority of LSC funded provision to fall within the OFSTED inspection regime.

We would expect any public quality assurance body to produce a publicly available report following each inspection.

I am a new provider wanting to get EMA for my learners – how do I do this?

Your learning provision must meet the new criteria (above) – you will need to contact your Area LSC representative/Partnership Manager who will instigate the process. Please check the LSC website for details of your nearest LSC office.

The learning provision that we offer is not LSC funded. How do I check whether the learning provision that we offer is accredited by the QCA pursuant to Section 24 of the Education Action 1997 or is approved under Section 98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000?

You can verify QCA accredited programmes at this web address:

http://www.ndaq.org.uk/AdvancedQualificationSearch.aspx

You can verify qualifications under Section 96 here: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/section96/search/search.cfm

You can verify qualifications under Section 97 here: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/section97/search/search.cfm

What is Section 98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000? What is Section 24 of the Education Act 1997?

Section 98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 is effective for the purposes of sections 96 and 97; it describes approved qualifications in England. Section 96 describes external qualifications for persons under 19. Section 97 describes external qualifications for persons over 19. The full act can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000021.htm

Section 24 of the Education Act 1997 describes the functions of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in relation to external vocational and academic qualifications. The full act can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/1997044.htm

I am an existing provider and am already accessing EMA for E2E learners. I have a LSC co-financed ESF programme – can my ESF learners get EMA? How do I access EMA for my ESF learners?

The LSC co-financed provision must meet the new criteria (above). You will need to contact your Area LSC representative/Partnership Manager who will instigate the process – they will also be able to confirm whether this provision meets the inspection requirements. Please note that only your E2E learners can access the E2E programme of study type on the EMA payments system (EMASYS). The ESF learners must be registered using the FE programme of study type on EMASYS.

Why are you trialling extending the scope of valid provision for EMA?

The present definition of which courses and provision are eligible for EMA does not allow us to pay EMA to the most vulnerable learners on schemes designed to draw young people out of the NEET Group. Extending the coverage to include courses that are part financed by the LSC or that lead to a qualification that is either accredited by the QCA or approved by the Secretary of State will bring into scope some courses that are delivered by non main stream institutions. This includes provision that is often is focused on reaching the hardest to reach.

Why are you trialling the extension rather than introducing it as a permanent change?

It is important to evaluate the success of the trial and measure the impact on take up before any final decisions are made.

How will you ensure that all provision in scope is quality controlled?

All provision in scope must come from within a recognised quality control system, i.e. it must be inspected by a public body that assures quality.

What about those providers who are currently administering EMA?

We will not exclude any provision that is currently in scope. However, as part of evaluating the trial, we will develop a definition to be implemented for 08/09. This definition may exclude some existing providers. If so, we will develop appropriate transition arrangements.

Will all provision on Edubase continue to be eligible for EMA?

All providers who have been accepted will continue to be in scope during the Trial. However we will no longer use Edubase as a criterion for adding new providers. All new providers wanting to administer EMA payments during the Trial period will have to meet the Trial criteria.