What has changed?
Effective from the 11th of February 2025, the DFE have announced that for 19+ apprenticeship learners, functional skills qualifications are now optional. This covers both existing
on-programme apprentices and new apprenticeship starts.
Providers have until the 1st of April 2025 to discuss and agree with each employer and adult apprentice if they wish to continue their functional skills qualifications. Whichever option is agreed, it needs to be recorded in the training plan. Where the apprentice is on a break in learning the expectation is as soon as practically possible.
If the decision is to continue with functional skills qualifications, the apprentice must attempt all relevant functional skills assessments but does not now need to pass them to take the EPA.
If the decision is not to continue with functional skills, then the apprentice should be withdrawn from their functional skills Aims in the ILR. The provider should use the date of the last functional skill learning date, the functional skill funding will then be retained, but no further drawdown is available. Where functional skills content is removed from a training plan, the training plan must be re-signed by the employer at the earliest opportunity and no later than the next progress review.
This article will detail the Bud system process, depending on your desired outcome.
Existing 19+ learner NOT continuing with functional skills where no delivery has taken place or can be evidenced. Desired provider outcome is to withdraw the functional skills Aims back to the learning start date and remove the Aims from the ILR.
Follow these steps:
1. Exempt any future functional skills activities directly from the learners learning plan.
2. Complete the ‘signed up edit workflow’ exempt the functional skills, making a note as to why the functional skills are being exempted (this note will be reflected in the new version of the Training Plan as shown below).
3. This will remove the AIMs from the ILR and update the Training Plan with the exemptions, the functional skills activities you have exempted in the learning plan will be removed from the new version of the Training Plan.
4. Recollect all signatures.
Existing 19+ learner NOT continuing with functional skills where no delivery has taken place or can be evidenced. Desired provider outcome is to withdraw the functional skills Aims back to the learning start date and keep the Aims within the ILR.
Follow these steps:
1. Go to ILR reconciliation reports and download/export the 'full learning aims' report. This will give all details of your learners functional skills Aims to repopulate the Aims when added back into the ILR.
2. Exempt any future functional skills activities directly from the learners learning plan.
3. Complete the ‘signed up edit workflow’ exempt the functional skills, making a note as to why the functional skills are being exempted (this note will be reflected in the new version of the Training Plan as shown below).
4. Manually add the component AIMs back into the learners ILR, end details need to be added with the learning start date.
5. The functional skills activities you have exempted in the learning plan will be removed from the new version of the Training Plan.
6. Recollect all signatures.
Existing 19+ learner NOT continuing with functional skills where delivery has taken place. Desired provider outcome is to withdraw the functional skills Aims to the last day of learning and keep the Aims within the ILR to retain funding.
Follow these steps:
1. Go to ILR reconciliation reports and download/export the 'full learning aims' report. This will give all details of your learners functional skills Aims to repopulate the Aims when added back into the ILR.
2. Exempt any future functional skills activities directly from the learners learning plan.
3. Complete the ‘signed up edit workflow’ exempt the functional skills, making a note as to why the functional skills are being exempted (this note will be reflected in the new version of the Training Plan as shown below).
4. Manually add the component AIMs back into the learners ILR, end details need to be added with the last day of learning.
5. The functional skills activities you have exempted in the learning plan will be removed from the new version of the Training Plan.
6. Recollect all signatures.
New 19+ learner NOT undertaking functional skills. Desired provider outcome is to remove functional skills from the Training Plan and ILR at sign up.
Follow these steps:
1. The process in Bud remains as is, exempt the functional skills during applicant sign up making a note as to why they are being exempted, this will be reflected in the Training Plan.
2. Review the programme activities and exempt any relating to functional skills during the applicant sign-up by selecting ‘edit’ and making a note as to why these are being exempted.
3. Complete the sign-up in the normal way, the functional skills Aims will be removed at start from the ILR and the Training Plan.
Process flow to support the above guidance
Related to