Further education and training
Section 93: Education and training for persons aged 16 to 19
293.Section 93 sets out the Commission’s duty to secure facilities for education and training for those above the compulsory school age. The duties in this section and sections 95 and 96 are similar to the duties in sections 31 and 32 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (“
294.The section requires the Commission to secure the provision of ‘proper’ facilities for Wales for the education and training of people who are above compulsory school age but have not yet reached the age of 19. Facilities are ‘proper’ if they are of sufficient quantity and adequate quality to meet the reasonable needs of young people. Additionally such facilities must satisfy students’ entitlements to follow courses of study within the local curriculum formed under section 33A of the 2000 Act. “
295.Amendments are made to sections 33A – 33E, 33G, 33I - 33-K, 33N – 33Q of the 2000 Act (see Schedule 4). These confer functions on the Commission which include, amongst other things, responsibilities for forming the local curriculum, the planning and delivery of local curriculum entitlements for learners (including Welsh language provision), and the arrangements for joint working. Other minor and consequential amendments include placing a duty on the Welsh Ministers to consult the Commission when exercising their power to amend the local curricula learning domains and the making of regulations and issuing of guidance.
296.The facilities to be secured for education and training include both full-time and part-time further education and training as well as vocational, social, physical and recreational training (see the definitions in section 144(2) to (5)).
297.The Commission’s duties under this section do not extend to higher education (see paragraphs 277 to 280 for an explanation of the Commission’s powers to fund higher education).
Section 94: Education and training for eligible persons over 19
298.This section requires the Commission to secure proper facilities for Wales for relevant education and training for eligible persons. Facilities are ‘proper’ if they are of sufficient quantity and adequate quality to meet the reasonable needs of eligible individuals. “
299.Welsh Ministers must make regulations describing the relevant further education or training for which the Commission must secure proper facilities. The regulations can, for example, refer to the subjects to be studied or the level of study or the type of qualification to be pursued.
300.An eligible person is one who has attained the age of 19 and falls within a description specified in regulations made by Welsh Ministers. These regulations may, for example, refer to a person’s age, the qualifications they already possess, their income levels, whether they are employed, unemployed, self-employed, etc. The regulations could specify that persons falling within a particular description are eligible in relation to a particular description of further education or training.
301.The facilities to be secured for education and training include both full-time and part-time further education and training as well as vocational, social, physical and recreational training (see the definitions in section 144(2) to (5)).
302.The Commission’s duties under this section do not extend to higher education (see paragraphs 277 to 280 for an explanation of the Commission’s powers to fund higher education).
Section 95: Education and training for persons over 19
303.Section 95 sets out the duty of the Commission to secure the provision of ‘reasonable’ facilities for Wales for the education and training of people 19 and over. Facilities are ‘reasonable’ if they are of a quality and quantity which the Commission can reasonably be expected to provide taking account of the resources available to it. “
304.The facilities to be secured for education and training include both full-time and part-time further education and training as well as vocational, social, physical and recreational training (see the definitions in section 144(2) to (5)). This includes organised activities offering opportunities for non-formal learning which may not lead to a qualification. For example, adult learning opportunities in community settings including education engagement activities.
305.The Commission’s duties under this section do not extend to higher education (see paragraphs 277 to 280 for an explanation of the Commission’s powers to fund higher education).
Section 96: Requirements on Commission when securing further education and training
306.This section sets out various requirements on the Commission when it is discharging its duties under sections 93, 94 and 95.
307.In performing the duties under those sections, the Commission must take into account a number of factors, including the education and training required in different sectors of employment, the needs of employees and potential employees, and the need to provide additional learning provision and assessment of additional learning needs through the medium of Welsh.
308.The Commission must also bear in mind circumstances where it might reasonably expect education and training to be secured by other bodies without drawing on its own resources, for example additional learning needs provision secured by local authorities under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018.
309.The Commission must make best use of its resources and in particular avoid provision which might give rise to disproportionate expenditure. Provision is not to be considered as giving rise to disproportionate expenditure solely because it is more expensive than comparable provision.
Section 97: Financial support for further education or training
310.This section sets out powers for the Welsh Ministers and the Commission to fund further education or training. (See section 144(2) to (5) for the definition of further education and training).
311.The Commission and the Welsh Ministers are able to fund any person to provide further education or training wholly or mainly in Wales and further education or training to learners ordinarily resident in Wales. Additionally they may fund any person to provide goods or services in connection with such further education or training.
312.The Welsh Ministers and the Commission are also able to provide financial support directly to learners and prospective learners who are ordinarily resident in Wales or who are undertaking or proposing to undertake further education or training in Wales. For example, such support could be to assist with transport or childcare costs or to provide incentives to address skills shortages in particular employment sectors in Wales.
313.The Welsh Ministers and the Commission may make financial support available from their resources or arrange for others to provide resources on behalf of the Welsh Ministers or the Commission, or their own resources.
314.Providers of further education who are in receipt of funding from the Commission or the Welsh Ministers may pass funds to a collaborating body. This could include funding for provision outside Wales, for example funding to support further education or training where the learner is ordinarily resident in Wales but elements of their further education or training are delivered by a collaborating organisation in England. A provider funded by the Commission who is collaborating, has collaborated or who proposes to collaborate with another organisation to deliver a particular further education course or courses needs the consent of the Commission to pass funds to the collaborating organisation. The Commission will not have a direct relationship with the collaborating organisation and therefore the provider funded by the Commission remains responsible for the funding. The same applies to funding from the Welsh Ministers under this section. Section 108 contains procedures to be followed when the Commission is deciding whether or not to give consent.
315.The Commission may not fund school sixth forms under subsection (1)(a) or (b) (or make arrangements for a local authority to provide the Commission’s resources to do so). School sixth form provision will be funded by the Commission under section 101.
316.But the Commission may fund (or make arrangements for a local authority to provide the Commission’s resources to fund) innovative activities in maintained schools with sixth forms. An ‘innovative activity’ is an activity that in the Commission’s opinion will contribute to the raising of standards of tertiary education and is described in a document prepared by the Commission and approved by the Welsh Ministers.
Section 98: Financial support for further education or training: further provision
317.If they provide financial support directly to learners under section 97(1)(d) or (e), the Welsh Ministers and the Commission can do so by reference to fees or charges payable by those learners, or by reference to other matters connected with the provision of that further education or training (such as transport or childcare costs).
318.The Welsh Ministers may make regulations requiring providers to be registered in a specified category on the register established under section 25 in order to be eligible for funding under section 97(1)(a) or (b) (provision or proposed provision of further education or training).
319.Those regulations may make exceptions for certain courses or courses of a certain description. The regulations could, for example, describe a course by referring to requirements to be met by it or to the person providing it, or to the qualification to which the course leads.
320.These arrangements would permit gaps in provision for particular subjects or locations to be addressed which may arise due to a lack of registered providers able to fulfil an identified need, for example a need for a specialist course to be delivered in Wales or to be undertaken by small numbers of students ordinarily resident in Wales, which may not be cost effective for registered providers to deliver.
Section 99: Financial resources for further education or training: terms and conditions
321.Where the Welsh Ministers or the Commission provide funding under section 97, this section allows them to impose terms and conditions as they consider appropriate. The Welsh Ministers or the Commission are able to require providers of further education or training to charge fees, make awards, and to recover sums of money against specified criteria. However, learners between the ages of 16 to 19 and eligible learners receiving education and training under section 94 must not be charged a fee for further education or training (unless there is an exception set out in regulations).
322.Where funding for the purpose of providing further education or training is allocated by the Commission to providers that are not on the register, the terms and conditions must require that the provider has an approved learner protection plan in place (where the Commission has given the appropriate notice); complies with the Learner Engagement Code (if it is a tertiary education provider in Wales); and has regard to advice and guidance issued by the Commission.
323.Where the Commission has made arrangements for another person to provide the Commission’s financial resources it may require the person to impose the terms and conditions outlined in paragraph 321 and must require the person to impose those outlined in paragraph 322.
Section 100: Means tests
324.Section 97(1)(g) allows the Commission or the Welsh Ministers to fund the cost of means tests.
325.Section 100 allows the Commission or the Welsh Ministers to carry out such tests themselves or arrange for others to do so on their behalf.
326.The Commission or the Welsh Ministers are able to take into account the outcomes of such tests when allocating financial support under section 97(1)(d) or (e) for persons who are ordinarily resident in Wales who are receiving or proposing to receive further education or training and for persons not ordinarily resident in Wales who are receiving or proposing to receive further education or training in Wales.
Section 101: School sixth-forms
327.This section provides the Commission with the power to fund education provided by school sixth forms maintained by local authorities and impose appropriate terms and conditions similar to those permissible under section 99. Funding under this section is to be made to local authorities and must be applied as part of the authority’s schools budget.
328.The governing body of a maintained school with a sixth form in Wales must comply with the requirements contained in the Learner Engagement Code. A local authority in receipt of funding under this section and the governing body of a maintained school with a sixth form in Wales must also have regard to advice or guidance given by the Commission.
Section 102: Persons with additional learning needs
329.This section requires the Commission to have regard to the needs of people with additional learning needs and the desirability of the availability of facilities that may aid the requirements of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018. The Commission must take these matters into account when it is discharging functions under the following provisions:
section 93 (education and training for persons aged 16 to 19);
section 94 (education and training for eligible persons over 19);
section 95 (education and training for persons over 19);
section 97(1)(a) to (e) and (7) (financial support for further education or training);
section 103(1) (financial support for provision of information, advice, guidance and to form links with employers); and
section 103(2) (financial support for the provision of further education or training through the medium of Welsh or for the purpose of teaching Welsh).
330.If the Commission funds the provision of information, advice and guidance about education or training, it will need to take into account additional learning needs. It could, for example, require the inclusion of information about additional learning needs assessments and how learners may obtain support, as well as making information, advice and guidance accessible to those with additional learning needs. If the Commission provides financial support to learners, for example to assist with transport costs to access particular courses leading to professions where there is a skills shortage, then it must take into account additional learning needs when doing so. For example, this could mean considering the transport costs of those with additional learning needs.
331.A person has additional learning needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability (whether the learning difficulty or disability arises from a medical condition or otherwise) which calls for additional learning provision.
332.Schedule 4 makes amendments to the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act 2018. The Welsh Ministers and the Commission will be required, when exercising functions under Part 2 of the 2018 Act, to have regard to any guidance that may be contained in the Additional Learning Needs Code. Additionally, the Welsh Ministers must consult the Commission before issuing or revising the Additional Learning Needs Code. Both the Welsh Ministers and the Commission are to be required to exercise their functions so as to provide information and other help to a local authority if it requests such assistance.
