Adult Education Budget Procurement Contracts for Services 2021/22

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) is the major fund for adult learners, delivering skills provision for eligible adults aged 19+ from pre-entry to Level 3. AEB provision aims to engage adults in learning which provides the skills and learning they need for work, progression in work, an Apprenticeship or further learning.

The ESFA would like to invite potential contractors to apply for ESFA funded AEB contract for services for the delivery of adult education and training to learners in England that are resident outside of the devolved areas. The contracts will start on 1 August 2021 and run for the 2021/22 academic year. Contracts awarded will be between the values of £150,000 and £3,000,000.

The procurement will fund the following provision:

Statutory entitlements

English and maths, up to and including Level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade A* - C or grade 4, or higher, and/or

First full qualification at Level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23, and/or

First full qualification at Level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23.

Information technology ('digital') skills, up to and including Level 1, for individuals aged 19+, who have digital skills assessed at below Level 1.

Local Flexibility which supports delivery of flexible tailored provision for adults, including qualifications and components of these and/or non-regulated learning, up to Level 2, including Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Expansion of DWP's SWAP

National Skills Fund Level 3 Adult Offer: From April 2021, any adult aged 24 and over who wants to achieve their first full Level 3 qualification, which is equivalent to a technical certificate or diploma, or 2 full A levels, will be able to access hundreds of fully funded courses.

Supporting funding to provide extra support to address barriers that may prevent learners from engaging or continuing learning. This includes:

Learning support - available to providers to meet the cost of making reasonable adjustments, as part of the Equality Act 2010, for learners who have an identified learning difficulty or disability, to achieve their learning goal, and/or

Learner support - available to providers to support learners with a specific financial hardship, such as childcare or residential costs associated with learning.

Based on the best information available to the Authority at this time the overall anticipated value for the Contracts, as set out in this Contract Notice is £157, 000, 000.00 (one hundred and fifty seven million pounds). Potential Contractors shall note that funding for the Contracts is only guaranteed for the period from the Agreement Date to 31 July 2022 and for any Learners recruited before that date to complete their Learning, provided that happens before 31 July 2023. The Authority anticipates that the combined value of the initial Contract Values of all the successful Potential Contracts will be £73,000,000