Although not procurement related we thought our Academy/School members might be interested in a guide published in March 2017 by the DfE on the Apprenticeship Reforms that commenced this month and how this will impact schools.

The guide explains the new apprenticeship levy charge and the way in which the levy applies to schools depending on the type of school and the overall employer. From April 2017, the way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing. Some employers will be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy so download the guide to see how this applies to your school. If the employer of the staff in your school is a local authority, a governing body which controls more than one school, or a multi-academy trust with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million, you may contribute to the levy through them. Employers who pay the levy will be able to use the money to fund training and assessment only (not wider costs such as salaries) for apprentices through an account in the new apprenticeship service.

The guide also looks at how schools can register to use apprenticeship funding and how you might use apprenticeships in your school.

• A teaching apprenticeship which will replicate the same high standards for entry and completion as those already required of all Initial Teacher Training programmes. The group is aiming for schools to be able to employ teacher apprentices from September 2018.
• School business manager apprenticeships intended to help create a new career structure within school business management. The group aims to have the apprenticeship standards in place from late 2017. In the interim, a number of business administration apprenticeships already exist under the older style apprenticeship frameworks.
• A teaching assistant apprenticeship which will reflect the best available evidence and practice around effective use of teaching assistants. The group’s aim is to have the new apprenticeship in place by the end of 2017. In the interim, teaching assistant and school sports instructor apprenticeships already exist under the older style apprenticeship frameworks, which will be replaced by the new standards by 2020.
• An early year’s apprenticeship standard is also under development. In the interim, apprenticeships for level 2 and level 3 early years’ staff already exist under the older style apprenticeship frameworks.

Apprenticeships are available in several other fields that may be relevant to your school. For example, business and administration, catering and hospitality, facilities management, digital professions, accounting and finance.