Schools (England) Accessing Apprenticeships

Schools (England) – Accessing Apprenticeships

Q&A for National Apprenticeship Service (NAS)

General

1. What is an apprenticeship?
2. What are the requirements of an apprenticeship?
3. What levels can apprenticeships be done at – are they just a low/high levels?
4. Who can be an apprentice?
5. Does it mean I have to take on new staff?
6. I want to recruit an apprentice; how do I go about this?

Applicable apprenticeships

1. What apprenticeships can schools currently access?
2. What new apprenticeship standards are in development?

Apprenticeship Levy

1. How do I access funding for apprenticeship training?
2. What is the apprenticeship levy and how does it work?
3. How does the levy affect my school?
4. The employer of staff in my school is the Local Authority, do they pay the levy and will my school have to contribute?
5. My school is part of a multi-academy trust, who pays the levy, and will my school have to contribute?
6. My school employs its own staff- will we have to pay the levy?

Access to Apprenticeship Funding

1. My school is part of a larger group (e.g. Local Authority or Multi Academy Trust) which pays the levy on our behalf – how can my school access this levy funding?
2. My school is not part of a larger employer and does not pay the levy – can my school still access apprenticeship funding?
3. My school has contributed a very small amount to the levy – how can I access enough funding to train an apprentice?
4. What can apprenticeships funding be spent on?
5. Can Government funding for apprenticeships be used to pay apprentice wages?

Public Sector Apprenticeship Target

1. What is the public sector apprenticeships target?
2. Does the public sector apprenticeships target apply to my school?
3. Staff at my school are employed by a larger employer group, how does my school contribute to the public sector apprenticeship target?
4. Is there a list of public sector bodies affected by the apprenticeship target?
5. Where can I find further information about the public sector apprenticeship target?

Accessing Further Information

1. How can I find an apprenticeship training provider?
2. Where can I find more information about apprenticeships?

General

1. What is an apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships combine work with practical off the job training and study. Apprentices are employed and will work alongside experienced staff to gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to be fully competent in their chosen occupation.

1. What are the requirements of an apprenticeship?

Apprentices must be:

• Employed in a real job.
• Working towards achieving an approved apprenticeship (standard or framework) which will last at least 12 months.
• Spend at least 20% of their time on off-the-job training (e.g. mentoring, coaching or completing formal training or qualifications).
• Paid at least the relevant national minimum wage (though most will be paid more).

1. What levels can apprenticeships be done at – are they just a low/high levels?

Apprenticeships cover a range of educational levels from Level 2 (GCSE

equivalent) to Level 7 (post-graduate) at present. Many apprenticeships now incorporate a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

1. Who can be an apprentice?

Apprenticeships can be undertaken from age 16 onwards but they are not just for young people. Government funding is available at all ages, whether working full or part-time.

Apprentices can be new recruits, whether that’s young people starting out in their careers, people re-training, or re-entering the workforce, or existing staff, for which apprenticeships can be used to upskill or retrain.

1. Does it mean I have to take on new staff?

Not necessarily. Apprentices can be new recruits or existing staff. For existing staff, they can be a good way to upskill or retrain, as long as the apprenticeship training lasts at least 12 months.

1. I want to recruit an apprentice; how do I go about this?

If the staff in your school are employed directly by you, then you can recruit an apprentice directly. If the staff in your school are employed by the local authority or a multi-academy trust, you will need to agree with them that you can recruit an apprentice for your school and agree who will manage the process.

There are several steps to taking on an apprentice:

1. Choose an apprenticeships framework or standard for an apprenticeship in your industry and at a suitable level.
2. Find an organisation that offers training for the apprenticeship framework or standard you’ve chosen.
3. Check what funding is available.
4. Advertise your apprenticeship - your training organisation can do this for you through the find an apprenticeship service.
5. Select your apprentice and make an apprenticeship agreement and commitment statement with them.

You can search for apprenticeship training, find out about providers in your area and learn about how to employ an apprentice by using the simple ‘Find an apprenticeship training’ on-line tool at:

Applicable apprenticeships

1. What apprenticeships can schools currently access?

There are two types of apprenticeships available, apprenticeship frameworks and apprenticeship standards. New apprenticeship standards are being developed by groups of employers and will replace the old-style frameworks by 2020.

Schools can already access apprenticeship frameworks and standards in a range of occupations relevant to job roles in schools, including supporting teaching and learning, early years education, business and administration, catering and hospitality, leadership and management,ICT, digital and finance.[See ANNEX A for a list of Apprenticeship Frameworks and Standards available for use and relevant for schools (correct at 14/08/2017).]

To find the latest apprenticeships available that are relevant for your school, search ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’ on gov.uk

1. What new apprenticeship standards are in development?

There are a number of new apprenticeship standards in developmentfor specific job roles in schools, including Teachers, Teaching Assistants and School Business Managers.

The development of these apprenticeships are being led by schools themselves, in conjunction with the Institute for Apprenticeships. For the latest information on these apprenticeship standards, including how to get involved in their development and when they are ready to use, you can contact

A full list of apprenticeship standards, available for use and in development (including in schools-related roles), can be found on gov.uk at:

Apprenticeship Funding

1. How do I access funding for apprenticeship training?

If you are in scope of the apprenticeship levy then you will need to pay this every month, and can then claim back the money (plus a 10% top up) to spend on apprenticeship training.

If you are not in scope of the levy then you will share the cost of training with government- this is called ‘co-investment’. You pay 10% and the government will contribute 90%, up to the maximum amount available for that apprenticeship.

For more information on how to access funding and find a training provider if you don’t pay the apprenticeship levy, go to

1. What is the apprenticeship levy and how does it work?

The apprenticeship levy applies to all employers operating in the UK with an annual paybill of over £3 million and is charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s annual pay bill.

For the purposes of the levy, the ‘employer’ is someone who is a secondary contributor with liability to pay Class 1 Secondary National Insurance contributions for their employees.

1. How does the levy affect my school?

If the employer of the staff in your school is a local authority, a governing body which contains more than one school, or a multi-academy trust with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million, they are responsible for payment of the levy for all the schools under their control. You may contribute to the levy through them.

If your school meets the employer definition, and your pay bill is over £3 million, then your school will pay the levy.

Detail on how the levy applies to different types of school can be found in our Schools guide to apprenticeship reforms:

More details on how the apprenticeship levy and wider funding reforms work in practice can be found at

1. The employer of staff in my school is the Local Authority, do they pay the levy, and will my school have to contribute?

Each local authority with an overall pay bill of over £3 million will pay the levy. It is down to each local authority to decide how to cover the costs of the levy from the across the range of organisations under their remit, including schools. The local authority will advise its schools on whether they need to take account of the apprenticeship levy in their annual budgets.

1. My school is part of a multi-academy trust, who pays the levy, and will my school have to contribute?

For multi-academy trusts, the trust itself is generally the employer of the staff of all academies that are encompassed by it. If the trust’s pay bill is more than £3 million then it will need to pay the levy.

It is down to each multi-academy trust (MAT) to decide how to cover the costs of the levy from the across the range of schools within the trust. The MAT will advise its schools on whether they need to take account of the apprenticeship levy in their annual budgets.

1. My school employs its own staff- will we have to pay the levy?

If your paybill is more than £3 million then you will need to pay the levy. Go to for more information on how to do this.

We would recommend referring to our Schools guide to apprenticeship reforms for more detail on how the levy applies to your specific type of school::

Access to Apprenticeship Funding

1. My school is part of a larger group (e.g. Local Authority or Multi Academy Trust) which pays the levy on our behalf – how can my school access this levy funding?

If the staff in your school are employed by the local authority or a multi-academy trust, you will need to agree with them how you will access funds available to spend on apprenticeships.

They have responsibility for making the necessary arrangements to provide schools with access to the relevant funds. Speak to your local authority or trust to find out about access.

1. My school is not part of a larger employer and does not pay the levy – can my school still access apprenticeship funding?

If your school does not pay the levy, either on its own or as part of a larger employer group, you can still take on apprentices and access co-investment to purchase apprenticeship training from an approved provider.

In this instance, the government will pay 90% of the cost of training and assessment, and the employer will be responsible for paying 10% of the costs.

All the details on how to do this are available on the ‘Employing an apprentice’ page of gov.uk:

1. My school has contributed a very small amount to the levy – how can I access enough funding to train an apprentice?

At the end of each month, levy paying employers will receive a 10% top-up to the levy contributions they have made that month. That means that if you are a levy-paying employer, for every £1 that enters your account to spend in England on apprenticeship training, you get £1.10.

When you have exhausted the funds in your account, you can access co-investment for eligible apprenticeship training and assessment, whereby government pays 90% of the training and assessment costs. This means you could get back more than you have paid into the levy.

If your school is not the employer, your local authority or trust has responsibility for providing your school with access to the relevant funds, including the top-up and co-investment funding.

Funding can be spent on existing staff, as well as new recruits.

1. What can apprenticeships funding can be spent on?

Apprenticeship funding can only be used to pay for training and assessment, including end-point assessment.

Government funding cannot be used for Apprentice wages and travel costs.

Funding can be spent on existing staff and new recruits.

Funding can be used for the following:

• Off-the-job training through an externally-contracted provider or evidenced costs for employer-provider delivery.
• Registration and examination (including certification) costs associated with mandatory qualifications excluding any licence to practise.
• Planned on-programme assessment (progress reviews) and the formal end-point assessment, including any costs associated with the completion certification for the apprenticeship.
• Distance, online or blended learning relating to the off-the-job training element of an apprenticeship.
• Materials (non-capital items) used in the delivery of the apprenticeship framework or standard.
• Any administration directly linked to the training and assessment, including end-point assessment.
• Funding to re-take mandatory qualifications or the end-point assessment providing additional learning takes place.
• Accommodation costs for learning delivered through residential modules where the residential learning is a requirement for all apprentices.
• Costs of an apprentice taking part in a skills competition if you and the provider have agreed that participation in the competition directly contributes to helping that individual achieve the apprenticeship standard.

These costs must be included in the negotiated price for training agreed between you and the provider and the end-point assessment, agreed between you and the apprentice assessment organisation.

Full detail can be found Apprenticeship Funding: rules and guidance for employers:

1. Can Government funding for apprenticeships be used to pay apprentice wages?

No, government funding cannot be used for Apprentice wages. Apprenticeship funding can only be used to pay for training and assessment, including end-point assessment.

Funding can be spent on existing staff and new recruits

Public Sector Apprenticeship Target

1. What is the public sector apprenticeships target?

Public sector bodies in England with 250 or more employees will be set a target to employ an average of at least 2.3% of their headcount as new apprentices over the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021.

The target is for new ‘apprenticeship starts’, which includes both existing employees who start on an apprenticeship, and newly employed apprentices.

1. Does the public sector apprenticeships target apply to my school?

Schools in England with 250 or more employees will be in scope of the target, and will therefore need to have regard to it.

For schools where the staff are employed by a larger employer group (a local authority, a governing body which controls more than one school, or a multi-academy trust) the larger employer is in scope of the target if it has more than 250 employees. Schools will come within the target for their employer, and will want to consider how to contribute towards it.

Those in scope will be required to publish certain information annually on their progress towards meeting the target, and send information to the Department for Education.

The Department for Education published a guide on meeting the public sector apprenticeship target which provides further information:

1. Staff at my school are employed by a larger employer group, how does my school contribute to the public sector apprenticeship target?

For schools where the staff are employed by a larger employer group (a local authority, a governing body which controls more than one school, or a multi-academy trust) the larger employer is in scope of the target if it has more than 250 employees. Schools will come within the target for their employer, and will want to consider how to contribute towards it.

Those in scope will be required to publish certain information annually on their progress towards meeting the target, and send information to the Department for Education.

You should contact your local authority, governing body or trust to find out about reporting arrangements.

1. Is there a list of public sector bodies affected by the apprenticeship target?

The Department for Education published a guide to the scope of the public sector apprenticeship target and which bodies, including Schools, must follow the target:

For schools, this is based on internalheadcount analysis from published School Workforce statistics (November 2015).

This is not a definitive list for determining the coverage of the target. Public bodies should refer to the available guidance.

1. Where can I find further information about the public sector apprenticeship target?

Our guidance ‘Meeting the Public Sector Apprenticeship Target - Statutory guidance for bodies in scope of the Public Sector Apprenticeship Target’ provides further detail:

Accessing Further Information

1. How can I find an apprenticeship training provider?

To find out about training providers in your area, and to learn more about how to employ an apprentice you can access the simple Find apprenticeship training online tool at:

1. Where can I find more information about apprenticeships?

In March 2017 we published ourSchools guide toapprenticeships reforms which can be accessed at:

This provides information specific to schools on what apprenticeships are, how schools can use them, how the levy and public sector target apply to schools.It is intended for school leaders, governing bodies as well as local authorities and academy trusts.

ANNEX A:Apprenticeship Frameworks and Standards available for use and relevant for schools (Correct at 14/08/2017)

1