Funding to support rural Diplomas

Released 03/03/2010

Government annouces £90m package to support rural students

Increased transport funding is to be given to the most rural areas in England to help young people study the Diploma.

The funding is part of a £90m package to be given to LAs in England to help them prepare to deliver the Government's 14-19 reforms ahead of the 2010/11 academic year.

The package includes:

• £46.2m for the Local Delivery Support Grant (previously the Consortium Support Grant). This will be allocated at £9.75 per 14-18 year old predicted to be in the area in 2011-12, with a minimum of £70,000 for each local authority, and £35,000 per new unique Diploma line approved for 2011 delivery. It will help local areas prepare to deliver the reforms

• Up to £6.4m on continuing the existing support to local areas provided by Regional Advisers and Consortium Advisers

• £35.3m on national 14-19 workforce development and continuing professional development

• £2.9m to local authorities so that students in rural and semi-rural areas can travel to Diploma learning centres more easily. This is made up of two elements:

• £1.5m to continue the post of a 14-19 Access and Transport Co-ordinator in 40 authorities - in 2010-11 this will be at a rate of £37,500 for each local authority
• £1.4m, or 66 per cent, to be added to the "sparsity weighting" in the Diploma Formula Grant, to be allocated to the most rural areas. This will be added to the £2.1m already allocated within the Diploma Formula Grant.

MP Iain Wright said: "I am delighted we have been able, even in tough economic times, to continue to commit to the Diploma and the 14-19 reforms generally, with this level of funding. This is about helping local areas give their young people the education and skills they will need to succeed in future.

"The announcement of this funding is being made earlier than previously - by bringing it forward we are giving directors of children's services the reassurance they need to continue their good work to plan for, and make a success of, these reforms."

He also said that the increased level of transport funding was vital to help young people living in rural and semi-rural areas study the Diploma. "Diploma students need to work at a number of different sites and we know a number of rural consortia have yet to start delivering Diplomas , with concerns about transport cited as a major reason for the delay. We have listened to those concerns.

"What I am announcing today will really help those students who live in rural, or semi-rural areas, where public transport is not as extensive as in other areas, and where the distances between learning sites are greater.

"It's vital that all students have the best access to all the educational options available to them, and transport issues must not be a barrier," he added.

Funding of up to an additional £120 per Diploma student in rural areas is already available to local authorities through the sparsity weighting. This weighting will vary for each local authority, depending on the number of learners recruited and how populated the rural the area is.

But research has shown a need for a higher level of support because Diploma students visit a number of sites, including a school or college and employers, as part of their courses.

As a result, a further £80 per student - at a base rate of £200 per student - will be added to the sparsity factor for local authorities in 2010-11, at a cost of £1.4m. The total sparsity weighting now available in the Diploma Formula Grant for next year will be £3.5 million.

Mr Wright added that support for 14-19 access and transport coordinators - which have acted in 40 of the most rural areas of England since 2008 - would also continue in 2010/11, at a total cost of £1.5m, or £37,500 for each authority.

DCSF has also provided £1 million between 2008-11 to each of the 20 most rural areas so they can develop their own solutions to help reduce travel for students. That has seen the building of skills centres or satellite campuses to reduce travel for students, and development of video conferencing and of e-learning projects to develop virtual learning environments.

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