Funding boost to support more young people to progress in education
Increase in funding worth an additional £125 million for 16-19 education for school sixth forms, colleges and other providers next year.
- Young people to benefit from cash boost so they continue to have access to high-quality courses including T Levels, A levels and other technical and vocational qualifications.
- Targeted funding increases to support engineering, construction and digital subjects to help with the additional costs of teacher recruitment and retention for these key subjects.
- Part of the government’s drive to make sure more young people climb the ladder of opportunity and businesses can tap into the skilled workforce they need for the future.
Young people aged 16-19 are set to benefit from a funding boost that will ensure they can continue to access high-quality education and go on to secure great jobs.
The government has today (Monday 9 January) announced increased funding rates worth an additional £125 million for schools, colleges and other providers delivering education to 16- to 19-year-olds next year (2023 to 2024).
The funding will mean young people, regardless of where they live or their background, will continue to have access to the courses and qualifications they need to build successful careers. These include T Levels and A levels and will also help meet the future skills needs of businesses and the economy.
Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon said:
Our ambition is to transform young people’s life chances by giving them the chance to climb the education and skills ladder of opportunity.
That is why we are investing in resources and skills qualifications that will offer more learning for students and access to high-quality qualifications including T Levels, A Levels and technical qualifications.
The funding announced today will see:
- The national funding rate for students aged 16 and 17 and students aged 18 and over with high needs increased by 2.2% to £4,642. In addition, funding will continue to be provided for an extra 40 hours per student to support them catching up on time lost due to the pandemic.
- An increase in funding rates for engineering, construction, and digital subjects to help education providers with the additional costs of recruiting and retaining great teachers so young people benefit from excellent teaching.
The funding is part of the £1.6 billion for further education announced at Spending Review in 2021. It is in addition to the extra £291m announced for 16 to 19 education in 2021 to 2022 and the £400m increase in funding that the government provided in 2020 to 2021.
Additional information
- We are making increases in funding rates which will add £125m to spend in financial year 2023-24, in addition to increases arising from growth in student numbers and the roll-out of T Levels. That will be an extra £85m from a 2.2% increase in the 16-19 base rate of funding, and an increase of £40m in subject specific funding, with increased weightings for engineering, construction and digital to help with the costs of recruitment and retention of teachers in these specific high value vocational areas.
- On 27 October 2021, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a three-year spending review outcome for 16 to 19 education, making available an extra £1.6 billion in 2024 to 2025 financial year compared with 2021 to 2022.
- Institutions will receive the additional funding per student from the start of the 2023/24 academic year.