ESFA Update further education: 18 December 2024
Published 18 December 2024
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-18-december-2024/esfa-update-further-education-18-december-2024
Information: Maximum loan amounts for advanced learner loans
Maximum loan amounts for advanced learner loans (ALLs) will remain unchanged for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. These can be found in the maximum loans amounts for ALL designated qualifications guidance.
For any enquiries, contact our customer help portal.
Information: 2025 to 2026 high needs place change process
We have updated the published high needs student and pupil numbers for the 2023 to 2024 and the 2024 to 2025 academic year. This data now includes the 2023 to 2024 individualised learner record (ILR) R14 data and place numbers for the 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 academic years, for:
- further education providers
- 16 to 19 academies
- free schools and independent learning providers
This workbook also includes data for special post-16 institutions (SPIs) and is provided for information purposes only as SPIs return ILR R14 data to Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
This data has been used to determine the outcomes of not agreed cases submitted by local authorities as part of the 2024 to 2025 place change process, in line with the published guidance. The outcomes will be published in January 2025. You can also use this to inform local discussions about commissioning arrangements for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
Information: Outcomes of the review of qualifications reform
Last week, the government announced the outcomes of the review of qualifications reform, confirming we:
- will retain 157 qualifications in the system (alongside T Levels and A levels), that were due to be defunded, to support learners and the economy
- will not be applying the previously proposed rules of combination – it should be for colleges and sixth forms to work with students to devise the best mix for each individual
- have provided certainty to education providers, students and their parents and guardians to make the position clear up to 2027
- have confirmed that T Levels are the primary technical route for 16 to 19 year olds, being based on the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers need and including the much-valued industry placement
Read more on the outcome of the review, and the route-by-route outcomes.