Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 19 February 2020

Published 19 February 2020

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Applies to England

1. Reminder: the deadline to express an interest to deliver T Levels in 2022 to 2023 academic year is Friday 28 February 2020

We would like to remind providers that the deadline to express an interest to deliver T Levels in 2022 to 2023 academic year is 12 midnight on Friday 28 February 2020.

Please ensure you are registered with DfE sign-in and have the access approved by your organisations approver ahead of returning the form.

2. Information: update on the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England – the process for removal of funding for qualifications with low and no enrolments

In the first stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, which closed in June 2019, the Department for Education (DfE) outlined its intention to make early progress in removing funding approvals for qualifications with low and no enrolments. This will help to streamline and stabilise the publicly funded offer in advance of further reform.

On Thursday 13 February 2020, we set out how we will be taking forward the process to confirm which qualifications with low and no publicly funded enrolments will have public funding approval removed from August 2021. The qualifications in scope of this process were detailed in a list, also published on 13 February.

Awarding organisations must tell DfE if they believe a qualification should retain approval for public funding by Friday 27 March 2020.

We know that in some cases there will be clear reasons why a qualification might have low demand, and we have designed the process to consider this. We will assess the evidence provided by awarding organisations against specific criteria including, for example, that removing funding for a qualification would have a significant adverse impact on particular student groups, occupations or geographical areas.

If you are concerned about a qualification on the list, you should contact your awarding organisation.

Further information and documentation can be found on GOV.UK.