Other approval principles: 16 to 19

Criteria that qualifications in the 16 to 19 offer need to meet alongside the common funding approval criteria.

These qualifications must also meet the common funding approval criteria.

Personal development and transferable personal skills

If a qualification at level 3 or above only focuses on personal development or transferable personal skills, we will not approve it for funding for students aged 16 to 19. This includes qualifications that only aim to develop skills such as:

  • career planning
  • employment and work skills
  • learning and thinking skills
  • personal or general skills development
  • character or citizenship

Providers should teach transferable personal skills as part of a student’s study programme, without the requirement to recognise those skills as a standalone qualification.

Occupational regulation

We may approve some qualifications for funding in the 16 to 19 offer where they are linked to occupational regulation or a licence to practice.

This includes qualifications in a sector or occupational area where:

  • it is a legal requirement for all practitioners to obtain a licence from the relevant state recognised regulatory body and the qualification supports this
  • practitioners are required to register and be recognised by a professional body and the qualification supports this
  • there is a requirement to demonstrate competence against a code of practice and the qualification supports this
  • there are mandatory requirements for an occupation (or for specific activities within that occupation) and the qualification supports this

To be approved for funding, qualifications linked to occupational regulation or licence to practice must:

  • involve training and not just assessment
  • should not be in an area where it is the employer’s responsibility to meet the requirement

Public funding will not cover the costs of the acquisition. Nor will it cover renewal of any licence.

Access to Higher Education

Access to Higher Education Diplomas are designed to prepare adults to study in higher education. We only approve these qualifications for funding for young people aged 16 to 19 by exception.

Technical Qualifications in T Levels

We will automatically approve Technical Qualifications for T Levels in the 16 to 19 offer if they are approved for a T Level programme by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

We will not approve technical qualifications for standalone delivery. Providers of education and training must not deliver these technical qualifications to students outside a T Level programme.

We will also automatically approve qualifications for funding where they are confirmed by IfATE as mandatory additional requirements of T Levels.

English and maths stepping stone qualifications

The 16 to 19 condition of funding includes certain modular qualifications (also known as stepping stone qualifications) at entry level and level 1. These modular qualifications focus on aspects of English and maths, which a student may need to address to progress to GCSE or Functional Skills at level 2.

You can ask us to replace an existing stepping stone qualification that we have approved as part of the condition of funding for English and maths with an updated version of the qualification. Learn more about updated English and maths stepping stone qualifications.

Qualifications at level 4 and above 

From 2024 to 2025 onwards we will only approve level 4 and above qualifications in the 16 to 19 offer at 18 plus only.  If you wish a qualification at level 4 and above to be considered for the 16 to 19 offer at 18 plus only, you must ask us to consider adding a qualification to the offer.  

To do this, you must complete a level 4 to 6 notification form. In it you must clearly set out the reason and rationale for wanting the qualification to be approved for 18 plus only. In the rationale you should consider that many 18 year old students will be on full-time study programmes. As a result they may not achieve a level 3 qualification until they complete their programme. You must consider the circumstances under which they may be able to undertake a level 4 or above qualification.

We will not approve Higher Technical Qualifications for the 16 to 19 offer. This is because we expect these qualifications to be funded either in Advanced Learner Loans or through Higher Education Student Finance. Therefore, you must also confirm you are not submitting the qualification for approval as a Higher Technical Qualification.  

Qualifications that overlap with T Levels 

We will not approve for funding qualifications for 16 to 19 where content overlaps with T Levels in waves 1 to 3, and wave 4 T Levels rolled out during 2023 and 2024.  

This will continue to apply during the focused review. It will still apply to qualifications that were in scope to funding approval removed but have subsequently had their funding approval extended.

We will update this section of the manual if we need to, after the focused review.