Other approval principles: 16 to 19
Criteria that qualifications in the 16 to 19 offer need to meet.
These qualifications must also meet the common funding approval criteria.
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.
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 or renewal of any licence, except for the cost of the first purchase of a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card:
- which is permitted to be funded through the 16 to 19 high value courses premium (HVCP) for construction offer for academic year 2026 to 2027 only
- the cost of renewing CSCS cards is not permitted to be funded at all
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.
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 Skills England.
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 Skills England as mandatory additional requirements of T Levels.
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.
From 2025 to 2026 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.
We will not approve for funding qualifications for 16 to 19 where content overlaps with T Levels.