How we will review qualifications
The stages we use to review qualifications.
We will take a download of data from Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications on the second to last Tuesday in the month before the funding approval cycle scheduled for the following month.
During the moratorium, we will only review the following on a termly basis:
- qualifications submitted as exemptions at level 3 or below in the offers for 16 to 19, ESFA funded adult education budget (including local flexibility and the statutory entitlements), loans and level 3 free courses for jobs
- qualifications we approve for loans from level 4 to level 6
- qualifications at level 4 to level 6 that you ask us to consider approving for 16 to 19
- qualifications approved for 14 to 16
- English and maths stepping stones qualifications requests
The table shows the deadline for each termly review, up to and including June 2025.
The deadline for updated stepping stones forms and Level 4 to 6 notification forms, level 3 free courses for jobs applications and moratorium exemption forms is 5pm on the dates stated.
| Funding approval cycle | Deadline for all reviews | Date of download |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn: November 2024 | 21 October 2024 | 22 October 2024 |
| Spring: February 2025 | 17 February 2025 | 18 February 2025 |
| Summer: June 2025 | 19 May 2024 | 20 May 2024 |
Urgent funding approval
In exceptional circumstances, you may need urgent funding approval for the next academic year after our summer funding approval cycle deadline has passed.
To request urgent funding approval, email qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Include all relevant:
- applications
- forms
- supporting documents
Explain why the funding approval:
- is urgent
- could not take place during our termly funding approval cycles
We will consider this on a case-by-case basis. We only expect to grant approval in extremely rare circumstances.
We use information recorded in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications to approve qualifications for funding.
You must make sure that you have correctly completed all the necessary fields in Ofqual’s register, which we will need to review your qualification.
The table describes the information in the register that we will need to review qualification and to set a funding value. You must correctly complete all the necessary fields.
You must also send us the correct completed form for:
- qualifications submitted as moratorium exemptions
- qualifications which are updated English and maths stepping stones
- qualifications submitted to be part of advanced learner loans
- level 4 to 6 qualifications
- qualifications submitted to be part of the level 3 free courses for jobs offer
| Information required | 14 to 16 | 16 to 19 | Statutory entitlements | AEB local flexibility at level 2 and below | Advanced learner loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification reference number | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification title | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funding in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Age | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link to qualification specification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Awarding organisation name | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification type | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sector subject area tier 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operational start date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operational end date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Certification end date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guided learning hours (GLH) | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Level 4 to 6 notification form | - | Yes[footnote 1] | - | - | Yes |
| Updated stepping stones qualification form | - | - | Yes[footnote 2] | - | - |
Each termly funding approval cycle, we will identify:
- new qualifications that have become regulated since our last termly download, that are automatically approved
- currently funded qualifications where the attributes have been changed on the Ofqual register
- qualifications for the 14 to 16 and post-16 offers, including those that you have asked us to review by submitting a form
- qualifications that you have asked us to review again, on a termly basis – read managing changes which you make to qualifications already approved for funding
| Register field | 14 to 16 | 16 to 19 | Advanced learner loans | English and maths entitlement | Digital entitlement | Level 2 / level 3 entitlement | AEB flexibility at level 2 and below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funded in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level (must be one of these values | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 |
Level 3 Level 4 (HTQs only) Level 5 (HTQs only) |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Entry level 3 Level 1 |
Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
| Age group (must be one of these values) | Pre-16 | 16 to 18 18+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
16 to 18 18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
We will identify new qualifications by inspecting data in 4 fields of Ofqual’s register. We will look for the values specified in the tables in a qualification’s record for each funded offer.
If the information you have entered for a qualification in Ofqual’s register does not match the criteria for a particular offer, we will not review the qualification for funding in that offer. If this happens, we will not tell you that we have not reviewed your qualification.
We will not proactively check to see if you make changes to these fields (when we have taken a download from Ofqual’s register), which would bring a qualification into scope for review.
For some of our qualification offers, you must also submit a form to ask us to review a qualification– the subsections below have more information.
If we have concerns about approving a qualification, or we cannot easily find a qualification’s specification during a review, we will hold that qualification for funding approval until we decide. This applies to all our funded qualification offers.
Identifying qualifications for the loans offer
We do not add qualifications to the loans offer automatically.
To ask us to review a level 3 qualification or a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) at level 4 to level 5 for the loans offer, you must correctly complete the necessary fields in Ofqual’s register and either:
- the moratorium exemption form (for level 3 qualifications)
- the level 4 to 6 notification form
Use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us in that funding approval cycle. You need to give us all the information that we ask for. We cannot approve the qualification for the loans offer without this information.
For each qualification you include in the notification form, you must include a working hyperlink to where you publish information about that qualification online. This must be a link to the webpage where the information is available, not to an individual document or qualification specification. We will:
- make this link available through the list of qualifications approved for funding
- share it with the National Careers Service
In the notification form, you must also tell us in which cycle the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education approved your qualification as an HTQ.
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled funding approval cycle. We will review those qualifications in the following funding approval cycle.
If you send your form to us before the deadline but need to change the information in it, you can email us an updated form before the deadline. Tell us in your email if your updated form replaces a form that you have sent to us earlier.
If you make more than one submission, we will only use the latest form we receive from you before the submission deadline for our review.
Identifying level 4 and above qualifications for the 16 to 19 offer
We no longer add qualifications at level 4 and above to the 16 to 19 offer automatically.
To ask us to review a qualification at level 4 and above for the 16 to 19 offer, you must correctly complete both:
- the necessary fields in Ofqual’s register
- the level 4 to 6 notification form
Use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us in that funding approval cycle. You need to give us all the information that we ask for. We cannot approve the qualification for the loans offer without this information.
You must also clearly state the reason and rationale for the qualifications being available at 16 to 19, 18 plus, or both.
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled funding approval cycle. We will review those qualifications in the following funding approval cycle.
If you send your form to us before the deadline but need to change the information in it, you can email us an updated form before the deadline. Tell us in your email if your updated form replaces a form that you have sent to us earlier.
If you make more than one submission, we will only use the latest form we receive from you before the submission deadline for our review.
Identifying updated stepping stones qualifications for the English and maths statutory entitlement and 16 to 19 condition of funding
You can ask us to consider replacing an existing modular stepping stone qualification in either English or maths, with an updated stepping stone qualification. To do this, you must complete an updated stepping stones qualification form 2023 to 2024.
Use one form for your organisation, which includes details of the qualifications that you want us to review. You need to give us all the information that we ask for.
For each qualification that you want to replace, you must also send us a statement that sets out how:
- the updated qualification’s learning outcomes and assessment criteria map to reformed functional skills subject content
- the updated qualification shares the same design characteristics as the modular qualification that it replaces
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled funding approval cycle. We will review those qualifications in the following funding approval cycle.
Identifying qualifications for the level 3 free courses for jobs
If you want to ask us to add qualifications to the level 3 free courses for jobs offer, you must complete a level 3 free courses for jobs notification form and send it to us. If you are an awarding organisation (AO), use the notification form for AOs. If you are a mayoral combined authority (MCA) or Greater London Authority (GLA), use the notification form for MCAs and GLA.
You must include all of the qualifications you want to notify to us for that window.
Qualifications must already be approved for an existing post-19 offer.
For the 2023 to 2024 funding year, the notification windows are: the same as our termly funding approval cycles.
You must email the completed forms to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk before 5pm on:
- 21 October 2024 for the Autumn: November 2024 funding approval cycle
- 17 February 2025 for the Spring: March 2025 funding approval cycle
- 19 May 2025 for the Summer: June 2025 funding approval cycle
We will tell you the outcome by the end of November, March or June.
Identifying qualifications to consider as a moratorium exemption
We will consider approving new qualifications for funding at level 3 and below in funded offers for students aged 16 and over where they meet the exemption criteria.
Exemption types 1 and 2
If the qualification is automatically approved for funding, or has been developed as part of qualification reforms, we will usually not need any additional information from you.
We will use information that you have already entered in Ofqual’s register to review and approve these qualifications for funding.
You must make sure that the information for these qualifications in the register is complete and accurate.
| Register field | 16 to 19 | ESFA funded AEB local flexibility | Loans | English and maths entitlement | Digital entitlement | Level 2 / level 3 entitlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funded in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level (must be one of these values) | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Level 3 | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Entry level 3 Level 1 |
Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
| Age group (must be one of these values) | 16 to 18 18+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
16 to 18 18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
If we need to clarify any information in the register, we will contact you.
Exemption type 3: qualifications developed in response to economic need
We will only approve qualifications for funding where there is evidence they have been specifically designed to respond to a particular and urgent economic need.
The particular and urgent economic need may be at a national or regional level.
Moratorium exemption type 3 has 4 categories. The qualification only needs to meet the criteria of one category to be approved.
We ask awarding organisations to ensure that applications under this moratorium exemption type address the criteria of the specific category selected.
It is highly unlikely that any single qualification will meet the criteria of all 4 categories. We ask awarding organisations to focus their applications and evidence on the category and criteria that the qualification can meet.
Selecting all 4 categories does not advance the case for approval.
You must show that the qualification submitted has been developed in direct response to a particular and urgent need that has an impact on the economy at a national or regional level. You must be able to substantiate this with evidence. This applies in all 4 categories.
Such qualifications should either, or both:
- enable the holder to be job-ready for a specific role in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need
- equip those already in post in that specific occupation with new job-specific skills that are urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need
We will not approve qualifications:
- which just deliver information
- which are awareness-raising
- where we consider in-house training is more appropriate
- which are designed for roles that are additional responsibilities to a substantive job role – for example, recycling co-ordinator
Funding such training is the responsibility of the organisation concerned.
Category 1 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that:
- the qualification is at level 1, level 2 and level 3
- the qualification is specifically designed to respond to a particular economic downturn (economic shock) at regional level or across several regions
- the economic shock had demonstrable significant economic impact on the region
- the qualification enables the holder to be job-ready for a specific role in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic shock
Example
A qualification designed to prepare for or to support entry into a new job role in a specific occupation following redundancy or where there are significant skills shortages.
This can include qualifications linked to occupational regulation.
Category 2 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3
- is specifically designed to respond to an urgent new or emerging skill priority
- enables the holder to deploy the skill at a job-ready level in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need
By exception qualifications may be at level 1. You must justify and give evidence that the economic need articulated specifically requires workers skilled at level 1.
Example
Qualifications delivering entry to a specific job role that supports delivering the transition to net zero or a qualification designed to deliver a new skill need within a specific job role needed in a particular area, such as agriculture technology in a rural area.
Category 3 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3 only
- is specifically designed to support entry into specific job roles in sectors that are in government priorities, where there is not already sufficient provision in that sector
- enables the holder to be job-ready for a specific job role in an occupation that is urgently needed within in a government priority sector in response to the particular economic need articulated
Priority areas are:
- accounting and finance
- agriculture
- building and construction
- business management
- childcare and early years
- digital
- engineering
- environmental conservation
- health and social care
- horticulture and forestry
- hospitality and catering
- digital and technology
- manufacturing
- mathematics and statistics
- medicine and dentistry
- public services
- science
- teaching and lecturing
- transportation operations
- warehousing and distribution
- green skills
Category 4 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3 only
- is specifically designed to respond to emerging or changed job roles in a specific occupation
- equips those already in post within a specific occupation with new job-specific skills that are urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need
Example
A qualification designed to deliver automation skills in an existing job role or greater specialisation in a job role or to support digital health care practice.
This can include qualifications linked to occupational regulation.
We will not approve new qualifications as type 3 exemptions if:
- they are similar to other qualifications that we have already approved for funding in any of the offers for 2023 to 2024
- those other qualifications already give a wide enough offer to students
We will not approve for funding qualifications that have the same, or similar, content as a qualification that either:
- has already had funding approval removed
- will have funding approval removed
This includes:
- qualifications with low or no publicly funded enrolments
- qualifications for 16 to 19 if the content of the new qualification overlaps with a T Level in wave 1 or 2 or 3
- new basic digital skills qualifications in qualifications at entry to level 2 (in ICT for users or other SSAs) unless they are essential digital skills qualifications
If a qualification responds to economic need, you need to send us the following information (including rationale and appropriate evidence):
- the full title and reference number of the qualification
- which qualification offers you want us to review the qualification for
- the primary purpose and learning outcomes of the qualification
- the specific occupations the qualification supports entry into
- how the qualification is suitable for the age ranges that you have indicated and why you believe there is no suitable existing qualification available
- whether the qualification (levels 1 to 3) is responding to an economic downturn (economic shock)
- whether the qualification (levels 2 to level 3, and by exception at level 1) has been designed to respond to a new or emerging skills priority
- whether the qualification (levels 2 and 3) is in a sector which is a government priority and supports entry into specific job role, and where there is not already enough provision in that sector
- whether the qualification (levels 2 and 3) has been designed to respond to emerging or changed job roles in a specific occupation
- evidence of how the qualification meets the criteria to be this type of exemption (including evidence of support where appropriate) – for example, evidence identified through a regional skills plan or other strategic skills based strategies and plans (such as green jobs, evidence of support from skills advisory panels, mayoral combined authorities or the Greater London Authority, or a local enterprise partnership
- the qualification specification
You must use the exemption type 3 form to give us this information.
To support your exemption case, you can include links to information that is already published, or that you have used while developing the qualification.
If you want us to consider the qualification for loans, give us a hyperlink to the page on your website that has information about the qualification. You can do this within the exemption type 3 form.
Moratorium exemption type 3 closures
During the focused review, we will continue not to accept moratorium type 3 exemption applications for level 3 qualifications in these sector subject areas (SSAs):
- ICT user
- ICT practitioner
- child development and wellbeing
- teaching and lecturing
- direct learning support
- health and social care
- science
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- building and construction
- engineering
We will also continue not to accept these applications for level 2 qualifications in these SSAs:
- child development and wellbeing
- health and social care
- science
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- building and construction
- engineering
This reflects changes to the funding approval process which began during 2023 to 2024.
Exemption type 4: replacement of currently approved qualifications
During the focused review, if you are updating a qualification that we have already approved for funding in the 2024 to 2025 funding year, you need to send us:
- the full title and reference number of the existing qualification that we have approved for funding in 2024 to 2025
- details of the new qualification that replaces the existing qualification
- why you need to update the existing qualification
- where the updated qualification is different in size, title or level from the existing qualification, explain why this is and why the updated qualification is being treated as a replacement and not a newly regulated qualification
- the qualification specification
Provide this information using the exemption type 4 form. If you want us to consider the qualification for loans, give us a hyperlink to the page on your website that has information about the qualification. You can do this within the exemption type 4 form.
We will update this section of the manual as necessary after the focused review.
Moratorium exemption type 4 closures
During the focused review, we will continue not to accept moratorium type 4 exemption applications for level 3 qualifications in these SSAs:
- ICT user
- ICT practitioner
- child development and wellbeing
- teaching and lecturing
- direct learning support
- health and social care
- science
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- building and construction
- engineering
We will also continue not to accept these applications for level 2 qualifications in these SSAs:
- child development and wellbeing
- health and social care
- science
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- building and construction
- engineering
We will review the newly regulated and amended qualifications against the common approval principles and the approval principles for each qualification offer. Where the qualification is being considered as a moratorium exemption it will also be considered against the exemption criteria.
We may need to review your qualification’s specification to check that the qualification meets the approval principles. Make sure you include a link to the qualification specification in Ofqual’s register. If we cannot easily find a qualification’s specification during review, we may not approve that qualification for funding.
We reserve the right to not approve a qualification for funding if we have concerns about its content or you do not send us the information that we ask for.
If we decide not to approve a qualification for funding we will tell you why, unless the qualification is the end-point assessment qualification for an apprenticeship. We will use our known named contacts in awarding organisations to do this.
If we need more information to decide whether to approve a qualification for funding, we put our approval decision on hold and ask you for that information. We will give you a deadline to supply that information. If we do not receive a reply from you by that deadline, we may decide to not approve the qualification for funding.
Academies and maintained schools can no longer ask us if they can deliver a non-regulated qualification to their students. Read changes to specific offers for more information.
Applying approval principles for loans
To confirm your qualification, we will check its specification. We will also check that you have made information about the qualification and its expected learning outcomes available to students, who may be considering taking out a loan.
Where your qualifications are part of the loans offer, we expect you to publicly promote those qualifications to your centres and to prospective students. This includes providing students with accessible information about your qualifications and the outcomes they support, so that students can make an informed choice. You can do this through your website, or through the centres offering your qualifications.
We will publish funding approval information on the list of qualifications approved for funding. Each update to the website will include the qualifications that we approved for funding in the funding approval cycle.
We will update the list of qualifications approved for funding, and ESFA will add funding validity information to Find a learning aim, for qualifications that meet the approval principles.
ESFA will also state funding rates or maximum loan amounts for the qualifications we add to Find a learning aim. You can find more information about how ESFA calculates these rates in:
- adult education budget (AEB) funding rates and formula
- maximum loan amounts for advanced learner loans designated qualifications
ESFA will also add category codes for qualifications in the:
- statutory entitlements
- ESFA funded AEB local flexibility
- level 3 free courses for jobs offer
There is more information on category codes in Find a learning aim and ILR sources of data. There is a full list of scheduled updates to Find a learning aim in the data collection maintenance schedule.
How we use dates in Ofqual’s data
We use date information in Ofqual’s register to approve qualifications for funding.
We approve qualifications for one funding year at a time. This means that we will fund new starts on a qualification until the end of the funding year or its operational end date, whichever is sooner. We will do this unless there are reasons to apply an earlier funding approval end date. For example, if an existing qualification is being replaced by an updated qualification as a type 4 exemption to the moratorium, we apply an earlier funding approval end date to the existing qualification.
We use the date information in the same way for all qualification offers, to determine funding approval and validity dates. We make an exception to this for qualifications approved for the level 3 free courses for jobs offer, where the approval start date and category code are effective from the date the qualification is added to the offer or the operational start date of the qualification (if that is later).
The table shows a summary of the relationships between the date fields in the list of qualifications approved for funding, Ofqual’s register, and Find a learning aim.
| Field in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications | Use of date information: list of qualifications approved for funding | Use of date information: ESFA funding validity in Find a learning aim for 14 to 16, 16 to 19, adult skills, ESF, and advanced learner loans (where applicable) – from August 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Operational start date | Approval start date – This will be 1 August 2024, unless the operational start date is after this date. We do not expect a qualification’s regulation start date to be after its operational start date, but if this happens, we will use the regulation start date. For level 3 free courses for jobs, the approval start date is from when the qualification is added to the new funded offer or the operational start date if that is after. |
Validity start date – This will be 1 August 2024, unless the operational start date is after this date. If the regulation start date for a qualification is after its operational start date, we will use the regulation start date. |
| Operational end date | Approval end date – This will be 31 July 2024, unless the operational end date is before this date. | Approval end date – This will be 31 July 2024, unless the operational end date is before this date. |
| Certification end date | - | Validity end date – This will be 3 years after the last date for new starts, unless you have specified an earlier certification end date |
The last date for new starts in Find a learning aim shows the last date that students can be recorded as starting on a qualification in the current funding year and be eligible for funding from us.
From 1 August 2022, ESFA publishes funding validity information for the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers separately in Find a learning aim.
Academies and maintained schools can deliver qualifications approved for funding in the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers to their students. The funding regulation guidance has more information.
The European Social Fund (ESF) programme for 2014 to 2020 in England ended on 31 December 2023. Qualifications in the European Social Fund have an approval end date no later than 31 March 2023.
Find a learning aim shows a last date for new starts no later than 31 March 2023.
We will remove references to this offer from our list of qualifications approved for funding during 2024 to 2025.
Funding approval start dates
We publish funding approval information on the list of qualifications approved for funding.
This includes the funding approval start and end dates for qualifications in our funded offers.
For the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers, we:
- have maintained the previously published funding approval start dates for qualifications that we have already approved for funding
- will calculate the funding approval start date using the table above, if we approve a qualification for funding after 1 August 2024
For qualifications that we have already approved for funding in our other offers, we have set the funding approval start dates to be the same as the funding validity start dates in Find a learning aim. If any of these approval start dates were before 1 August 2016, we have set them to 1 August 2016 on the list of qualifications approved for funding.
If we approve a qualification for funding in these other funded offers after 1 August 2023, we will calculate its funding approval start date using the table above.
We will review qualifications for the following offers termly:
- 14 to 16 offer
- 16 to 19 offer, where you ask us to consider a qualification at levels 4 to 6, and at level 3 and below where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
- ESFA funded AEB local flexibility offer, where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
- statutory entitlement to level 2 or level 3
- statutory entitlement to digital skills
- statutory entitlement to English and maths, where you ask us to update a qualification
- advanced learner loans, where you ask us to consider an HTQ at levels 4 to 5, and at level 3 where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
- level 3 free courses for jobs offer, if you ask for this
We will review qualifications for the level 3 free courses for jobs in:
- September 2023 (with outcomes communicated in December 2023)
- April 2024 (with outcomes communicated in July 2024)
We will publish funding approval information for new qualifications on the list of qualifications approved for funding. We will do this termly, in the second half of the funding approval cycle month.
We will update other amendments to approved qualifications, including changes to approval end dates on a termly basis.
Unless specified differently ESFA will also add the newly approved qualification from each review to Find a learning aim in the second scheduled update to Find a learning aim in the funding approval cycle month.
You may find that some changes to funding validity dates will appear in Find a learning aim before they appear in the list of qualifications approved for funding. This is because each website serves a different purpose and has different update schedules. Advise your centres that they should check whether a qualification has the correct funding approval and validity before they start delivering that qualification to students.
There is a list of scheduled updates to Find a learning aim in data collection maintenance schedule.
Advanced learner loans
After ESFA updates Find a learning aim and we update the list of qualifications approved for funding, ESFA will transfer the same information to the Student Loans Company.
The Student Loans Company uses this information to check student eligibility for loans.
The maximum loan amount for each approved qualification is in Find a learning aim.
You must make sure your hyperlinks work for both:
- new qualifications that you submit
- qualifications that are already approved for loans
If you want us to update a link that is already published on the list of qualifications approved for funding, use the Level 4 to 6 notification form.
You must state on the form that you want us to update the hyperlink. If we find that a hyperlink on the list of qualifications approved for funding is no longer working, we will remove the link from the website.
Exemptions to the moratorium
We will consider exemptions in all 4 types termly for all funded qualification offers.
You must send the relevant completed forms and evidence to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk before 5pm on the second to last Monday in each month.
We will take a download of Ofqual’s register on the second to last Tuesday of the month before the funding approval cycle. We will use the downloaded information to review your exemption case.