The impact of qualification reviews on funding approval
The impact on our approval principles and processes because of ongoing qualification reform.
On 24 July 2024 the Secretary of State for Education announced that the Department for Education (DfE) would run a short, focused review of post-16 qualifications reform.
The review will conclude before the end of 2024. Its findings will inform a wider review of the curriculum and assessment.
This will not delay the introduction of new reformed qualifications at level 2 and level 3 for first teach from 1 August 2025.
To allow space for this review, we will place a one year pause on the removal of 16 to 19 funding from qualifications assessed as overlapping with T Levels in:
- construction and the built environment
- digital
- education and early years
- health and science
These qualifications were originally scheduled to have their funding approval removed in the 16 to 19 offer after 31 July 2024.
We published a public funding update for qualifications that overlap with T Levels in waves 1 and 2 on 13 August 2024. This confirmed which qualifications on the final waves 1 and 2 T Level overlap list have:
- been approved for funding in 2024 to 2025 and have had their funding approval extended to 31 July 2025, or before if the awarding organisation has set an operational end date before this date
- not had their funding approval extended into 2024 to 2025, as the qualification was not approved for funding in 2023 to 2024 or is not operational in 2024 to 2025
These funding approval extensions were published on our list of qualifications approved for funding website on 13 August 2024. They updated on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s Find a Learning Aim on 27 August 2024.
Qualifications reform has the latest news on post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below, including the focused review.
We stopped routinely approving certain new regulated qualifications at level 3 and below for funding, for students aged 16 and over (including 19 plus), from 1 September 2020.
We continue to approve some new qualifications for funding where they meet exemption criteria. By ‘new qualification’, we mean a qualification with a new qualification number on Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications.
For the rest of this manual, we refer to this as the ‘moratorium’. We will continue to approve qualifications at level 3 and below for funding in the 14 to 16 offer. The moratorium does not apply to T Levels.
This moratorium is separate from the moratoriums on new technical or applied qualifications being added to the 16 to 18 performance tables, and new qualifications entering the Advanced Learner Loans offer. It will run alongside them.
We published a response to the second stage consultation of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3. After this, we have confirmed additional types of qualifications which are exempt from the moratorium:
- International Baccalaureate Diploma
- Core Maths qualifications
- Extended Project qualifications
- Advanced Extension Awards
- Performing Arts Graded Examinations
- Higher Project Qualifications
- English and maths functional skills qualifications
We introduced the moratorium in 2020 for an initial period of 3 years, subject to annual review and allowed exemptions to the moratorium. In the 2023 to 2024 and 2025 to 2026 manuals we announced that level 2 and level 3 qualifications in certain sector subject areas (SSAs), which aligned with cycle 1 of new reformed qualifications, would no longer be allowed exemptions from this moratorium.
During the focused review of post-16 qualification reforms at level 3 and below, we will maintain the moratorium and the moratorium exemption closures that operated in 2023 to 2024.
We will update this section of the manual when the focused review is complete.
The moratorium on non-HTQ level 4 to level 6 qualifications entering the Advanced Learner Loans offer will continue to operate until further notice.
We will update this section of the manual.
Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) at level 4 and 5 are approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) against approved occupational standards. They allow learners to enter their chosen profession or progress onto higher education.
We identify HTQs at level 4 and 5 which are available in Advanced Learner Loans in our list of qualifications approved for funding. We automatically approve HTQs for loans where they meet loans criteria and have already been approved by IfATE.
Approved HTQs can be designated for Higher Education Student Finance (HESF) funding where they meet the necessary eligibility criteria. Some Ofqual regulated qualifications that do not meet the HESF criteria will be approved and available through loans only.
Some HTQs that meet HESF criteria may also be approved and available through loans. This is for a transitional period only. The provider must determine which funding route will apply for their HTQ course if both:
- an HTQ is eligible for funding through both HESF and loans
- the provider delivering the qualification already holds Office for Students registration and has a contract with ESFA for Advanced Learner Loans delivery
Providers can only select one funding route. Loans and HESF funding may not be mixed for an individual HTQ course in a single provider.
IfATE’s website gives:
- further information on dual eligibility and how it will work
- a list of approved HTQs
We will update this section of the manual if we need to.
We have added qualifications in the 16 to 18 performance tables for 2026 to our qualifications offers for 2024 to 2025, including the loans offer.
We have not added any more Technical Certificates, Tech Levels or Applied General qualifications to the offers in 2024 to 2025. This is because of the current moratorium on these performance tables qualifications.
We will review the 16 to 18 performance tables for 2027, to make sure that our funded qualification offers for 2025 to 2026 reflect them. We will remove qualifications from our offers if you either:
- have asked us to withdraw them from the performance tables
- make a change to the qualification which means it is no longer eligible to be approved - for example, applying an earlier operational end date
We also expect awarding organisations to inform us if you make changes that mean the qualifications no longer meet the requirements for performance table qualifications.
We have added Key Stage 4 Technical Award qualifications confirmed for 2026 performance tables to the 14 to 16 offer for 2024 to 2025.