Focused review of post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below

On Wednesday 24 July, the Department for Education (DfE) announced that they are undertaking a focused review of post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below. This review will assess how best to improve the quality of the overall qualifications landscape and ensure that all young people and adults have high-quality options that meet their needs. The review will begin immediately and will examine the current planned reforms to look at how high-quality qualifications like T Levels are open to as many people as possible, whilst high-quality alternatives are available where they are needed.

To allow space for this review, the DfE is placing a pause on the removal of 16-19 funding from qualifications assessed as overlapping with T Levels which were originally scheduled to have funding removed on 31 July 2024 in Construction and the Built Environment, Digital, Education and Early Years and Health and Science. This will mean that, subject to any decisions made by awarding organisations on these qualifications, they can be funded for 16-19 year old new students in the 2024/25 academic year.

Our level 3 Applied Qualifications were not affected by the planned defunding for the 2024/25 academic year, and this latest development should have no impact on centres’ plans for courses starting in September 2024.

Whilst the announcement from the DfE specifically references T Levels and ‘qualifications assessed as overlapping with T Levels’, the focused review will encompass all post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below, which includes our Applied Qualifications in Medical Science, Food Science and Nutrition, Health and Social Care and Criminology.

We will keep you updated on the outcomes of the review as they become known.

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You can read the DfE announcement on the focused review of Post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below here.