Centre Registration Guidance for BTEC Nationals England Only (Effective from September 2025)

From 1 August 2025, changes to funding eligibility will apply to certain subject sectors. To ensure your learners receive funding, it’s critical that you register them on the correct qualifications.

What’s Changing? 

From September 2025, funding eligibility for two-year Level 3 study programmes is changing across the following BTEC National sectors: 

• Childcare 
• Health and Social Care 
• Applied Science 
• Forensic Science 
• Engineering 
• Construction
• Applied Psychology 
• Computing and IT  

Pearson BTEC Level 3 BTEC Nationals (AAQ) qualifications, for first teaching from September 2025 are not nested with the BTEC Nationals (2016 -2019) learners cannot transfer, top up or fall back between the two suites. 

Although defunded qualifications remain available in Edexcel Online and EDI basedata for registration, this does not mean funding is secure. You should check the Learning Aim Database before registering learners.

Sector-specific registration guidance 

The following tables are guidance for centres in England to make registration decisions for the 2025/26 academic year, future years could change subject to outcomes of the Curriculum and Assessment Review.  

Childcare and Construction 

For these sectors the only funded qualifications from 1 August 2025 are the new Alternative Academic Qualifications. The Construction qualifications will remain open for registrations for those learners who complete the qualifications as part of their apprenticeships.  

Applied Psychology  

Qualifications in this sector will be defunded from the 1 August 2026; this means learners who start their two-year study programme in September 2025 on one size and wish to move to the smaller or larger size qualification must be registered on their final outcome prior to the funding end date of 31 July 2026.  

We recommend learners are registered on the extended certificate from September or would need to be transferred to the extended certificate by the 31 July 2026. 

Applied Human Biology

Applied Human Biology qualifications are available but are not funded in England, these qualifications have been replaced with the AAQ in Medical Science.

Applied Science and Forensic Science  

Qualifications in this sector have different funding arrangements, the smaller 180, 360 and 510 GLH in Applied Science are defunded as of the 1August 2025, whilst the larger sizes are defunded on the 1of August 2026.  

This means for learners’ who start their two-year study programme in September 2025 on the Diploma or Extended Diploma must be registered on these size qualifications to be funded for the 25/26 academic year.  

Health and Social Care  

Qualifications in this sector have different funding arrangements, the smaller 180, 360 and 510 GLH in Applied Science are defunded as of the 1August 2025, whilst the larger sizes are defunded on the 1 of August 2026.  

This means for learners’ who start their two-year study programme in September 2025 on the Diploma or Extended Diploma must be registered on these size qualifications to be funded for the 25/26 academic year.  

Engineering 

Qualifications in this sector have different funding arrangements, please note that the new AAQ Extended Certificate in Engineering is not nested, with the BTEC Nationals 2016. Learners who wish to do a two-year programme and complete the Diplomas in Engineering will need to register on their final outcomes to be funded.  

Qualifications will remain open for registrations for those learners who complete the qualifications as part of their apprenticeship.  

Computing and Information Technology

Qualifications in this sector have different funding arrangements, the smaller 180, 360 and 510 GLH in are defunded as of the 1August 2025, whilst the larger sizes are defunded on the 1 of August 2026.  

This means for learners’ who start their two-year study programme in September 2025 on the Diploma or Extended Diploma must be registered on these size qualifications to be funded for the 25/26 academic year.