Update: Post-16 level 3 and below qualifications with low and no enrolments in schools and further education
Changes to the timeline for the removal of ESFA funding
At the end of February 2020 we shared the ESFA’s plans to remove funding for post-16 level 3 and below qualifications with low and no enrolments, after 31 July 2021. This affects 16-18 year-olds on study programmes, and 19+ year-olds funded under the Adult Education Budget, the European Social Fund (ESF), or accessing Advanced Learner Loans.
The ESFA set up a process for awarding bodies to make a request to retain public funding where removal would have an adverse impact on specific individuals or schools, or on specific occupational or geographical areas. They are aware of the pressures on awarding bodies and schools, colleges and training providers, due to the current unprecedented circumstances, and have therefore set out revised timelines.
- For qualifications with no funded enrolments: the ESFA originally required awarding bodies to inform them of any requests to retain funding by 27 March 2020. The ESFA has extended the deadline and will confirm which qualifications will have a funding end date of 31 July 2021, shortly after September 2020.
- For qualifications with low publicly funded enrolments: the process is being suspended. Qualifications with low enrolments will retain funding approval for 2021/22. The ESFA will re-launch the notification process for these in the autumn and these qualifications could have funding removed for 2022/23.
What does this mean for you?
Due to the revised timeline:
- Three qualifications offered in schools and 39 qualifications offered in colleges will now have funding approval removed from the end of July 2021. These qualifications have had no enrolments since 2015/16. We will not be submitting requests to retain public funding for these qualifications. See the FAQs for the complete lists.
- We will be in touch about qualifications with low enrolments when the ESFA restarts the process in the autumn. The ESFA will not remove funding for these qualifications in 2021/22.
Please see below for more information and the full list of school and college qualifications affected.
If you’d like to talk to us about the qualifications delivered in schools please contact 0161 855 7587 or VQManchester@pearson.com.
If you’d like to talk to us about the qualifications delivered in further education colleges please contact fecentresupport@pearson.com.
FAQs
500/8433/1 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Award in Skills and Activities for Sport and Active Leisure (Outdoor Education)
500/8433/1 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Award in Skills and Activities for Sport and Active Leisure (Outdoor Education)
600/3582/1 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Construction Occupations
- 500/8541/4 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Award in Skills and Activities for Sport and Active Leisure (Outdoor Education)
- 500/9273/X Pearson BTEC Level 2 Award in Employment Awareness in Active Leisure and Learning
- 501/0621/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Engineering Maintenance and Installation
- 501/1029/9 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Logistics Operations
- 501/1111/5 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Traffic Office
- 501/1766/X Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Maternity and Paediatric Support
- 501/1767/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support Services
- 501/2059/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Certificate in Traffic Office
- 501/2216/2 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Perioperative Support
- 600/0152/5 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Custodial Care
- 600/0379/0 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Knowledge of Custodial Care
- 600/0486/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Facilities Management Practice
- 600/1217/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Award in Employee Rights and Responsibilities in the Logistics Industry
- 600/1226/2 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Contact Centre Operations
- 600/1236/5 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Sales
- 600/1313/8 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Award in Initial Incident Command in Fire and Rescue Services
- 600/1337/0 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Principles of Sales
- 600/1490/8 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Providing Financial Services
- 600/1636/X Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate In Contact Centre Operations
- 600/2407/0 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Learning and Development
- 600/2696/0 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Warehousing and Storage
- 600/2714/9 Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Certificate in International Trade and Logistics Operations
- 600/2933/X Pearson Edexcel Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Marketing
- 600/3050/1 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Certificate in Improving Performance for Manufacturing Engineering Operations
- 600/3576/6 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Principles of Marketing
- 600/7813/3 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Building Services Engineering for Technicians
- 600/7906/X Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Town Planning Technical Support
- 600/7908/3 Pearson BTEC Level 1 Certificate in Teamwork, Personal Skills and Citizenship in Youth Organisations
- 600/9666/4 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Award in Employment and Personal Learning Skills in Health
- 601/0117/9 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Award in Employment and Personal Learning Skills in Health
- 601/2543/3 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering Maintenance
- 601/2548/2 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering
- 601/2668/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Built Environment Design
- 601/4047/1 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance
- 601/5379/9 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Facilities Management
- 601/6283/1 Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Recruitment Practice
- 601/6889/4 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Extended Certificate in Principles of Working in Customer Service
- 601/7389/0 Pearson BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering (Foundation Competence)
- 601/8682/3 Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners
- As a result of the first stage of the DfE’s Review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England, the ESFA announced the qualifications with low or no funded enrolments that will have funding removed from 31 July 2021. The ESFA published the announcement along with the full list of qualifications affected. The timeline for funding removal has now been revised.
- The DfE refers to this removal of funding as ‘securing early progress’ towards a simpler post-16 vocational system before the next stage of the review is released in spring/summer 2020. In the next stage, the DfE will say more about the criteria that will be used to manage the funding approval of all post-16 level 3 and below qualifications in the future. We expect the changes to the funding approval of qualifications to take place from September 2023 onwards, in line with the rollout of T Levels.
The qualifications affected are all post-16, vocational qualifications, at level 3 and below, and currently have low, or no, funded enrolments.
The funding removal will affect 16-18 year-olds on study programmes, and 19+ year-olds funded under the Adult Education Budget, the European Social Fund (ESF), or accessing Advanced Learner Loans.
In line with the revised timeline, funding will be removed by the ESFA after 31 July 2021 for qualifications with no enrolments. Funding will not be removed by the ESFA for qualifications with low enrollments until 31 July 2022.
Yes, in many cases qualifications that will have funding removed, have an alternative option either available to teach now or in development.
- The ESFA are aware that there may be valid reasons why a qualification that has low or no enrolments should continue to receive public funding. They have therefore also published a process for awarding organisations to make a case for the qualification where funding needs to be retained.
- We have reviewed the qualifications and will not be submitting a request to retain funding for any of the qualifications with no enrolments that will have funding removed from the end of July 2021.
- We will be in touch about qualifications with low enrolments when the ESFA restarts the process for removing funding for these qualifications in the autumn. In the meantime, these qualifications will continue to be funded until the end of July 2022.
The ESFA announcement applies to funded provision in England only. We will inform you as usual if we withdraw any provision you offer with us in Wales and Northern Ireland.
If you are a school please contact 0161 855 7587 or VQManchester@pearson.com.
If you are a further education college please contact fecentresupport@pearson.com.
