DfE Update further education: 10 December 2025
Published 10 December 2025
Applies to England
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1. Information: Updates to apprenticeship Sector Subject Area (SSA) codes
We are updating Sector Subject Area (SSA) codes for 139 apprenticeship standards as part of our commitment to data quality and alignment with Ofqual’s latest guidance.
SSA codes are classification codes used to group apprenticeship standards by subject area. They help ensure consistency in reporting and regulatory oversight.
What’s changing:
- 139 apprenticeship standards will have updated SSA codes
- these updates will replace previous mappings to reflect Ofqual’s new guidance
Go live date:
- week commencing 15th December: Updates will go live across Skills England systems and publications
2. Your feedback: Further education workforce survey - deadline extended
We have extended the deadline for the further education (FE) workforce survey to Thursday 18 December.
We are administering a new survey of teachers, leaders and managers in Further Education. We are interested in hearing from staff in General FE Colleges (GFEC), Sixth Form Colleges (SFC) (including 16 to 19 Academies and free schools) and Independent Training Providers (ITP).
The survey will capture vital evidence on topics such as workload, recruitment and retention, pay and professional development.
Our contracted researcher, the National Foundation for Educational Research, emailed all GFECs, SFCs and ITPs a unique link to the survey on Thursday 6 November.
Please share the survey link with your staff, especially teachers, and encourage them to complete it.
The survey will ensure the voices of the FE workforce are heard, directly informing DfE’s future policy and funding decisions for the sector.
Colleges/providers with 10 or more survey respondents will receive a tailored feedback report.
If you need further information or didn’t receive a survey link, please contact m.walker@nfer.ac.uk.