Correspondence

DfE Update further education: 10 September 2025

Published 10 September 2025

Applies to England

1. Action: Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund digital form

From academic year 2025 to 2026, we’ve changed how you access funding for the Care to Learn scheme and the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, defined vulnerable groups element and we have explained this in the funding rules for each scheme.

You must now submit a funding claim form to us at set points in the year.

The first claim window is now open and the deadline for your submission is 5pm on Wednesday 12 November 2025.

We have published guidance to help you complete your submission which includes the link to the form.

2. Action: Further Education Governor Recruitment Service is open for applications

The Further Education (FE) Governor Recruitment Service (GRS), delivered by Governors for Schools, opened again in July and is now actively supporting colleges with governor recruitment.

Applications are currently open, and we encourage eligible providers to engage with the service.

The GRS continues to be a key part of our support offer to the sector, underpinning the ‘skills for opportunity and growth’ pillar of the Opportunity Mission.

By helping colleges recruit strong governors with the right blend of skills, experience and perspectives, the service can help enhance board effectiveness, strengthen governance across the FE sector and ultimately lead to better outcomes for learners.

The service is available to all statutory FE providers, with priority given to colleges requiring more tailored support.

Access to this is via a DfE referral to ensure fair and consistent assessment of need.

While we will proactively identify colleges for referral, we also encourage providers to make their own case where appropriate.

For further information or to make an application visit recruit an FE governor.

3. Information: 16 to 19 high value course premium for construction for academic year 2026 to 2027

On 23 March 2025, the Chancellor announced £600 million worth of investment to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers.

This will deliver well paid jobs across the country in the construction sector and help build 1.5 million homes to transform communities by the end of this Parliament.

£165 million of new funding will be available to help institutions deliver more construction courses for all learners, with up to £35 million available in academic year 2026 to 2027 to support 16 to 19 funded students.

We have published details of high value course premium (HVCP) for construction, which is additional funding to encourage and support delivery of selected substantial level 2 and level 3 study programmes and T Levels in sector subject area (SSA) 5.2 – Building and construction, to support an increase in skilled construction workers.

4. Information: Free courses for jobs construction expansion

We are continuing to expand the free courses for jobs (FCFJ) offer to support providers to deliver more construction training.

In addition to the new reformed qualifications at level 2 we announced in May, we have reviewed further construction qualifications for the national list and have approved 44 qualifications to be added to the list from September 2025.

These courses will be eligible for the £600 and £150 uplifts that apply to FCFJ provision in non-devolved areas.

It is at the discretion of Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to check with the relevant local authority if they want to fund these courses or apply the uplift.

We will be publishing an update to the funding approval manual in due course which will provide more information about the process for submitting further construction qualifications for addition to the FCFJ list.

5. Information: No further requests for 16 to 19 business cases for academic year 2025 to 2026

The window to request a 16 to 19 business case for the 2025 to 2026 academic year has now closed and no further requests will be considered.

6. Information: Cohort 6 of the Teacher Mentoring Programme in the FE sector

We are pleased to confirm that applications remain open for Cohort 6 of the Teacher Mentoring Programme (TMP) in the FE sector.

Managed by Cognition Learning Group, TMP equips individual FE staff with mentoring skills to better support early career teachers.

To help providers train and support mentors, an optional grant of up to £4,000 per mentor (for up to 5 mentors) is available.

Mentors are expected to complete 27.5 hours of professional development and engage in at least 18 hours mentoring.

Cohort 6 will run from Monday 3 November 2025 to Friday 13 February 2026.

To apply or express interest, visit the TMP website.

For queries, contact the TMP team: tmpenquiries@cognitioneducation.com

7. Information: Continuation of the Mentoring Network Grant

We are pleased to confirm the Mentoring Network Grant continues, managed by Cognition Learning Group (CLG), and applications remain open.

This grant supports individual FE providers to strengthen and embed their own mentoring provision, while also encouraging collaboration across the sector to share and promote good practice. The aim is to build a sustainable, evidence-based mentoring culture.

Eligible providers can apply for grants of up to £5,000 and funding is flexible and can be used for activities such as:

• remission costs
• resource development
• collaborative initiatives

The Mentoring Network Grant opened on Monday 5 May 2025 and will run until Friday 27 February 2026.

To apply or express interest, visit the Mentoring Network website.

For queries, contact the CLG team: tmpenquiries@cognitioneducation.com

8. Your feedback: Volunteers needed – FE workforce survey testing

We are looking for teachers, leaders and managers in FE to take part in testing our new survey designed to capture experiences of the FE workforce.

We are particularly interested in hearing from staff working in general FE colleges, sixth form colleges and independent training providers.

The survey will provide vital evidence on topics such as workload, pay and continuous professional development helping to inform future policy.

You will take part in a one-hour video call with a researcher where you will work through survey questions and share your feedback.

Sessions can be arranged around your availability and as a thank you, the research team are able to offer a £25 voucher for your time.

Your feedback is vital to making this research as robust and impactful as possible and will help us improve the survey design, ensuring questions are clear, relevant and impactful.

Testing will take place during the week commencing Monday 6th October 2025.

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Matt Walker at National Foundation for Educational Research: m.walker@nfer.ac.uk.

When responding, include your role, provider type and college location.