DfE Update further education: 15 October 2025
Published 15 October 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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1. Action: Register for national professional qualifications
You can now apply for national professional qualifications (NPQs).
Courses will begin in November 2025 and this year we hope to run a series of further education (FE) specific groups.
NPQs are professional development courses, available to teachers and leaders in FE settings to develop skills, progress careers and improve student outcomes.
We provide full funding for participation on the following courses:
- professional development courses - participants from 16 to 19 education settings that have high levels of disadvantage. You can view the full list of eligible settings
- special educational needs co-ordinators and headship participants from any 16 to 19 education setting (regardless of disadvantage levels)
Funded places are limited so we strongly encourage early application. Register now.
2. Information: Apprenticeship assessment changes coming
In February 2025, we published the Apprenticeship Assessment Principles which introduced significant changes on how assessment will take place across all apprenticeships.
The changes are intended to streamline the apprenticeship assessment process, enable design and delivery flexibility and remove any duplication.
Where appropriate, assessment will be able to take place during the programme as well as towards the end.
Training providers may also be able to deliver elements of assessment whilst assessment organisations continue to ensure validity of outcomes.
Skills England is finalising the initial group of assessment plans, which are expected to be published later this autumn. These plans will be published as illustrative examples to help employers, training providers, and assessment organisations prepare for future delivery.
While they won’t be available for live use just yet, they demonstrate the principles that will underpin revised assessment plans.
We will provide further details on the implementation of the changes, including when apprentices can begin being assessed under the new plans. In the meantime, current end-point assessments will remain in place.
3. Information: Department for Education payments for Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund
We have published data showing aggregate payments made to childcare providers and education institutions, for both Care to Learn and the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for students in defined vulnerable groups.
The existing dataset has been extended to show take-up and payments for academic years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025.
The Care to Learn scheme helps young parents (aged 20 years and under) to continue in education after the birth of a child.
We provide funding towards childcare and travel costs whilst the young parent is engaged in a study programme.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund provides financial support to help care leavers, students in care, or in receipt of specific benefits, to remain in education.