DfE Update further education: 17 June 2026
Published 17 June 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-update-17-june-2026/dfe-update-further-education-17-june-2026
1. Information: Free school meal rate uplifts for academic year 2026 to 2027
We are implementing a free school meal rate uplift to £2.66 for academic year 2026 to 2027.
This applies to:
- universal infant free school meals
- further education (FE) free meals
- school sixth forms, who will receive specific meal funding for the first time. This will be at the same £2.66 meal rate and will only apply to the expanded cohort
2. Information: Adult skills funding postcode updates
We have updated the postcode data sets for adult skills funding and new strategic authorities.
This is the final update to academic year 2025 to 2026 data and includes new data for 7 new strategic authorities in readiness for academic year 2026 to 2027:
- Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority
- Lancashire Combined County Authority
- Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority
- Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority
- Buckinghamshire Council
- Surrey County Council
- Warwickshire County Council
We have also published the adult skills fund (ASF) postcode data files and related guidance information.
3. Reminder: Submit your post-16 subcontracting standard report by Monday 31 August 2026
You must submit a subcontracting standard report if you subcontract £100,000 or more of post-16 provision across all relevant funding streams in the 2025 to 2026 funding year. You must also be in scope of the subcontracting standard under current DfE guidance.
Submit your completed report on or before Monday 31 August 2026 using Document exchange.
Ensure your documents are uploaded as:
- Subcontracting Standard RAG Rated Report (20005)
- Subcontracting Standard Statement (20006)
- Subcontracting standard self-assessment template (20009)
You must submit a report by the deadline if you:
- did not previously meet the subcontracting standard
- have not completed a subcontracting standard assessment
If you have already met the subcontracting standard, you do not need to submit another report until your next review cycle. Check your latest outcome letter to confirm when your next submission is due.
Read the DfE subcontracting standard guidance for full requirements, including:
- scope
- evidence requirements
- validation criteria
Contact your DfE case manager or the Customer help centre if you need any further support.
4. Feedback: Take part in a FE Direct Practitioners roundtable on sustainability
We are inviting FE practitioners to take part in a virtual roundtable focusing on sustainability and climate action in FE settings.
We want to hear about your frontline experiences, challenges, and ideas. These will help inform the ongoing development of DfE Sustainability Support Programmes, to ensure they work effectively for FE delivery. Discussions will focus on how sustainability can be embedded into teaching, learning, and operations.
This roundtable is organised by the Climate Ambassadors programme, in collaboration with DfE, and will take place on Microsoft Teams:
- 3:30pm to 5:30pm on Wednesday 15 July 2026
We welcome FE practitioners who are currently involved in, or interested in developing, sustainability and climate action initiatives to join us. Please also share this invitation with relevant colleagues in your organisation.
Register your expression of interest to take part.