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DfE Update further education: 19 August 2026

Published 19 August 2026

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-update-19-august-2026/dfe-update-further-education-19-august-2026

Action: Further education workforce data collection  for 2025 to 2026 is now open

The further education (FE) workforce data collection (FEWDC) 2025 to 2026 opened on Friday 31 July 2026 and will close on Friday 11 September 2026. To access the collection or create an account, use the submit learner data sign in process.

FEWDC is a mandatory statutory return that provides essential national and regional insights into the FE workforce in England. This data is instrumental in guiding future policy development. 

Providers are required to submit the requested data by the submission deadline as we will be unable to grant an extension. 

You can access the updated collection specification and supporting guidance on the FEWDC 2025 to 2026 GOV.UK page.

We will be running sessions each day from 11am to 11:30am throughout the collection window to support you in completing your FEWDC. To register your interest, email  DCT.BetaSupport@education.gov.uk.

If you require any further help, contact the Customer Help Portal. 

Information: 16 to 19 in-year growth funding for 2026 to 2027 academic year

We have published details of the 16 to 19 exceptional in-year growth policy. 

For 2026 to 2027 academic year, we are committing to fund all growth, according to the published methodology, so providers can be confident in offering suitable places in post-16 education for every young person that wants one. 

This commitment gives colleges, and other providers, confidence to recruit and retain excellent teachers, invest in equipment or expand their offer.  

We aim to notify all providers that will be awarded growth by the end of April 2027 and start to make payments in May 2027.

Information: Earnings adjustment statement

We have published guidance for submitting the earnings adjustment statement (EAS) for funding year 2026 to 2027. This includes supporting documents, a template comma separated value (CSV) file and validation rules, to help you with your return.  

This year’s version contains the following changes: 

  • added new source of funding codes for the 7 new strategic authorities in 2026 to 2027 

  • updated the funding lines accepted by the EAS submission 

  • the way you will pay back funding relating to the funding rules monitoring report FRM27 

Information: Understand your funding dashboards updated for 2026 to 2027

Understand your funding dashboards in submit learner data have been updated for the new 2026 to 2027 year and are now available. They include the new FM39 growth and skills short course offer apprenticeship units.  

The dashboard shows the funding values that are calculated based on your Individualised Learner Record (ILR) file submission. Your funding data is all in one place and updates almost instantly each time you submit an ILR or earnings adjustment statement file.   

The dashboard has 3 sections: Funding  summary, Contract  value and Learners. You can view:   

  • totals for the current period or year to date   

  • year on year comparison   

  • breakdowns by funding models and learner numbers   

  • delivery against contract values, where applicable  

  • counts of your learners by status, for example withdrawn or completed

 Read more about understand your funding on our updated guidance page.  

Information: Updated guidance for colleges on streamlined energy and carbon reporting 

We have updated our guidance for colleges on streamlined energy and carbon reporting to reflect the latest emissions conversion factors.   

This guidance will help you with reporting energy consumption in your 2025 to 2026 accounts and develop good practice in your colleges. The following roles may find it useful:

  • finance directors
  • accounting officers
  • principals
  • governors of colleges

Information: New DfE newsletter for directors of children’s services from September 2026

From September, to reduce the number of separate emails sent to directors of children’s services (DCS) in local authorities, we will remove them from the DfE Update distribution list.

Instead, we will send a new newsletter to DCS. It will include links to the main DfE newsletters, including DfE Update. It will also bring together other messages currently sent by different teams across the department.

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