Correspondence

DfE Update further education: 7 May 2025

Published 7 May 2025

Applies to England

1. Information: 16 to 19 subcontracting

We have published the 16 to 19 subcontracting data for academic year 2023 to 2024.

This publication includes subcontracting data for further education (FE) institutions, schools and academies funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

It is based on the R14 individualised learner record (ILR) return produced by FE institutions, and the autumn census return for schools and academies.

2. Information: New guidance for training providers for replacement apprenticeships certificates

Once your apprentice has completed their apprenticeship and passed their end-point assessment, their end-point assessment organisation will request their certificate from the Department for Education.

If your apprentice’s certificate is incorrect, damaged, or lost, they can request a replacement certificate, by contacting the National Apprenticeship Helpline:

• Call: 0800 0150 400
• Email: nationalhelpdesk@apprenticeships.gov.uk

To note, certificates can take up to 3 weeks to arrive.

3. Information: Learning aim reference service: category codes

We have updated the learning aim reference service (LARS): category codes guidance.

The most notable update is the discontinuation of category codes 6 to 14, effective from Friday 1 August 2025.

4. Information: Provision recognised as higher education for Office for Students regulatory purposes

We have published a new guidance document for higher education learning aim requests.

This can be found on the Learning aim reference (LARS) webpage and is titled ‘Provision recognised as higher education for Office for Students regulatory purposes’. 

The document includes some important changes:

• HECoS codes replacing LDCS codes
• validation letters are no longer required
• comprehensive list of learning aim types (including 3 new codes)

5. Information: Post-16 budget grant

We have updated the post-16 budget grant (previously called the ‘post-16 schools budget grant’) methodology and conditions of grant and published allocations from April 2025.

From April 2025, the grant includes further education colleges and sixth-form colleges.

This one-off grant will enable providers to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention.

6. Information: College financial planning handbook and college financial forecasting return (CFFR) 2025 now published

We have published the college financial planning handbook 2025 and CFFR template 2025. 

Colleges must complete their CFFR and submit it with any associated documents, including their commentary, to DfE through the College financial data (CFD) service.

A DfE Sign-in account will be required to login. If you do not have access to DfE Sign-in, you can make a request to create a DfE Sign-in account. 

It is currently intended that the portal will be available to use from Wednesday 18 June 2025 onwards.

A message will be included in a future issue of DfE Update notifying the sector when it has gone live.  All colleges must submit a return by Thursday 31 July 2025. 

This is a mandatory return and part of DfE’s ongoing review of college financial health and budget forecasting.  

We also have published a CFFR User guide that includes updated information on completing the CFFR.

7. Your feedback: Guided Learning Hours (GLH) thematic review

We are currently undertaking an information gathering exercise about provider approaches to GLH, to better understand the current delivery landscape and learner experience, and how delivery models have evolved over recent years. This will be used to inform potential future policy considerations.

The online survey will be circulated to all Adult Skills Fund providers in the Summer Term Skills Engagement survey. 

The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete and should be completed by the employee in your organisation with responsibility for curriculum delivery. 

We encourage respondents to return the survey by Monday 16 June 2025. 

In addition to the survey, discussions will be held with a selection of providers to gather more detailed information once the survey has closed. 

If you have any questions or queries regarding the survey, please contact learner.review@education.gov.uk.