Guidance

DfE subcontracting standard

Subcontracting assurance arrangements for all Department for Education (DfE) funded post-16 providers.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This document and the supporting auditors guidance set out the requirements for all providers who subcontract £100,000 or more of their delivery, across all DfE funding streams.

Subcontracting standard audit reports for in-scope providers, should be submitted using document exchange by 31 August.

Updates to this page

Published 28 July 2021
Last updated 27 February 2026 show all updates
  1. Added 'Subcontracting standard oversight arrangements for post-16 providers' and updated 'Assurance reviews of subcontracting standards for post-16 providers: framework and guide for reporting accountants'. Removed the 'DfE subcontracting' PDF as this is a duplication of the information on the 'DfE subcontracting' HTML document.

  2. Added the date of 31 July 2025 for subcontracting standard audit reports to be submitted using Document Exchange.

  3. Added assurance reviews of the subcontracting standard for post-16 providers document.

  4. First published.

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