Correspondence

ESFA Update further education: 14 February 2024

Published 14 February 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-14-february-2024/esfa-update-further-education-14-february-2024

1. Information: 16 to 19 funding arrangements for 2024 to 2025

We have published details on how 16 to 19 funding will work for academic year 2024 to 2025 and confirmed the timeline for delivering allocations.

We have increased the national funding rate for students aged 16 and 17 and students aged 18 and over with high needs in band 5 to £4,843, and we will continue to fund an extra 40 hours per student. We’ve also confirmed the funding rates for T Levels and other students.

We’ve introduced the below new policies for 2024 to 2025:

We’ve increased rates for:

We’ve made changes to the maths and English condition of funding to explain:

  • the minimum teaching hours for maths and English
  • how we will implement a phased removal of the tolerance starting in 2025 to 2026

You can see a summary of what’s changed by clicking on the ‘see all updates’ link towards the top of each GOV.UK page.

If you have any questions after reading our guidance, please contact us using our online enquiry form.

2. Information: take part in Further Education Mastery Specialists (FEMS) expansion

The Department for Education (DfE) has expanded the FEMS programme for post-16 level 2 maths, with fully funded training for at least 80 Further Education (FE) teachers in 2024 to 2025.  

The FEMS programme is coordinated by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) as part of the Maths Hub programme. This free 2 year programme supports participants to develop highly effective approaches to teaching GCSE maths resit and Functional Skills Maths, using the principles of teaching for mastery.  

Teaching for mastery is a pedagogical approach based on techniques used in high performing East Asian countries and aims to develop a deep and connected understanding of maths for all learners. As well as increasing their own knowledge, participants will help develop teaching for mastery approaches in their own institutions, spreading the benefits more widely, while being supported by peers from the FEMS programme. 

To find more information, visit post-16 GCSE and Functional Skills Qualifications Mastery Specialists.

3. Information: introducing the Customer Help Portal

The way you contact the DfE and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is changing. From 4 March, we are introducing a new Customer Help Portal that revolutionises how you ask questions and get tailored support. For more information, see our help centre article.

4. Information: thank you for your FE Workforce Data Collection data submissions

The collection period for the 2022 to 2023 data round closed on 9 February 2024. We wanted to thank you for your efforts completing returns. The intel provided will be used to help inform and shape future policy decisions.  

The DfE’s next steps are to analyse and publish findings. We will communicate with the sector when this is complete and published. 

We will also be communicating when guidance and supporting documents are available for the upcoming 2023 to 2024 data round. This collection period will open in the Autumn, exact date to be confirmed shortly. 

Thank you for your support.

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