How we will review qualifications
The stages we use to review qualifications
We will take a download of data from Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications on the second to last Tuesday in the month before the reviews scheduled for the following month.
During the moratorium, we will only review the following on a termly basis:
- qualifications submitted as exemptions at level 3 or below in the offers for 16 to 19, ESFA funded AEB (including local flexibility and the statutory entitlements), loans and ESF
- qualifications we approve for loans from level 4 to level 6
- qualifications at level 4 to level 6 that you ask us to consider approving for 16 to 19
- qualifications approved for 14 to 16
- English and maths ‘stepping stones’ qualifications requests
The table shows the deadline for each termly review, up to and including July 2024. The deadline for updated ‘stepping stones’ forms and Level 4 to 6 notification forms and moratorium exemption forms is 5pm on the dates stated.
| Funding approval cycle | Deadline for all reviews | Date of download |
|---|---|---|
| August 2023 | 17 July 2023 | 18 July 2023 |
| November 2023 | 23 October 2023 | 24 October 2023 |
| March 2024 | 19 February 2024 | 20 February 2024 |
| June 2024 | 20 May 2024 | 21 May 2024 |
The deadline for all reviews includes moratorium exemption forms, updated ‘stepping stone’ forms, level 4 to 6 notification forms, funding rate reviews and decision reviews.
The March 2024 termly funding approval cycle is the last time we will accept applications for new qualifications to be funded in the advanced learner loans offer. After this there will be a moratorium on entry into this offer, read the lifelong loan entitlement section.
For the level 3 free courses for jobs, we operate a slightly different review timetable. For the 2023 to 2024 funding year, we will consider qualifications for free courses for jobs at the following points:
- September 2023 (with outcomes communicated in December 2023)
- April 2024 (with outcomes communicated in July 2024)
You must email the completed forms to Qualifications.APPROVAL@education.gov.uk before 5pm on:
- 18 September 2023 for the September 2023 window
- 22 April 2024 for the April 2024 window
We will continue to manage our offers by monitoring changes to qualifications data on the Ofqual register on a monthly basis.
We use information recorded in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications to approve qualifications for funding.
You must make sure that you have correctly completed all the necessary fields in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications, which we will need to review your qualification.
The table describes the information in the Register of Regulated Qualifications that we will need to review qualification and to set a funding value. You must correctly complete all the necessary fields.
For qualifications submitted as moratorium exemptions, qualifications which are updated English and maths stepping stones, qualifications submitted to be part of advanced learner loans (level 4 and above) and qualifications submitted to be part of the level 3 free courses for jobs offer, you must also send us the correct completed form.
| Information required | 14 to 16 | 16 to 19 | Statutory entitlements | AEB local flexibility at level 2 and below | Advanced learner loans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification reference number | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification title | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funding in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Age | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Link to qualification specification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AO name | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification type | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sector subject area tier 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operational start date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Operational end date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Certification end date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guided learning hours (GLH) | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Level 4 to 6 notification form | Yes | - | - | - | Yes |
| Updated ‘stepping stones’ qualification form | - | - | Yes | - | - |
A level 4 to 6 notification form is only required for qualifications at levels 4, 5 and 6. An updated ‘stepping stones’ qualification form is only required for English and maths legal entitlements.
Each funding approval cycle, we will identify:
- new qualifications that have become regulated since our last monthly download, that are automatically approved on a monthly basis
- currently funded qualifications where the attributes have been changed on the Ofqual register, on a monthly basis
- qualifications for the 14 to 16 and post-16 offers, including those that you have asked us to review by submitting a form, on a termly basis
- qualifications that you have asked us to review again, on a termly basis – read managing changes which you make to qualifications already approved for funding
We will identify new qualifications by inspecting data in 4 fields of Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications. For each funded offer, we will look for the values specified in the tables in a qualification’s record within Ofqual’s register.
| Register field | 14 to 16 | 16 to 19 | Advanced learner loans | English and maths entitlement | Digital entitlement | Level 2 / level 3 entitlement | AEB flexibility at level 2 and below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funded in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level (must be one of these values | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 |
Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Entry level 3 Level 1 |
Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
| Age group (must be one of these values) | Pre-16 | 16 to 18 18+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
16-18 18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
If the information you have entered for a qualification in Ofqual’s Register does not match the criteria for a particular offer, we will not review the qualification for funding in that offer. If this happens, we will not tell you that we have not reviewed your qualification.
We will not proactively check to see if you make changes to these fields (once we have taken a download from Ofqual’s register), which would bring a qualification into scope for review.
For some of our qualification offers, you must also submit a form to ask us to review a qualification– see the subsections below for more information.
If we have concerns about approving a qualification or we cannot easily find a qualification’s specification during a review, we will hold that qualification for funding approval until we decide. This applies to all our funded qualification offers.
Identifying qualifications for the loans offer
We do not add qualifications to the loans offer automatically. To ask us to review a qualification at level 4 to level 6 for the loans offer, you must correctly complete both:
- the necessary fields in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications
- the level 4 to 6 notification form
Use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us in that month. You need to give us all the information that we ask for. Without this information, we cannot approve the qualification for the loans offer.
This last deadline for applying for the advanced learner loans offer will be 19 February 2024, for consideration in our March 2024 funding approval cycle. From 1 April 2024 there will be a moratorium on new qualifications entering the advanced learner loans offer, ahead of the introduction of the lifelong loan entitlement.
For each qualification you include in the notification form, you must include a working hyperlink to where you publish information about that qualification online. This must be a link to the webpage where the information is available, not to an individual document or qualification specification. We will make this link available through the list of qualifications approved for funding, and we will share it with the National Careers Service.
In the notification form, you must also tell us whether you intend to also submit a qualification at level 4 or 5 to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education for approval as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ), including which application cycle you intend to submit the qualification for.
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled review. We will review those qualifications in the following month (referred to as the ‘review month’ for the rest of the manual).
If you send your form to us before the deadline but need to change the information in it, you can email us an updated form before the deadline. Tell us in your email if your updated form replaces a form that you have sent to us earlier in the month. If you have made more than one submission, we will only use the latest form we receive from you before the submission deadline for our review.
Extra information and evidence for loan exceptions
If you include a qualification that is at level 4 or above and is below the size threshold of 150 GLH, you must give us some extra information in the notification form.
You must send us a statement that explains:
- which of the 15 technical routes the qualification aligns to
- which occupation the qualification maps to within the technical route
- which of the occupational outcomes the qualification supports
- how the qualification supports the occupational outcome
Technical routes are structured around clusters of occupations that share common knowledge and skills and offer progression to and through skilled employment.
You must give us evidence that the qualification supports the outcome that you have listed.
You must use evidence that already exists. For example, you could use:
- a link to a professional body website that references the qualification title at the level that you are submitting
- a selection of links to a recent job advert or adverts that reference the requirement of a particular qualification – you do not need to provide more than 10 examples
- a link to evidence that the qualification has been designed to respond to a higher-level skills gap, such as local skills strategy, a sector specific strategy, or industry specific strategy
We will not accept letters of support from your partners or centres as evidence.
Identifying level 4 and above qualifications for the 16 to 19 offer
We no longer add qualifications at level 4 and above to the 16 to 19 offer automatically. To ask us to review a qualification at level 4 and above for the 16 to 19 offer, you must correctly complete both:
- the necessary fields in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications
- the level 4 to 6 notification form
Use one form for your organisation, which includes all the qualifications you notify to us in that month. You need to give us all the information that we ask for. Without this information, we cannot approve the qualification for the loans offer.
You must also clearly state the reason and rationale for the qualifications being available 16 to 19 or 18 plus.
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled review. We will review those qualifications in the following month (referred to as the ‘review month’ for the rest of the manual).
If you send your form to us before the deadline but need to change the information in it, you can email us an updated form before the deadline. Tell us in your email if your updated form replaces a form that you have sent to us earlier in the month. If you have made more than one submission, we will only use the latest form we receive from you before the submission deadline for our review.
Identifying updated ‘stepping stones’ qualifications for the English and maths statutory entitlement and 16 to 19 condition of funding
You can ask us to consider replacing an existing modular ‘stepping stone’ qualification in either English or maths, with an updated ‘stepping stone’ qualification. To do this, you must complete an updated ‘stepping stones’ qualification form 2023 to 2024.
Use one form for your organisation, which includes details of the qualifications that you want us to review. You need to give us all the information that we ask for.
For each qualification that you want to replace, you must also send us a statement that sets out how:
- the updated qualification’s learning outcomes and assessment criteria map to reformed functional skills subject content
- the updated qualification shares the same design characteristics as the modular qualification that it replaces
You must email your completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk. Your email with the completed form must reach us by 5pm on the second to last Monday of the month before each scheduled review. We will review those qualifications in the following month (referred to as the ‘review month’ for the rest of the manual).
Identifying qualifications for the level 3 free courses for jobs
If you want to ask us to add qualifications to the level 3 free courses for jobs offer, you must complete a level 3 free courses for jobs notification form and send it to us. If you are an awarding organisation (AO), use the notification form for AOs. If you are a mayoral combined authority (MCA) or Greater London Authority (GLA), use the notification form for MCAs and GLA.
You must include all of the qualifications you want to notify to us for that window. Qualifications must already be approved for an existing post-19 offer.
There are no further application windows in 2022 to 2023. For the 2023 to 2024 funding year, the notification windows are:
- September 2023 (with outcomes communicated in December 2023)
- April 2024 (with outcomes communicated in July 2024)
You must email the completed form to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk before 5:00pm on 18 September 2023 and before 5:00pm on 22 April 2024.
Identifying qualifications to consider as a moratorium exemption
We will consider approving new qualifications for funding at level 3 and below in funded offers for students aged 16 and over where they meet the exemption criteria.
Exemption types 1 and 2
If the qualification is automatically approved for funding, or been developed as part of qualification reforms, we will usually not need any additional information from you.
We will use information that you have already entered in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications to review and approve these qualifications for funding.
You must make sure that the information for these qualifications in the Register of Regulated Qualifications is complete and accurate.
| Register field | 16 to 19 | ESFA funded AEB local flexibility | Advanced learner loans | English and maths entitlement | Digital entitlement | Level 2 / level 3 entitlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offered in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funded in England | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification level (must be one of these values) | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Level 3 | Entry level 1 Entry level 2 Entry level 3 Level 1 Level 1 / 2 Level 2 |
Entry level 3 Level 1 |
Level 1 / 2 Level 2 Level 3 |
| Age group (must be one of these values | 16 to 18 18+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
16 to 18 18+ 19+ |
18+ 19+ |
If we do need to clarify any information in the Register of Regulated Qualifications, we will contact you.
Exemption type 3
The cycle for November 2023 is the final funding approval cycle where you will be able to submit moratorium type 3 exemption requests in some sector subject areas (SSAs) for level 2 and level 3 qualifications. See changes affecting the moratorium.
We will only approve qualifications for funding where there is evidence they have been specifically designed to respond to a particular and urgent economic need. The particular and urgent economic need may be at a national or regional level. Moratorium exemption type 3 has 4 categories. The qualification only needs to meet the criteria of one category to be approved.
We ask awarding organisations to ensure that applications under this moratorium exemption type address the criteria of the specific category selected. We consider it is highly unlikely that any single qualification will meet the criteria of all 4 categories and so we request that awarding organisations focus their applications and evidence on the category and criteria that the qualification can meet. Selecting all 4 categories does not advance the case for approval.
When you are considering whether to apply for an exemption type 3, regardless of category applied for, an awarding organisation must show that the qualification submitted has been developed in direct response to a particular and urgent need that is impacting the economy at a national or regional level, and you must be able to substantiate this with evidence.
Such qualifications should either enable the holder to be job-ready for a specific job role in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need articulated, or equip those already in post within that specific occupation with new job-specific skills that are urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need articulated.
We will not approve qualifications which just deliver information, are awareness-raising, where we consider in-house training is more appropriate or designed for roles that are additional responsibilities to a substantive job role, for example, re-cycling co-ordinator. Funding such training is the responsibility of the organisation concerned.
Category 1 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 1, level 2 and level 3
- is specifically designed to respond to a particular economic downturn (‘economic shock’) at regional level or across several regions
- is in response to an ‘economic shock’ which must have had demonstrable significant economic impact on the region
- enables the holder to be job-ready for a specific job role in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular ‘economic shock’ articulated
Example
A qualification designed to prepare for or to support entry into a new job role in a specific occupation following redundancy or where there are significant skills shortages.
This can include qualifications linked to occupational regulation.
Category 2 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3 (by exception at level 1 – awarding organisations must provide justification and evidence that the economic need articulated specifically requires workers skilled at level 1)
- is specifically designed to respond to an urgent new or emerging skill priority
- enables the holder to deploy the skill at a job-ready level in an occupation that is urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need articulated
Example
Qualifications delivering entry to a specific job role that supports delivering the transition to net zero or a qualification designed to deliver a new skill need within a specific job role needed in a particular area, such as agriculture technology in a rural area.
Category 3 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3 only
- is specifically designed to support entry into specific job roles in sectors that are in government priorities, where there is not already sufficient provision in that sector
- enables the holder to be job-ready for a specific job role in an occupation that is urgently needed within in a government priority sector in response to the particular economic need articulated
Priority areas are:
- accounting and finance
- agriculture
- building and construction
- business management
- childcare and early years
- digital
- engineering
- environmental conservation
- health and social care
- horticulture and forestry
- hospitality and catering
- digital and technology
- manufacturing
- mathematics and statistics
- medicine and dentistry
- public services
- science
- teaching and lecturing
- transportation operations
- warehousing and distribution
- green skills
Category 4 qualifications
Applications must show evidence that the qualification:
- is at level 2 and level 3 only
- is specifically designed to respond to emerging or changed job roles in a specific occupation
- equips those already in post within a specific occupation with new job-specific skills that are urgently needed in direct response to the particular economic need articulated
Example
A qualification designed to deliver automation skills in an existing job role or greater specialisation in a job role or to support digital health care practice.
This can include qualifications linked to occupational regulation
We will not approve new qualifications as type 3 exemptions if they are similar to other qualifications that we have already approved for funding in any of the offers for 2023 to 2024, and those other qualifications already give a wide enough offer to students.
We will not approve for funding qualifications that the same or similar content as a qualification that has already had funding approval removed or will have funding approval removed.
This includes:
- qualifications with low or no publicly funded enrolments.
- qualifications for 16 to 19 if the content of the new qualification overlaps with a T Level in wWave 1 or 2 or 3
- new basic digital skills qualifications in qualifications at entry to level 2 (in ICT for users or other SSAs) unless they are EDSQs
If a qualification responds to economic need, we will need the following information (including rationale and appropriate evidence):
- the full title and reference number of the qualification
- which qualification offers you want us to review the qualification for
- the primary purpose and learning outcomes of the qualification
- the specific occupations the qualification supports entry into
- how the qualification is suitable for the age ranges that you have indicated and why you believe there is no suitable existing qualification available
- whether the qualification (levels 1 to 3) is responding to an economic downturn (‘economic shock’)
- whether the qualification (levels 2 to level 3, and by exception at level 1) has been designed to respond to a new or emerging skills priority
- whether the qualification (levels 2 and 3) in a sector which is a government priority and supports entry into specific job role and where there is not already sufficient provision in that sector
- whether the qualification (levels 2 and 3) has been designed to respond to emerging or changed job roles in a specific occupation
- evidence of how the qualification meets the criteria to be this type of exemption (including evidence of support where appropriate) – for example, evidence identified through a regional skills plan or other strategic skills based strategies and plans (such as green jobs, evidence of support from skills advisory panels, mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority, or a local enterprise partnership
- the qualification specification
You must use the exemption type 3 form to give us this information. As identified above, to support your exemption case, you can include links to information that is already published, or that you have used while developing the qualification. If you want us to consider the qualification for loans, give us a hyperlink to the page on your website that has information about the qualification. You can do this within the exemption type 3 form.
Exemption type 4
The cycle for March 2024 is the final funding approval cycle where you will be submit moratorium type 4 exemption requests in some SSAs at level 2 and level 3. See changes affecting the moratorium.
If you are updating a qualification that we have already approved for funding in the 2023 to 2024 funding year, we will need:
- the full title and reference number of the existing qualification that we have approved for funding in 2023 to 2024
- details of the new qualification that replaces the existing qualification
- information as to why you need to update the existing qualification
- where the updated qualification is different in size, title or level from the existing qualification, an explanation why this is and why the updated qualification is being treated as a replacement and not a newly regulated qualification
- the qualification specification
Provide this information using the exemption type 4 form. If you want us to consider the qualification for loans, give us a hyperlink to the page on your website that has information about the qualification. You can do this within the exemption type 4 form.
We will review the newly regulated and amended qualifications against the common approval principles and the approval principles for each qualification offer. Where the qualification is being considered as a moratorium exemption it will also be considered against the exemption criteria.
We may need to review your qualification’s specification to check that the qualification meets the approval principles. Make sure that you include a link to the qualification specification in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications. If we cannot easily find a qualification’s specification during review, we may not approve that qualification for funding.
We reserve the right to not approve a qualification for funding if we have concerns about its content or you do not send us the information that we ask for.
If we decide not to approve a qualification for funding, we will tell you why (unless the qualification is the end-point assessment qualification for an apprenticeship). We will use our known named contacts in awarding organisations to do this.
If we need more information to decide whether to approve a qualification for funding, we put our approval decision on hold and ask you for that information. We will give you a deadline to supply that information. If we do not receive a reply from you by that deadline, we may decide to not approve the qualification for funding.
Academies and maintained schools can ask us if they can deliver a non-regulated qualification to their students. Read changes to specific offers for more information.
Applying approval principles for loans
To confirm your qualification, we will check its specification. We will also check that you have made information about the qualification and its expected learning outcomes available to students, who may be considering taking out a loan.
Where your qualifications are part of the loans offer, we expect you to publicly promote those qualifications to your centres and to prospective students. This includes providing students with accessible information about your qualifications and the outcomes they support, so that students can make an informed choice. You can do this through your website, or through the centres offering your qualifications.
We will publish funding approval information on the list of qualifications approved for funding. Each update to the website will include the qualifications that we approved for funding in the review month.
We will update the list of qualifications approved for funding, and the ESFA will add funding validity information to Find a learning aim for qualifications that meet the approval principles.
ESFA will also state funding rates or maximum loan amounts for the qualifications we add to Find a learning aim. You can find more information about how ESFA calculates these rates in:
- adult education budget (AEB) funding rates and formula
- maximum loan amounts for advanced learner loans designated qualifications
ESFA will also add category codes for qualifications in the statutory entitlements, the ESFA funded AEB local flexibility, and the level 3 free courses for jobs offer. You can find more information on category codes in the Find a learning Aim and ILR sources of data. You can find a full list of scheduled updates to Find a learning aim in the data collection maintenance schedule.
How we use dates in Ofqual’s data
We use date information in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications to approve qualifications for funding.
We approve qualifications for one funding year at a time. This means that we will fund new starts on a qualification until the end of the funding year or its operational end date, whichever is sooner. We will do this unless there are reasons to apply an earlier funding approval end date. For example, if an existing qualification is being replaced by an updated qualification as a type 4 exemption to the moratorium, we apply an earlier funding approval end date to the existing qualification.
We use the date information in the same way for all qualification offers, to determine funding approval and validity dates. We make an exception to this for qualifications approved for the level 3 free courses for jobs offer, where the approval start date and category code are effective from the date the qualification is added to the offer or the operational start date of the qualification (if that is later).
The table shows a summary of the relationships between the date fields in the list of qualifications approved for funding, Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications, and the Find a learning aim.
| Field in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications | Use of date information: list of qualifications approved for funding | Use of date information: ESFA funding validity in Find a learning aim for 14 to 16, 16 to 19, adult skills, ESF, and advanced learner loans (where applicable) – from August 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Operational start date | Approval start date – This will be 1 August 2024, unless the operational start date is after this date. We do not expect a qualification’s regulation start date to be after its operational start date, but if this happens, we will use the regulation start date. For level 3 free courses for jobs, the approval start date is from when the qualification is added to the new funded offer or the operational start date if that is after. |
Validity start date – This will be 1 August 2024, unless the operational start date is after this date. If the regulation start date for a qualification is after its operational start date, we will use the regulation start date. |
| Operational end date | Approval end date – This will be 31 July 2024, unless the operational end date is before this date. | Approval end date – This will be 31 July 2024, unless the operational end date is before this date. |
| Certification end date | - | Validity end date – This will be three years after the last date for new starts, unless you have specified an earlier certification end date |
The last date for new starts in Find a learning aim shows the last date that students can be recorded as starting on a qualification in the current funding year and be eligible for funding from us.
From 1 August 2022, the ESFA publishes funding validity information for the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers separately in Find a learning aim.
Academies and maintained schools can deliver qualifications approved for funding in the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers to their students. Read the funding regulation guidance for young people for more information.
The ESF programme for 2014 to 2020 in England will end on 31 December 2023. Qualifications in the ESF will have an approval end date of 31 March 2023. This will be reflected in Find a learning aim with a last date for new starts of 31 March 2023.
Funding approval start dates
We publish funding approval information on the list of qualifications approved for funding. This includes the funding approval start and end dates for qualifications in our funded offers.
For the 14 to 16 and 16 to 19 offers, we:
- have maintained the previously published funding approval start dates for qualifications that we have already approved for funding
- will calculate the funding approval start date using the table above, if we approve a qualification for funding after 1 August 2024
For qualifications that we have already approved for funding in our other offers, ESFA have set the funding approval start dates to be the same as the funding validity start dates in Find a learning aim. If any of these approval start dates were before 1 August 2016, we have set them to 1 August 2016 on the list of qualifications approved for funding. If we approve a qualification for funding in these other funded offers after 1 August 2023, we will calculate its funding approval start date using the table above.
We published our initial funded qualification offers for 2023 to 2024 in April 2023.
We will review qualifications for the following offers termly:
- 14 to 16 offer
- 16 to 19 offer, where you ask us to consider a qualification at levels 4 to 6, and at level 3 and below where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
- ESFA funded AEB local flexibility offer, where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
- statutory entitlement to level 2 or level 3
- statutory entitlement to digital skills
- statutory entitlement to English and maths, where you ask us to update a qualification
- advanced learner loans, where you ask us to consider a qualification at levels 4 to 6, and at level 3 and below where you ask us to consider a qualification that meets the moratorium exemption criteria
We will review qualifications for the level 3 free courses for jobs in:
- September 2023 (with outcomes communicated in December 2023)
- April 2024 (with outcomes communicated in July 2024)
We will publish funding approval information for new qualifications on the list of qualifications approved for funding. We will do this termly, in the second half of the funding approval cycle month.
We will update other amendments to approved qualifications, including changes to approval end dates on a monthly basis.
Unless specified differently ESFA will also add the newly approved qualification from each review to Find a learning aim in the second scheduled update to Find a learning aim in the funding approval cycle month.
You may find that some changes to funding validity dates will appear in Find a learning aim before they appear in the list of qualifications approved for funding. This is because each website serves a different purpose and has different update schedules. Advise your centres that they should check whether a qualification has the correct funding approval or validity before they start delivering that qualification to students.
You can find a list of scheduled updates to Find a learning aim in data collection maintenance schedule.
Advanced learner loans
After ESFA updates Find a learning aim and we update the list of qualifications approved for funding, ESFA will transfer the same information to the Student Loans Company (SLC). SLC uses this information to check student eligibility for loans.
You can find the maximum loan amount for each approved qualification in Find a learning aim.
You must make sure that your hyperlinks work, for both new qualifications that you submit, and for qualifications that are already approved for loans. If you want us to update a link that is already published on the list of qualifications approved for funding, use the Level 4 to 6 notification form.
You must state on the form that you want us to update the hyperlink. If we find that a hyperlink on the list of qualifications approved for funding is no longer working, we will remove the link from the website.
Exemptions to the moratorium
We will consider exemptions in all 4 types every month for all funded qualification offers.
The cycle for November 2023 is the final funding approval cycle where you will be able to submit moratorium type 3 exemption requests in some sector subject areas (SSAs) at level 2 and level 3. See changes affecting the moratorium.
The cycle for March 2024 is the final funding approval cycle where you can submit moratorium type 4 exemption requests in some SSAs at level 2 and level 3. See changes affecting the moratorium.
You must send the relevant completed forms and evidence to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk before 5pm on the second to last Monday in each month.
We will take a download of Ofqual’s Register of Regulated Qualifications on the second to last Tuesday in each month. We will use the downloaded information to review your exemption case.