Transition to the 2025 to 2026 funding approval process
How we will transition from the existing funding approval process to the new process, and how existing post-16 qualification offers will change.
This section explains how the:
- approval for qualifications for funding will transition to the new process from 2025 to 2026
- existing post-16 qualification offers will change
Existing funding approval process and the moratorium
From 1 September 2020, we stopped automatically considering all newly regulated qualifications at level 3 and below for funding approval for students aged 16 and over. We refer to this as a ‘moratorium’.
The moratorium does not apply to certain new qualifications referred to as exemptions:
- exemption type 1: qualifications which are outside the scope of the qualifications review or we automatically approve for funding
- exemption type 2: qualifications that are being reformed
- exemption type 3: qualifications in response to economic need
- exemption type 4: qualifications that are already approved for funding but need updating
The moratorium will continue as part of the existing funding approval process. It will not apply to technical or non-technical qualifications being approved as part of cycle 1 or 2 of the new process.
The existing 2023 to 2024 qualification funding approval process will continue to:
- manage existing qualifications that are approved
- review moratorium exemptions and any qualifications that are approved for funding will be approved for one year only
- review existing qualification offers and confirm which qualifications will be approved for funding for the following funding year
Removal of exemptions in 2023 to 2024
Changes to the existing funding approval process began from 2023 to 2024.
We approve exemptions to the moratorium on a termly basis.
There will be changes to the moratorium exemptions, as qualifications at certain levels and in certain sector subject areas (SSAs) are being reviewed as part of cycle 1 of the qualification funding approval process.
For the qualifications in the following levels and SSAs, we do not accept:
- moratorium type 3 exemption requests, since October 2023
- moratorium type 4 exemption requests, since February 2024
We do not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemptions for level 3 qualifications in the following SSAs:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- direct learning support
- engineering
- health and social care
- ICT practitioner
- ICT user
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
- teaching and lecturing
We do not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemption requests for level 2 qualifications that align to technical qualifications in the following SSAs:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- engineering
- health and social care
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
Removal of exemptions in 2024 to 2025
Due to the new reformed qualifications which will be approved in cycle 2, some moratorium exemptions will no longer be needed from 2024 to 2025.
For the qualifications in the levels and SSAs listed below, we will not accept:
- moratorium type 3 exemption requests from October 2024
- moratorium type 4 exemption requests from February 2025
We will not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemptions for level 3 qualifications in the following SSAs:
- accounting and finance
- administration
- agriculture
- animal care and veterinary science
- anthropology
- business management
- crafts, creative arts and design
- economics
- environmental conservation
- foundations for learning and life
- geography
- history
- horticulture and forestry
- languages, literature and culture of the British Isles
- law and legal services
- manufacturing technologies
- marketing and sales
- mathematics and statistics
- media and communication
- other languages, literature and culture
- performing arts
- philosophy
- politics
- public services
- retailing and wholesaling
- sociology and social policy
- sport, leisure and recreation
- theology and religious studies
- transportation operations and maintenance
- travel and tourism
- warehousing and distribution
We will not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemption requests for level 2 qualifications that align to technical qualifications in the following SSAs:
- accounting and finance
- administration
- agriculture
- animal care and veterinary science
- architecture
- business management
- crafts, creative arts and design
- direct learning support
- environmental conservation
- horticulture and forestry
- hospitality and catering
- law and legal services
- manufacturing technologies
- marketing and sales
- media and communication
- performing arts
- public services
- publishing and information services
- retailing and wholesaling
- service enterprises
- sport, leisure and recreation
- teaching and lecturing
- transportation operations and maintenance
- travel and tourism
- urban, rural and regional planning
- warehousing and distribution
We will not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemption requests for level 2 qualifications that align to non-technical qualifications in the following SSAs:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- engineering
- health and social care
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
We will not accept moratorium type 3 and type 4 exemption requests for level 2 qualifications that align to T Level foundation qualifications.
In spring 2024, we will publish more information about how qualifications will be approved for funding for 2024 to 2025.
Existing qualification offers
Our changes to existing qualification offers affect level 3 and level 2 qualifications.
Level 3 qualifications
We will only approve level 3 qualifications in the following SSAs for funding in 2025 to 2026 if they meet the 2025 to 2026 funding approval criteria. This is because these SSAs have been mapped to the construction and the built environment, digital, education and early years, engineering and manufacturing and health and science occupational routes.
These are:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- direct learning support
- engineering
- health and social care
- ICT practitioner
- ICT user
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
For 16- to 19-year-olds, technical qualifications will only be approved for funding where they do not overlap with T Levels.
We will only approve level 3 qualifications in the following SSAs for funding in 2026 to 2027 if they meet the funding approval criteria set out in this manual. This is because these SSAs have been mapped to the occupational routes in scope of cycle 2.
These are:
- accounting and finance
- administration
- agriculture
- animal care and veterinary science
- anthropology
- business management
- crafts, creative arts and design
- economics
- environmental conservation
- foundations for learning and life
- geography
- history
- horticulture and forestry
- languages, literature and culture of the British Isles
- law and legal services
- manufacturing technologies
- marketing and sales
- mathematics and statistics
- media and communication
- other languages, literature and culture
- performing arts
- philosophy
- politics
- public services
- retailing and wholesaling
- sociology and social policy
- sport, leisure and recreation
- theology and religious studies
- transportation operations and maintenance
- travel and tourism
- warehousing and distribution
For 16- to 19-year-olds, we will only approve large AAQs and technical qualifications for funding where they do not overlap with T Levels.
Level 2 qualifications
We are considering level 2 qualifications for approval in a staggered way. We consider:
- technical qualifications leading to employment first
- qualifications supporting progression to higher levels of study in the same SSAs in the next cycle
We will only approve level 2 technical qualifications in the following SSAs for funding in 2025 to 2026 if they meet the funding approval criteria in this manual. This is because these SSAs have been mapped to the construction and the built environment, education and early years, engineering and manufacturing and health and science occupational routes.
These are:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- engineering
- health and social care
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
We will continue to fund level 2 non-technical qualifications in the above SSAs and level 2 qualifications in all other SSAs in 2025 to 2026. They fall into future cycles of the reforms.
We will only approve level 2 progression qualifications in the following SSAs for funding in 2026 to 2027 if they meet the funding approval criteria in this manual. This is because these SSAs align to the occupational routes considered in cycle 1 for technical qualifications.
These are:
- building and construction
- child development and well being
- engineering
- health and social care
- medicine and dentistry
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine
- science
T Level foundation qualifications in the following SSAs will only be approved for funding in 2026 to 2027 if they meet the funding approval criteria in this manual. This is because these are the relevant SSAs for T Level foundation qualifications. These are:
- accounting and finance, or law and legal services
- administration
- agriculture, or animal care and veterinary science
- building and construction
- crafts, creative arts and design, or media and communication
- direct learning support
- engineering
- ICT practitioners
- marketing and sales
- nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine, or science
We will only approve level 2 technical qualifications in the following SSAs for funding in 2026 to 2027 if they meet the funding approval criteria in this manual. This is because these SSAs have been mapped to the occupational routes in scope of cycle 2.
These are:
- accounting and finance
- administration
- agriculture
- animal care and veterinary science
- architecture
- business management
- crafts, creative arts and design
- direct learning support
- environmental conservation
- horticulture and forestry
- hospitality and catering
- law and legal services
- manufacturing technologies
- marketing and sales
- media and communication
- performing arts
- public services
- publishing and information services
- retailing and wholesaling
- service enterprises
- sport, leisure and recreation
- teaching and lecturing
- transportation operations and maintenance
- travel and tourism
- urban, rural and regional planning
- warehousing and distribution
We will continue to fund level 2 progression qualifications in the above SSAs in 2026 to 2027, as they fall into future cycles of the reforms.
Where funding approval will remain
Funding approval will remain for those level 2 and level 3 qualifications that are out of scope of the review or were confirmed as retaining funding approval following public consultation:
- AS and A levels
- access to higher education diplomas
- advanced extension awards
- core maths qualifications
- extended project qualifications
- performing arts graded examinations
- the International Baccalaureate diploma
- technical qualifications in T Levels
- GCSEs
- higher project qualifications
- English and maths functional skills qualifications
When we will remove funding approval
We will only remove funding approval from 1 August 2025 from existing qualifications at level 2 and level 3 where they:
- are in one of the SSAs listed above
- align with the routes and qualification categories being considered in cycle 1
We will only remove funding approval 1 August 2026 from existing qualifications at level 2 and level 3 where they either:
- are in one of the SSAs listed above and align with the routes and qualification categories being considered in cycle 2
- are cross cutting and are more than 359 hours of total qualification time
We will only remove funding approval for new starts. Students who started the qualification before this date will continue to be funded until they have completed.
Cross cutting technical qualifications that are 359 hours of total qualification time or less are not being considered until cycle 3. We will not remove funding approval from these qualifications until 1 August 2027.
Before confirming the list of existing level 2 and level 3 qualifications that will have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025 or from 1 August 2026, we will:
- complete an impact assessment and take its findings into consideration when confirming which existing qualifications will have funding approval removed
- share a list of qualifications that may be in scope to have funding approval removed, and review it with you to ensure the right existing qualifications are considered in the right funding approval cycles
This is because we want to ensure that using SSAs does not create gaps or insufficient coverage in provision during the transition from existing qualifications to reformed or new qualifications. Some existing qualifications in the SSAs listed above may be in scope of the next funding approval cycle.
We will share a list of qualifications that are in scope to have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025 in:
- May 2024 for level 3 qualifications
- July 2024 for level 2 qualifications
We will publish further details about how these qualifications were identified. You will have the opportunity to challenge the inclusion of your qualifications before the lists are finalised if you think these qualifications should have funding approval removed at a later stage.
We will say more about the process to remove funding approval from 1 August 2026 in future updates of the manual.
How we will identify qualifications that are in scope to have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025 and 1 August 2026
We have taken a download of information from the Ofqual register of regulated qualifications and DfE list of qualifications approved for funding. We have done this on:
- 20 April 2023 for qualifications that will have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025
- 9 November 2023 for qualifications that will have funding approval removed from 1 August 2026
We will use this to create an initial list of existing qualifications in the SSAs identified above that are in scope to have funding approval removed. After we have taken this snapshot, we will not update this initial list if there are any changes to the SSA assigned to the existing qualification.
We will review any changes you may make to the SSA of an existing qualification as part of our routine monitoring of the existing 2023 to 2024 offer. Such changes may take the qualification out of scope for the 2023 to 2024 offer.
You can find out more about this in the 2023 to 2024 qualifications funding approval manual.
We will refine this initial list of existing qualifications in scope to have funding approval removed, using the findings from the impact assessment and the review of the initial list with you.
What will happen to qualifications that are not in scope to have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025
Existing qualifications at level 2 and level 3 are currently approved until 31 July 2025. This is because these qualifications are in scope of the reforms to post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below.
Where qualifications are being reformed in cycle 2, we will extend the funding approval end date of existing qualifications to 31 July 2026. We will do this in summer 2025. This ‘rollover’ is the process by which we continue the funded offer in a current funding year into the next funding year.
Existing qualifications at level 2 and level 3 will only be rolled over into 2025 to 2026 if a qualification:
- is not in scope to have funding approval removed from 1 August 2025
- is approved for funding in 2024 to 2025 with a funding approval end date of 31 July 2025
- has an operational end date of 1 August 2025 or later, the first day of the 2025 to 2026 funding year
For existing level 3 qualifications, we will use the following information as part of the rollover process:
- funding approval end dates in DfE’s list of qualifications approved for funding on 23 April 2024
- qualification operational end dates in Ofqual’s register of regulated qualifications on 23 April 2024
For existing level 2 qualifications, we will use the following information as part of the rollover process:
- funding approval end dates in DfE’s list of qualifications approved for funding on 10 June 2024
- qualification operational end dates in Ofqual’s register of regulated qualifications on 10 June 2024
If qualifications have an operational end date earlier than 1 August 2025, we will not extend that qualification’s funding approval into 2025 to 2026.
You may wish to review operational end dates on Ofqual’s register if you want your qualifications to be in scope for funding approval in 2025 to 2026. You must do this and make the appropriate changes in Ofqual’s register before we take a snapshot of Ofqual’s register.