Closed: T Levels – how to express an interest to deliver from 2022 to 2023 academic year
Information for post-16 providers considering expressing an interest to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year.
The expression of interest on this page is closed.
Summary
Providers are asked to express an interest in the delivery of T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year and those meeting the eligibility criteria will be invited to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year.
The closing date for applications is midnight on 28 February 2020.
The list of current T Level providers is available at GOV.UK. If you wish to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year you will be required to complete an expression of interest via an electronic form.
Please note, successful 2020 and 2021 providers do not need to submit a further expression of interest to deliver additional T Levels in 2022 to 2023 academic year.
2020 providers will be able to deliver any of the T Levels available from September 2022, subject to meeting the awarding body centre approval requirements and providing a return to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) as part of the implementation planning process in late May 2020.
2021 providers will also be able to expand their offer to deliver T Levels available from September 2022, as long as they are currently delivering to a minimum of 10 qualifying students per T Level route (subject area). This will be collected as part of your May 2020 implementation plan return.
Timescales for applications to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 9 January 2020 | Guidance and link published for providers to express an interest |
| 28 February 2020 (midnight) | Deadline for expression of interest to be submitted by providers |
| 31 May 2020 | All providers to receive notification of the outcome of their expression of interest |
| Late June | Induction event for successful providers |
| 31 October 2020 | First draft of provider implementation plans due to be submitted by selected providers |
Background
The T Level Action Plan 2019 provided an implementation update for individuals and organisations interested in delivering T Levels. It gives information about progress made in the development and delivery of T Levels, working with a wide range of deliver partners, including details of which T Levels will be available for delivery from 2022 to 2023 academic year and the criteria for delivery.
T Levels will have credibility with employers and prepare young people for skilled jobs of the future, supporting the aims of the UK’s Industrial Strategy to boost productivity and earning power across the country.
The criteria to select providers for T Level delivery from 2022 to 2023 academic year has been developed to recognise providers delivering high quality technical education to students in subjects similar to the T Levels they wish to deliver.
The purpose of this guidance is to:
- detail what is required of providers wanting to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year
- set out how providers can express an interest and the deadline for doing so
- outline how we will make the final selection of providers
T Levels available in 2022 to 2023 academic year
As set out in the Action Plan 2019, there are 18 T Level pathways from 7 T Level routes available from September 2022.
Table 1 – The 18 T Level pathways from the 7 routes that will be available for teaching from September 2022 and the relevant Sector Subject Areas (for the purpose of identifying qualifying students)
| T Level Route | Sector Subject Area (SSA) | T Level Pathway and links to the outline content |
|---|---|---|
| Digital | 6.1 ICT practitioners, 9.3 Media and communication | Digital support and services, Digital business services, Digital production design and development |
| Construction | 5.1 Architecture, 5.2 Building and construction, 5.3 Urban, rural and regional planning | Onsite construction, Building services engineering Design, surveying and planning |
| Education and Childcare | 1.5 Child development and well-being, 13.1 Teaching and lecturing, 13.2 Direct learning support | Education |
| Health and Science | 1.1 Medicine and dentistry, 1.2 Nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicine, 1.3 Health and social care, 2.1 Science | Health, Healthcare science, Science |
| Legal, Finance and Accounting | 15.1 Accounting and finance, 15.5 Law and legal services | Legal, Finance, Accountancy |
| Business and Administration | 15.2 Administration, 15.3 Business management | Management and administration, Human resources |
| Engineering and Manufacturing | 4.1 Engineering, 4.2 Manufacturing technologies | Design and development, Manufacturing, processing and control, Maintenance, installation and repair |
Please note: For the purposes of identifying relevant current provision, SSAs are applied to the T Level route and are not used to distinguish between T Level pathways.
We announced in the 2019 T Level action plan in Autumn 2019 which T Levels will be available from September 2022. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is responsible for awarding contracts to Awarding Organisations who will develop the full qualifications for delivery as per Table 1.
Future indicative planning numbers
In the expression of interest, we will ask you to project your potential T Level numbers. This is not for the purpose of determining your eligibility but to assist us with estimating the likely number of students per T Level (rather than at route level). In order to do this providers are asked to refer to the T Level outline content and occupational maps to identify how closely any qualifications they currently deliver are related to the T Level(s) they are applying to delivery from 2022 to 2023 academic year in order to assist them to project their possible T Level numbers.
Eligibility for providers for delivery from 2022 to 2023 academic year
Only providers funded by ESFA for 16 to 19 study programmes with qualifying students are eligible to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023. There is no restriction on the type of provider that can express an interest provided they meet the criteria below.
Providers will need to be registered with DfE sign in and will be able to submit one expression of interest per institution.
Providers meeting the criteria below are invited to express an interest in delivering T Levels in 2022 to 2023 academic year. Providers who express an interest will need to:
- have an Ofsted overall effectiveness rating of Good or Outstanding
- providers who do not yet have an Ofsted rating must be able to demonstrate that they have an equivalent standard of quality
- have at least satisfactory/requires improvement financial health
- currently be delivering to a minimum of 10 students per T Level route they apply to deliver
We wish to select providers with some experience of delivering this type of classroom-based provision. To identify a proxy for students who are studying in the same subject area as a T Level route we will use 2018 to 2019 academic year end-year data from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR), HESA Data and the school census. Prospective providers should use these data sets to identify their qualifying students. Students that meet all of the following criteria are treated as qualifying students:
- full-time, that is those with total planned hours recorded as above 540 if aged 16 or 17 and 450 hours for an 18 year old
- students that have met the qualifying start period for their study programme
- students aged 16, 17 and 18
- students aged 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan
- students who are enrolled on a level 3 programme (and/or level 2 for construction), with a vocational core aim, which is within the SSA(s) relevant to the T Levels (see table 1) that will be available for delivery in 2022 to 2023 academic year (and is of a relevant qualification type)
Students who are 19 years old at the beginning of their 2 year programme (and who do not have an education, health and care plan) are not included.
Young people registered as Apprentices are not included in the eligibility criteria.
Relevant qualifications used are those that are:
- level 3 technical or vocational qualifications; or
- for the construction route only level 2 technical or vocational qualifications, that meet all of the other criteria
- at least 360 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) (the size of an A level)
- within the sector subject areas (SSAs) for the route in which the T Levels sit as illustrated in table 1
- categorised as an Occupational Qualification, Other General Qualification, QCF Qualification or a Vocationally Related Qualification. These can be found on the Ofqual website
It is important to us that providers are financially stable, so their provision is more likely to continue for the long term. We reserve the right to exclude any provider where a Financial Notice to Improve (FNTI), Notice to Improve (NTI), or Notice of Concern (NoC) is in place, where a provider is at risk of financial difficulty or where there are any other known issues that could prevent or affect quality delivery.
If a provider’s status changes against any of the published criteria between when we consider your expression of interest and delivery, we reserve the right to review your continued participation in the group of 2022 providers.
Requirements for delivery of T Levels in 2022 to 2023 academic year
Successful providers will be required to complete an implementation plan and statistical annex detailing the actions they will take to be ready for T Level implementation. It has been designed with providers input, as a supportive planning tool. You can find an overview of the current T Level implementation plan process, guidance on how to complete an implementation plan template, and the template on the T Level – implementation plan page. The exact format for future years may change.
Providers expressing an interest to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 are committing to:
- offer high quality T Levels that will support progression for students into skilled employment or higher levels of education or training
- identify and recruit a suitable cohort
- ensure students taking a T Level will develop the numeracy, literacy, digital and wider transferable skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to succeed in occupations relevant to their chosen routes and the wider workplace of the future
- work collaboratively with employers to offer a substantial industry placement with an employer, away from the students’ learning environment
- ensure the inclusion of the T Levels they plan to deliver in the Further Education Course Directory
How to express an interest to deliver T Levels in 2022 to 2023
Providers will be required to sign up to DfE sign in prior to completing the expression of interest. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is 12 midnight on 28 February 2020.
Providers are invited to express an interest to deliver any of the T Level pathways available from September 2022.
To do this, all providers will be required to complete and submit one expression of interest to the ESFA. The questions in the expression of interest are to assess whether providers meet the criteria requirements. Some questions will ask providers to demonstrate how they meet the criteria, so that we are able to understand whether they meet the benchmarks overall. Separate guidance is available on how to complete the expression of interest.
Providers will be able to save, review and change their expression of interest before submitting it. After submitting the form, the named T Level and Head of Organisation contacts will be emailed a copy of the submitted expression of interest.
Failure to submit the form before 12 midnight on 28 February 2020, will mean ESFA will not receive your expression of interest, therefore the application will not be considered.
If you do not receive an email confirming your submitted expression of interest with a reference number, please contact us by completing an enquiry form and quote ‘T Level 2022 EoI’, your provider name and your UKPRN.
We have published a guide to completing your expression of interest.
T Levels – how to complete your expression of interest to deliver in academic year 2022 to 2023
We will notify providers of the outcome of their expression of interest by the end of May 2020. After providers have received confirmation of their eligibility to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 they will be given one week to confirm that they wish to deliver T Levels from September 2022.
Rollout of T Levels and selection of providers from 2022 onwards
We announced in the 2019 T Level action plan which T Levels will be available from September 2022 in autumn 2019, and we continue to work closely with the Institute. We currently expect roll out to be significantly increased at this stage as T Levels become a more ‘mainstream’ part of the 16 to 19 qualifications offer.
The availability of extra funding for T Levels being delivered for the first time is yet to be determined.
T Level Transition Programme
As stated in the T Level Action Plan we are developing a T Level Transition Programme, which will be focused on providing effective preparation for students to complete a T Level. It will be targeted at students who are not ready to start a T Level, but have the potential to progress onto one following a tailored preparation programme. We are currently working with those T Level 2020 providers taking part in phased implementation of the T Level Transition Programme, to develop their programme for first delivery in 2020 to 2021 academic year. Our T Level Transition Programme framework for delivery sets out information and expectations for how the programme should be delivered by these providers in the first year.
We are not currently planning a separate expression of interest process for providers to apply to deliver the T Level Transition Programme from September 2022. We will ask providers selected for T Level delivery in 2022, and those 2020 and 2021 providers not currently taking part, to opt in, through the implementation planning process.
Therefore, the expression of interest may be your only opportunity to be involved in early delivery of the Transition Programme.
ESFA enquiries
For all enquiries please submit an enquiry form and quote ‘T Levels 2022 EoI’, your provider name and your reference number or UKPRN.