Popular BTECs and other applied general qualifications have been granted another funding extension as part of a “sustainable” transition to new V Levels, the government has announced.
Ministers have agreed to extend funding for all level 3 diplomas and extended diplomas into 2026-27, giving colleges and sixth forms a significant reprieve with just six months to go before the start of the new academic year.
Defunding will now begin from autumn 2027, instead of this year, in finance, digital, education and early years – the subject areas chosen for the first V Levels (click here for full story).
Further defunding will follow in 2028 in business and administration, care services, construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and science, legal, sales, marketing and procurement, and sport.
It means popular courses like the BTEC extended diploma in health and social care will continue to be funded for another two years.
A transition document is due to be published today to clearly set out the arrangements to the new qualifications system, including the new defunding timeline for specific courses.
Skills minister: ‘We have listened’
Until now, the Department for Education’s position has been that “funding for all qualifications 720 guided learning hours (GLH) and over in T Level areas will be removed in 2026 and 2027”.
This timeline had prompted warnings from the sector that tens of thousands of students would face a qualification gap from September 2026 as removing large applied general qualifications, such as BTECs, before replacement routes were ready would leave many learners without suitable options.
A DfE spokesperson described today’s decision as a “phased, sustainable approach for providers to transition to the reformed system”.
Writing for FE Week, skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “You told us that the transition arrangements we originally proposed were too aggressive, putting providers’ ability to prepare for the reforms to come at risk.
“I appreciate that and so, to give providers space and certainty, we are setting out that large qualifications the size of three A Levels or bigger in T Level areas will have funding approval removed from 2027 instead of 2026, apart from health and social care qualifications which will follow in in 2028.
“Smaller legacy qualifications will retain funding approval until the relevant T Level and V Level is available in that subject area from 2027.”
It marks the third pause to defunding since the start of the Protect Student Choice Campaign in 2021, led by the Sixth Form Colleges Association.
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said: “Our members will warmly welcome the government’s decision to retain existing qualifications while the new suite of V Level qualifications is phased in.
“Colleges and schools can now make the most of this period of stability and certainty to ensure that tens of thousands of young people have an uninterrupted educational experience, while also engaging constructively and with focus in the design and rollout of V Levels.”
V Levels will sit alongside A Levels and T Levels, and will be equivalent to one A Level, allowing students to mix and match academic and vocational subjects if they are unsure where to specialise.
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