The government will release a chunk of the £300 million announced in the budget this academic year as a “one-off grant” to help colleges fund teacher pay rises.
Around £50 million will be made available to general FE colleges and sixth form colleges for the period April to July 2025, a message from the Department for Education to the sector today, seen by FE Week, said.
It comes days after FE Week revealed the Sixth Form Colleges Association had dropped its judicial review claim against the DfE over last summer’s pay snub after ministers “agreed to provide funding” to support a wage increase in 2024/25.
Today’s message to colleges said: “The autumn budget provided an additional £300 million revenue funding for further education for financial year 2025 to 2026 to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. Details on allocations will be made available later this term, and we are providing a high level outline of plans now.
“The government is committed to increasing opportunity for young people, and we know the population of 16 to 19 year olds in learning is increasing, so this funding will be distributed specifically in support of 16 to 19 student participation.
“Approximately £50 million of this funding will be made available to general further education colleges and sixth-form colleges for the period April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention.”
The DfE added that the remaining funding will be made available in 16 to 19 funding rates for academic year 2025 to 2026, with the “aim of ensuring that all 16 to 19 providers are funded on an equitable basis from 2025 to 2026”.
Last summer the new Labour government announced it would hand £1.2 billion to fund a 5.5 per cent pay rise for school and academy teachers, with nothing for standalone sixth form colleges or general FE colleges.
National Education Union members have gone on strike for seven days so far since then to protest.
The £50 million deal enabled the SFCA to increase its pay recommendation for 2024/25 from 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent for September 2024 to March 2025, increasing to 5.5 per cent from April 2025 onwards.
The Association of Colleges previously said its members can only afford a 2.5 per cent pay award this year. FE Week has asked the organisation whether this recommendation will be revised in light of today’s announcement.
‘A significant step in the right direction’
Bill Watkin, Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “Following protracted discussions with the Department for Education we are pleased to have reached an agreement on future funding. As a result, we have agreed to withdraw our claim for a judicial review.
“Since the start of this process, it has been our contention that all colleges, irrespective of their designation, should be supported in the same way as schools and academies. All are state-funded institutions that educate young people and employ hard-working teaching staff that do an incredible job.
“While the additional funding we have secured for 2024/25 will not enable colleges to match the pay award in schools and academies, it is a significant step in the right direction.”
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Colleges will be looking forward to seeing the detailed information of what their allocation will look like in February before they make any decisions on how they will be able to utilise it for both this year and next. They will also be keen to know about any in-year growth plans and their adult allocation for next year.
“The £300 million is a welcome boost for 16 to 18 funding, but because of demographic growth it is clearly not enough to restore the funding lost since 2010.”
The DfE said it is now “preparing the operational detail” of the 16 to 19 funding rates and formula and the allocations timeline for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
“We aim to publish more information as soon as we can and will provide a further update by 13 February 2025,” the department added.
Meanwhile, the part of the sector that delivers most of the government’s apprenticeship strategy is struggling to deliver in funding that in some cases hasn’t been reviewed for 7 + than years, costs for delivery have skyrocketed, recruiting is exceptionally challenging, probably made worse by this announcement
So again Adult Education sector misses out. The gap in funding and therefore pay for those working to support the hardest to reach adult groups is widening and many providers will just not be able to balance the books. Costs have been rising considerably, but levels of funding remain static. Who will deliver the foundation subjects to those who need the most support most? What on earth will happen to adult education in the coming years? I really do have concerns for the survival of adult education.