Latest news from FE Week

Ofqual’s doing fine with record annual penalty haul

Ofqual issued £2.5 million in penalties last year, the highest total since it gained power to fine rule-breaking awarding organisations in 2012.

The qualification regulator’s 2025-26 annual report for the year to March 31, published today, shows fines more than tripled from £805,000 the previous year and surpassed the previous high of £1.35 million in 2022-23.

Six monetary penalties were issued against four awarding organisations in 2025-26. Pearson was hit with £2 million in fines in December 2025 for “serious” rule breaches that affected tens of thousands of students taking language qualifications, including GCSE resits.

That alone was enough to break Ofqual’s previous penalty record.

The year also saw financial sanctions on WJEC worth £350,000, University of West London was fined £350,000 and ProQual paid out £15,000.

Fines are not retained by Ofqual but are paid to the Treasury. But the regulator does keep funds it recovers in costs, which amounted to £63,000 in 2025-26, up from £15,000 the year before.

Slowly at first

FE Week analysed every monetary penalty Ofqual has imposed since the power came into force on May 1, 2012.

The regulator did not impose a fine for more than four years. Its first was £38,000 against City & Guilds in August 2016, over the late release of results for 22,229 learners.

In total, Ofqual has fined awarding organisations £5.63 million. Almost half of that, £2.52 million, came last year, and £3.33 million came in the last two years.

Ofqual issued no fines in three of the past ten years: 2015-16, 2020-21 and 2023-24. In four more, the annual total came to less than £405,000.

Last year’s number of penalties – six – topped the previous high of five issued in 2024-25.

Fine words

Ofqual’s strategic enforcement committee met once during the year and scrutinised how fines were determined, alongside the regulator’s fining history, the new report said.

The committee also examined the chief regulator’s rebuke, a new enforcement tool introduced in October 2025 for breaches serious enough to require a public outcome but which fall short of meriting a financial penalty.

Ofqual did not use it during the reporting year, but has used it twice in the current financial year.

WJEC was rebuked in April over centre declaration forms that were missing across three subjects between 2019 and 2025, seven months after being fined £350,000. Pearson was rebuked in May over the design and delivery of its 2025 A Level maths exams, sat by around 75,000 students. That rebuke was published earlier this month, having been held back while this summer’s exams were running.

Meanwhile, Ofqual imposed special conditions on awarding organisations on 23 occasions in the last financial year, covering 19 existing organisations and four newly recognised ones. It opened four investigations, up from one the previous year.

A separate regulatory efficiency report, also published today, sets out how Ofqual has cut the burden it places on awarding organisations.

Among the efficiency measures it lists is the introduction of the rebuke, credited with streamlining investigations and enforcement routes.

A head start

The financial fines record is unlikely to survive the year. Ofqual has already imposed £1.145 million of fines in the first quarter of 2026-27, with penalties of £270,000 against Cambridge OCR in April and £875,000 against Cambridge English in June.

That is more than the regulator imposed in any full year before 2022-23.

DWP swerved apprenticeship overspend with mid-year cash boost

The government narrowly avoided a second consecutive apprenticeship budget overspend in 2025-26 thanks to a mid-year funding boost, figures show.

Annual accounts for the Department for Work and Pensions, published today, also reveal ministers expect apprenticeship spending to peak at almost £3.3 billion next year before falling in each of the following two years.

It raises questions about how a £725 million pot committed for the growth and skills levy over the rest of this parliament will be spent, considering only around half has been committed so far.

Overspend near-miss

The government overspent its apprenticeship budget for the first time in the 2024-25 financial year, forcing ministers to inject £345 million and push the total allocation above £3 billion in 2025-26.

Last year’s original budget was set at £3.075 billion but was boosted by £43 million mid-year to £3.118 billion to meet higher-than-expected demand.

Today’s accounts show the total apprenticeships spend in 2025-26 was £3.095 billion – £20 million higher than the original budget, but £23 million, or 0.7 per cent, lower than the topped-up budget.

FE Week revealed in March that the 2026-27 apprenticeships budget had risen further to £3.3 billion.

Today’s DWP accounts show the department expects to spend 99.9 per cent – £3.298 billion to be exact – of this year’s budget.

Ministers have been under pressure to rein in costs on apprenticeships since the pandemic saw soaring spend on higher-level apprenticeships, mostly taken by older learners, which are more expensive to deliver.

The government has already defunded level 7 apprenticeships for people aged 22 and older, and will this year defund 16 other apprenticeships, including popular management standards, that are mostly taken by existing and older workers.

The changes form part of a wider reform of the apprenticeship levy into a broader “growth and skills levy”. This has expanded the scope of funded provision, including the rollout of short courses – dubbed “apprenticeship units” – and new foundation apprenticeships in sectors such as hospitality and retail since April.

Ministers have an ambition to deliver 50,000 additional apprenticeship starts for young people by March 2029, reversing almost half of the decade-long decline in participation among 16 to 24-year-olds. Apprenticeship starts in that age group have fallen by around 40 per cent over the past decade.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith last month commissioned Skills England to provide urgent advice on which apprenticeship standards most used by under-25s are not funded at a “sufficient” level to incentivise take-up among training providers and employers.

No new money was announced to fund recent band uplifts, stoking concern that further savings would need to be found within the existing apprenticeships budget, which is fully spent.

Spending forecast to fall from 2027-28

DWP’s accounts show that officials expect apprenticeship spending to start dropping after 2026-27.

Total planned outturn sits at £3.195 billion in 2027-28 and then £3.161 billion in 2028-29.

This fall is be the anticipated effect of restrictions on level 7 and management apprenticeships, DWP confirmed.

If the apprenticeships budget does reduce after next year, it raises questions about the £725 million additional funding committed over the next three years for the growth and skills levy in November’s budget.

Taking the baseline for 2025-26 as the outturn figure of £3.095 billion, an additional £203 million will be added to the apprenticeships budget in 2026-27, another £100 million for 2027-28 and £66 million for 2028-29.

This leaves £356 million of the £725 million unallocated.

DWP refused to provide details of how the remainder of the £725 million will be divvied up.

Top-slice to grow

If apprenticeship spending does fall, then the issue of the Treasury’s top-slice will intensify.

Money raised through employer levy contributions isn’t hypothecated in the sense that it doesn’t determine the apprenticeship budget – this is separately set by the Treasury.

The top-slice is the amount the Treasury keeps after collecting the funds paid by employers and dishing out budgets for apprenticeships to the DfE and devolved nations.

Employer levy contributions are forecast by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) to generate £4.5 billion in 2026-27. Of this, around £500 million will be allocated to the devolved nations. Combined with England’s £3.3 billion apprenticeship budget, this leaves an estimated £700 million not returned to the system.

Levy contributions are expected to rise to £4.7 billion in 2027-28 and then to £4.8 billion in 2028-29. If the DWP’s apprenticeship spending estimates are accurate, this means the Treasury top-slice will increase to £1 billion and £1.14 billion respectively.

Simon Ashworth, Association of Employment and Learning Providers deputy CEO and director of policy, said: “It is welcome that the apprenticeship programme budget has been topped up further to avoid another overspend. However, the department appears to have allocated only around half of the additional £725 million announced in the 2025 spending review.

“With the levy itself generating record receipts, it would be a kick in the teeth for employers if this comes to fruition. It would also fly in the face of government priorities to deliver economic growth and tackle the NEET challenge.”

He added: “Looking ahead, the figures also raise important questions about funding in future years.

“Ministers will shortly enter an even more critical spending review period amid intense pressure on public finances. They must resist the temptation to hold back investment in one of the few programmes that delivers across multiple government priorities.

“Given the challenges the country faces, this would be the worst possible time to shy away from maintaining a sustainable, high-quality apprenticeship system.”

AI’s biggest threat is to those trying to get their careers started

We need to be honest about AI. It is not a distant threat or a future disruption. It is already reshaping the way work is organised, who gets hired, and what skills are valued.

But much of the national conversation is focused in the wrong place.

The assumption is that AI will mainly threaten established workers. That people in mid or later career will be hardest hit as automation reshapes roles around them. There is some truth in that. But it misses a far more profound risk.

The greatest disruption will be felt by those trying to enter the workforce in the first place.

For decades, careers have been built from the ground up. Entry level roles, junior tasks, and early responsibilities have provided the bridge between education and employment. They are where people learn how organisations work, build relationships, and develop confidence.

These are precisely the roles that AI is now beginning to replace.

If the first rung of the ladder disappears, the whole structure of career progression is put at risk. It becomes harder for young people to gain experience, harder to demonstrate capability, and harder to build the networks that sustain a career over time.

By contrast, those already established in work often retain something AI cannot easily replicate. They have trust, relationships, context, and credibility. These things matter more, not less, in an AI driven economy.

This creates a very real danger. Not simply of job displacement, but of exclusion. A generation of capable young people who find themselves locked out, not because they lack potential, but because the route in has narrowed.

This is where education must lead.

FE colleges sit at the centre of this challenge. Not just as providers of qualifications, but as active partners in shaping opportunity. We must work far more closely with employers to design pathways that do not rely on outdated assumptions about entry level roles.

That means building new kinds of experience. Real projects, employer-led learning, and practical environments where students can demonstrate value before they are hired. It also means focusing on the skills that matter most in an AI enabled workplace. Communication, problem solving, adaptability, and the ability to work alongside technology.

At the same time, schools need to shift much earlier in the journey. If we continue to define success through exams alone, we risk preparing young people for a model of work that no longer exists. Learning must feel relevant, applied, and connected to the real world.

This is not about abandoning standards. It is about ensuring that what we value reflects what the future demands.

There is also a role for government. Investment in further education is essential, but it must be targeted towards building genuine pathways into employment. That means supporting partnerships between colleges and employers, and recognising the critical role FE plays in economic development.

AI will undoubtedly reshape the workplace. But the most important question is not how we protect what exists today. It is how we ensure that the next generation still has a way in.

If we get that right, we will not simply respond to change. We will shape a more inclusive and resilient economy.

Attack fears at synagogues rule out teacher visits

College staff signing up to an antisemitism scholarship are now unlikely to visit synagogues or Jewish schools due to heightened security risks.

Enrolment opened this week for the Department for Education-funded course for school and college staff, with the first cohort expected to start in November.

But planned “domestic study visits” to learn about Judaism and the impact of antisemitism probably won’t go ahead, ex Labour MP Natascha Engel said.

Engel, founder of cross-party policy institute Palace Yard that will deliver the scholarship, said: “We don’t know whether we’ll be able to do that. It was in the original tender by the DfE, but that was before there were these very serious security problems.

“It’s not so easy now to go into a synagogue or a Jewish school, because the security is so massive. They’re literally under attack.”

The programme was created in response to teacher uncertainty about discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict with students following the October 7 terror attacks in 2023.

Conducted mostly online, it aims to educate up to 1,500 teachers and staff on real-life scenarios that could happen in an education setting.

Palace Yard won the £1.3 million contract to deliver the scholarship. Instead of visits, the institute may now stage conferences for course graduates at Jewish community centres in cities with large Jewish populations such as London, Manchester or Leeds, where strong security measures are already in place.

Palace Yard is working alongside the Union of Jewish Students, which runs university staff training, to deliver the scholarship programme to school and college support staff, designated safeguarding leads and those in charge of curriculum, HR and policy.

Engel, a former panel member of the all-party parliamentary group on antisemitism and a trustee of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, told FE Week it conducted a pilot involving antisemitism specialists and education staff. It subsequently shortened the course “significantly” due to teachers’ workloads.

Fatal terror attack

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2025, a 4 per cent rise from the year before but 13 per cent lower than 2023.

The most serious incident of 2025 happened in October, when two men were killed at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur – the first fatal antisemitic terror attack since CST began recording incidents in 1984.

In April, two Jewish men were seriously injured in a stabbing in Golders Green, north London, which the Metropolitan Police declared a terrorist incident. A man was charged with attempted murder and is due to stand trial next year. The UK terror threat level was raised to severe days later.

In the same month, a review found a school, Bristol Brunel Academy, had postponed local Jewish MP Damien Egan’s visit due to safeguarding concerns amid planned pro-Palestine protests.

Although Engel has not gathered specific data on the prevalence of antisemitism in further education, she said staff had reported “uncertainties” in how to manage discussions relating to the conflict in Gaza.

“People are uncertain where something is a legitimate criticism of the Israeli government and what it’s doing in Gaza, versus something that is then antisemitic. Where that line is can be quite difficult to judge,” she said.

Former Ofsted and Department for Education boss David Bell is currently leading an independent review into how schools and colleges identify, respond to and prevent antisemitism. The review closed its call for evidence this week.

Palace Yard did not formally submit evidence but has shared its research with Bell, particularly around spikes in antisemitic incidents driven by events in the Middle East, and how education staff log antisemitic incidents.

Engel said: “There was an example of a schoolboy shouting out a really horrible antisemitic joke, and the teacher picked up the boy about the antisemitic joke, who then back-chatted her.

“He got punished for the back-chatting, not for the antisemitism, and it wasn’t logged as an antisemitic incident. I think that kind of thing is something that really needs looking at.”

Tackling microaggressions

The scholarship comprises four modules of around 30 minutes each. Staff can complete them online over the course of a year.

The modules walk staff through real-life situations, such as a scenario involving a pupil using antisemitic language in the playground.

“If the teacher doesn’t respond and lets it go, they might think it’s children bantering,” Engel said. “But equally, if they overreact and that student does not know what they are saying, over-punishing and calling that child a racist might entrench something that wasn’t there to begin with.”

The course will provide scenarios across all education settings, allowing teachers to transpose each incident to the age group they teach.

It will not deal with radicalisation or extremism, which colleges already address through the Prevent programme.

Instead, it will focus on microaggressions and microincivilities that can arise in the workplace or classroom.

It also features a module on online antisemitism, detailing how people use coded language such as “guice” (pronounced Jews) to evade social media content moderation, and material on Holocaust distortion and denial.

Following the course, participants will be invited to join an optional “action learning” network to share what they have learned.

Palace Yard is working with the Association of Colleges and its subcontractor the National Union of Students to promote the scholarship to support staff and curriculum and policy leads.

Of the 1,500 staff who will be offered scholarships, half will be from schools and colleges while the other half will be from universities.

The Department for Education said it expects at least 100 of the 750 participants from the schools and college group to be made up of college staff.

WorldSkills UK: Over 400 learners revealed for 2026 national finals

Hundreds of the UK’s most skilled students and apprentices have been named as finalists for this year’s WorldSkills UK national competition.

Following a series of qualifiers, over 400 finalists will battle it out later this year to become the UK’s best across dozens of skilled trades.

As well as winning gold, silver and bronze medals in 44 competitions, champions at the national finals will also have a chance to represent the UK at the 2028 global skills competition in Japan.

The 407 finalists will descend upon college and university venues across south Wales to compete in the competition from November 18 to 20.

It will be the last time the event is held in south Wales as the finals are set to move to London in 2027.

View the full list of WorldSkills UK 2026 national finalists

The finalists were selected from 4,400 young people from across the UK who competed in an initial entry stage competition, which was then whittled down to around 1,800 taking part in a qualifying round.

Mark Smallman, operations director at WorldSkills UK, said: “Congratulations to everyone who has secured a place in this year’s WorldSkills UK National Finals.

“Our competitions recreate the pace, pressures and standards of the workplace, challenging competitors to solve problems, think critically and perform at their very best.”

WorldSkills UK said participation from universities has risen sharply by 42 per cent this year, likely from the higher education providers offering degree apprenticeships.

Mandy Crawford-Lee, chief executive of University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), said: “The growth in higher education (HE) participation in WorldSkills UK competitions reflects the sector’s desire to maximise its contribution to technical training, to creating progression to the professions and to increasing individual opportunity.”

Entries from independent training providers also increased by 37 per cent compared with 2025, though the proportion of employer directly entering young apprentices remained stagnant and heavily skewed to large apprenticeship employers such as Amazon and BMW.

“It’s encouraging to see the diversity of learners taking part continue to increase, reflecting the growing reach of skills excellence across the UK,” Smallman added.

“That’s why organisations are embracing skills competitions as part of their teaching practices, they see first-hand how the experience builds confidence, resilience and the skills people need to be truly work ready.”

WorldSkills UK chief executive Ben Blackledge recently urged more ITPs to get involved in the national finals in London in 2027.

The 44 competitions this year include mechatronics, beauty therapy and industrial robotics. Eight competitions in foundation skills will test the 78 talented young people who have made it to the finals.

Six competitors are taking part in a test competition in esports this year. While esports is not yet recognised at international competition level, the contest will become part of WorldSkills UK’s permanent portfolio for national competitions from next year.

Leaders are expected to discuss new competitions at international level at the biennial WorldSkills general assembly next year in Mongolia.

FE’s duplicate degree-rules headache eased by OfS

The universities regulator has scrapped multiple overlapping requirements placed on FE colleges that deliver higher education courses.

It follows an Office for Students (OfS) consultation on proposed rule changes that received “consistent support” from the college sector earlier this year.

The OfS changes come into effect today and remove five conditions of registration for colleges that apply to deliver higher education courses, and scrap four ongoing conditions placed on colleges already registered with the regulator.

Overlapping burdens the OfS had imposed alongside existing Department for Education rules included producing statements about participation by disadvantaged or underrepresented groups, financial viability and sustainability.

OfS interim director of quality and access Jean Arnold said: “We’re making it simpler for FE colleges to take up their crucial role in the regulated higher education sector.

“In doing so, they will be able to give their students confidence that they will meet the same high expectations we have for all institutions to deliver high quality teaching and learning, student protection and support.

“It’s important we have high standards for every institution that wants to register with us and access public funding – but the way we regulate shouldn’t get in the way of further education colleges offering students a flexible and diverse route into higher education.”

Some of the requirements, such as providing a statement on financial viability and sustainability, will continue to apply to colleges seeking degree-awarding powers.

The OfS said this was because these colleges are responsible for overseeing academic governance, standards, and the continuity of students’ study.

Responses to the consultation were made by 45 organisations and individuals, including FE colleges, sector bodies, universities and individuals.

According to the OfS’ consultation summary, most responses supported a more “proportionate” approach that reduced duplication.

Some raised concerns about creating a “two-tier system” for colleges with and without degree-awarding powers.

But the regulator said colleges without degree-awarding powers were subject to external validation or awarding arrangements with higher education providers, as well as DfE oversight.

A small number of respondents called for OfS fees to be cut for colleges in line with the reductions in regulatory requirements, but the regulator pointed out that registration fees are set by the DfE.

The DfE is carrying out a separate consultation into a new fee structure that closes on July 21.

The university sector is suffering a funding crisis and growing debate around the value of some degrees.

The rollout of the lifelong learning entitlement loan system is expected in September, which the government hopes will make level 4 and 5 higher education courses more easily available, including through modular courses.

Cash boost pushes 16-19 rate rise to 3%

Education funding for 16 to 19-year-olds will increase by 3 per cent in 2026-27 following a last-minute cash injection.

Ministers had faced criticism since March when they announced the national per-student funding rate for 16 and 17-year-olds would only rise by 0.5 per cent, breaking an earlier promise to increase funding at least in real terms.

New funding rates published this week reveal the maximum base rate will now increase from £5,105 to £5,256, up from the initial £5,133 first proposed in March.

Other study programme rates have also been boosted. Bands 4a and 4b will rise to £4,348, band 3 to £3,536 and band 2 to £2,796.

The updated rates follow last week’s announcement of a £485 million funding increase from the Department for Education, which was tied to part-funded pay rises for school teachers.

Last week’s funding top-up amounts to £120 million for financial year 2026-27 and £365 million in 2027-28. Unlike in schools, the DfE doesn’t set staff pay, but it has told colleges to spend the extra cash on “strategic priorities”, including staff recruitment and retention.

The DfE confirmed the added investment would be routed to colleges and other 16 to 19 providers through increases to the national funding rate, T Level rates, low prior attainment disadvantaged funding and the rate for students in care and care leavers.

It will also be used to increase parts of the post-16 national insurance grant, which means providers with non-16 to 19 delivery can benefit. The grant will be renamed the post-16 budget support grant from April 2027.

Revised 16 to 19 allocations and funding statements will be issued in September, with updated payments beginning from October.

The Association of Colleges, which negotiates with unions for an annual pay rise recommendation for FE colleges, now aims to make a pay recommendation in the autumn.

AoC chief executive David Hughes said: “It’s good to have the funding rates confirmed by the DfE today, as well as the approach to the new post-16 support grant. Colleges won’t receive revised allocations until September and therefore won’t be able to update their budgets until then.

“We have plans to meet with the national joint forum in the autumn and hope to make a pay recommendation then.”

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said: “We are pleased with this funding boost and the fact it will mainly be applied by raising the 16 to 19 funding rate.

“The boost to disadvantage funding is also very welcome. Taken together, this additional investment will help colleges to fund a more appropriate pay award for staff.

“If schools receive additional funding to increase staff pay, this is now routinely extended to colleges, which is a welcome trend and will help sixth form colleges to maintain pay parity with schools.”

The amount paid for students in care or care leavers will rise from £609 to £624 per student. Low prior attainment funding will rise to £624 for bands 4 and 5 study programme students, £380 for bands 2 and 3, and £846 for T Levels.

T Level rates have also been boosted compared with the March guidance, although some courses will still receive less than they did last year following the removal of a 5 per cent uplift for older qualifications.

T Levels in band 9 will now be funded at £15,126 over the two-year programme, compared with £15,430 in 2025-26.

Non-uplifted T Levels in band 8 will receive £13,870, band 7 £12,612 and band 6 £10,936.

However, T Levels with technical qualifications introduced from 2022 to 2023 will retain an uplifted rate. These will be funded at £14,564 for band 8, £13,242 for band 7 and £11,484 for band 6.

The number’s up for unqualified college CFOs

Only qualified accountants can work as chief financial officers at large colleges from next year, the government has announced.

The 2026 college financial handbook, effective from August 1, requests that college’s CFO job adverts state applicants must be qualified members of a relevant accountancy body.

The rule will become statutory for colleges with more than 3,000 students in 12 months.

The Department for Education said any college wishing to recruit a CFO without an accountancy qualification would need official approval.

Association of Colleges deputy chief executive Julian Gravatt revealed the membership body consulted with the DfE on the change.

He said: “The vast majority of people in this role have relevant qualifications, but there are times when it’s necessary to use people with experience in related disciplines or to combine roles to save management costs.

“These are exceptional cases and we welcome the fact the DfE is taking a comply-or-explain approach in that there’s a standard to follow but an opportunity to set out reasons for doing something different. There will be 12 months to prepare for this rule change.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “It is only right that those entrusted to manage their finances are equipped with the skills, expertise and experience relevant to their college, including, where appropriate, a professional accountancy qualification.”

Electric car sacrifice schemes

The handbook, updated this week by the DfE, also confirmed electric vehicle salary-sacrifice schemes no longer need prior DfE approval, provided colleges have “comprehensive” mitigations to avoid losses if staff do not uphold their contractual obligations.

DfE approval will still, however, apply to colleges under intervention.

Gravatt said: “Across the country, college staff drive millions of miles a year for work and it will benefit everyone if a bigger proportion of that travel is electric powered.”

Severance threshold

Another handbook update brings rules around staff severance payments in line with HM Treasury guidance, which stipulates special exit payments are only made in “exceptional” circumstances.

Severance payments must be approved by the DfE where exit packages exceed £100,000, or are made to senior leaders earning over £174,000.

If legal advice determines a college has more than a 50 per cent chance of winning a claim at an employment tribunal or arbitration, they must seek approval before offering a “contentious” settlement award.

“Colleges would need to demonstrate why they are recommending a payment to the employee rather than defending the case. If the chance of losing the case is 50 per cent or more, a settlement may be justified,” the handbook says.

Previously, colleges were told only that a settlement should not be offered where legal advice suggested they had “a good chance” of successfully defending a claim. The DfE told colleges that payouts were justified when there was “significant prospect” of losing, especially if the defence costs were likely to be high.

Colleges suffered severance approval delays of several months during 2024 when government backing was needed for payments of £50,000 or more. The DfE admitted at the time that its assessment process needed to improve.

Held to ransom

Elsewhere, the handbook toughens rules on colleges paying ransom or extortion demands.

An existing blanket ban on paying any cyber ransom demand is widened to cover “any ransom or extortion demands”, explicitly including ransomware.

Colleges must also renew their cyber essentials certification annually, as per the college accountability agreement.

Gravatt said the AoC was not aware of any college paying a ransom.

Other changes include a new expectation on governors and finance and audit committee members to receive financial training, and a requirement to consult the DfE before introducing a pension scheme outside the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme.