Five of the 33 health and science level 3 courses set to be axed in 2024 to pave way for T Levels – including the popular BTEC health and social care diploma – have been given a temporary reprieve.

The Department for Education has today updated the “final” list of level 3 qualifications that overlap with the first ten T Levels and face being defunded next year.

It was originally published in October but excluded courses that overlap with the health and science route amid a review of the T Level’s content, which was launched after Ofqual found last year’s exams were not fit for purpose and led to results for over 1,000 students being regraded.

The DfE’s provisional list of level 3 courses facing the chop from 2024 included 33 health and science qualifications, but today’s update has reduced this to 28.

Those that appear to be saved include City & Guilds’ diploma in adult care, NOCN’s diploma in adult care, Pearson’s BTEC national diploma in health and social care, TQUK’s diploma in healthcare support, and TQUK’s diploma in adult care.

Colleges would be particularly pleased with the continuation of Pearson’s BTEC national diploma in health and social care, which has thousands of enrolments every year and is “enormously popular and well respected by universities and employers”, according to leaders.

However, the qualifications are still expected to be defunded from 2025.

This is because in January the DfE launched the next phase of its level 3 review, which involves a new strict approvals process that all “alternative” technical and academic applied general qualifications must pass to retain their funding.

Guidance states that ministers have made the “conscious choice” to exclude “certain” academic qualifications from this process, either because the subject is “more suited to a technical qualification or because there is an associated A level”.

The only sector subject areas they will continue to fund large alternative academic qualifications include performing arts, sport leisure and creation, and crafts, creative arts and design. All large alternative academic qualifications in other subjects will not be eligible for funding from 2025.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said the publication of today’s list “highlights the absurdity” of the government’s defunding process.

He told FE Week: “On the face of it, five qualifications have been saved from the scrapheap. But while DfE was busy reviewing health and science courses, ministers decided that these courses will not be eligible for reapproval. For example, the popular BTEC diploma in health and social care won a reprieve today but will not be funded beyond 2025 in line with the DfE guidance published in January.

“This is a deeply flawed policy that is being implemented in a confused and convoluted way.”

The most popular course set to be lost from 2024 is NCFE’s CACHE technical level 3 certificate in health and social care, which had 4,010 enrolments in 2020/21.

All 28 health and science qualifications to be defunded next year had a total of 11,930 enrolments in 2020/21.

Skills, apprenticeships and HE minister Robert Halfon said: “The removal of funding from these qualifications follows rigorous assessment by independent assessors and an opportunity for awarding organisations to appeal their decisions.

“T Levels are rigorous qualifications that provide a great progression route into a range of occupations in the health and science sector. They are based on the same standards as apprenticeships and have their content set by employers.”

He added that students who take a health and science T Level are “well placed to progress into careers in the sector, including as health professionals, technicians and researchers”.

In total there are now 134 level 3 courses that will be axed from 2024 because they “overlap” with the first 10 T Levels, which between them had 39,570 enrolments in 2020/21.

More qualifications will be reviewed and defunded in future years as more T Levels roll out. A provisional list of qualifications that overlap with wave three and four T Levels will be released in spring 2023 and awarding organisations will be given the opportunity to appeal.

Employers are being offered up to £25,000 towards “legitimate costs” in what is the Department for Education’s latest move to increase the quality and quantity of industry placements for T Levels. 

The department announced in February that £12 million will be set aside for a new T Level employer support fund. More information has been published today, just days before the turn of the new financial year when the new fund goes live.

New guidance reveals that employers can claim up to £25,000 for costs relating to industry placements that start between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. That figure isn’t dependent on the number of placements on offer, nor does it need to be paid back if a placement ends unexpectedly.

Colleges and other T Level providers will be responsible for making the payments to employers and making judgement calls about what to fund and when to make payments. 

T Level providers have been allocated a set amount they are able to distribute to employers. Allocations have been based on the number of T Levels students providers have told DfE they have signed up.

Any unspent funds will be clawed back in August 2024.

T Levels include a mandatory industry placement of 45 days or 315 hours with an employer.

Any organisation providing placements is eligible to make a claim, except for government department departments and their arm’s lengths bodies. This means colleges, schools and NHS trusts are technically eligible, but organisations like DfE itself, Ofsted and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are not. 

New guidance released today alongside funding rules for providers outlines what “legitimate costs” employers can make claims for. 

This includes administrative costs like “setting up processes and procedures” as well as training for existing staff, equipment, insurance and students’ transport. 

Claims can’t be made for costs that could otherwise be funded via other streams, such as T Level revenue funding. 

Providers are ultimately accountable for what they dish out. A six-weekly data return will include a self-declaration form signed by employers confirming what they have requested the funding for. 

Employers won’t be asked to provide evidence for the costs at the point they claim – they merely sign the self-declaration – but DfE said they will conduct random spot checks on providers and employers to check on what’s been claimed. 

And if a student drops out early, or the placement ends unexpectedly for any other reason, the DfE said they do not expect employers to pay any money back to the provider, though they can if they wish.

In November, FE Week reported that just £500,000 from a previous £7 million employer support fund – 8 per cent – was used during its previous run from 2019-2022.

That scheme offered firms £750 to cover tangible placement costs in four regions of England, upped to £1,000 per placement in 2021/22.

An evaluation report published last year found that just 843 placements were supported against a target 32,466 with the fund.

Research from earlier in 2022 found that three quarters of employers had not heard of T Levels and only 7 per cent of employers not interested in offering T Level placements would change their mind if offered a £1,000 incentive.

Employer bodies, such as the Federation of Small Businesses, have however called for the reintroduction of employer cash bonuses for T Levels.