List of qualifications approved for funding

Further Information

Contents

Qualification funding approval manual

The Department for Education (DfE) publishes a funding manual that apply when we consider qualifications for funding. The manual also explains how and when we review qualifications for funding approval.

New Maximum Approval End Date Protocol

We have recently extended the 2025/26 funded offers into the funding year 2026/27. We applied a new protocol to show qualifications approved to their maximum approval end date.

Maximum approval end dates have been used so that you know for each of your qualifications:

  • the maximum date it is approved for funding to
  • its maximum last date for funded new starts, as long as it remains eligible and operational.

Previous approval end dates used until 2025/26

In our annual extension processes (‘rollover’), if a qualification was eligible to be extended, we set a funding approval end date of:

  • the end of the next funding year, for example 31 July 2026 or
  • the qualification’s operational end date if this was earlier but still within the next funding year

Maximum approval end dates used from 2026/27

If a qualification was eligible to be extended, we set a maximum funding approval end date of 31 July 2027, regardless of the qualification’s operational end date within 2026/27.

Example

  • a qualification eligible to be extended into 2026/27, with an operational end date of 30 September 2026, was set a funding approval end date of 31 July 2027

Please note: the maximum approval end date for level 4 to 6 qualifications approved in the loans offer, which are not transferring to LLE funding, is 31 December 2026. This is also a hard stop (see below).

If a qualification was not eligible to be extended into 2026/27 because it was not operational within 2026/27 year, we set a maximum funding approval end date of 31 July 2026, regardless of the qualification’s operational end date within 2025/26.

Example

  • a qualification ineligible to be extended into 2026/27, with an operational end date of 30 June 2026, was set a funding approval end date of 31 July 2026
  • in this scenario, if you subsequently set a qualification’s OED to be in 2026/27, we will not extend its funding approval into 2026/27
  • this is why we encourage awarding organisations to use open-ended operational end dates
  • this is why you must ensure your qualifications comply with the extension criteria we communicate each year, otherwise you will lose funding approval for your qualifications

‘Termly’ Funding Approval Windows

We will apply the same protocol to our funding approval windows from onwards.

Hard Stop Approval End Dates

We will use hard stop approval end dates in situations where we will not allow a qualification to re-enter our funded offers beyond a certain date, even if its OED is extended.

Example

  • a qualification was ineligible for extension into 2026 /27 and was set a maximum approval end date of 31 July 2026 (see above)
  • a qualification was replaced through the post-16 moratorium exemption process and was set a hard stop approval end date of:
    • 2 months after publication of the replacement qualification’s funding approval on our website

Reformed technical and non-technical qualifications at level 3 and below

From 1 August 2025, DfE has approved for funding reformed level 2 and level 3 Technical Qualifications (TQs) and Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs).

You can use the search engine to identify these qualifications. This website labels reformed TQs as Technical Occupation Qualifications (TOQs) to align with the Ofqual category naming. The ‘subcategory’ field on this website separates TOQs and AAQs into these types:

  • Small Alternative Academic Qualification
  • Large Alternative Academic Qualification
  • Occupational Entry : 16 to 19 and Adult
  • Occupational Entry : Adult
  • Additional Specialist

'Termly' funding approval windows

We will soon start developing a new digital portal for awarding organisations, which will simplify and streamline the processes of submitting qualifications for funding approval. Alongside this we are incorporating reformed Technical Qualifications (TQs) and Alternative Academic Qualification (AAQs) in our systems.

To help us implement these, we will complete the move to ‘termly’ funding approval windows, instead of monthly windows. These ‘termly’ windows will happen three times a year, and will be the only times that we will:

  • consider newly regulated qualifications for funding approval – only for the 14-16 offer and qualification types outside the scope of the qualifications review, which are exempt from the post-16 moratorium

  • consider exemptions to the moratorium, except for qualifications within SSAs that are or will fall out of scope because of the integrated approvals process – we have already announced and implemented this

  • perform the routine funding approval management detailed in the 2024/25 qualification funding approval manual

Relevant dates and deadlines for funding approval applications are available in the 2024/25 qualification funding approval manual

After developing the new portal, we may change how often we run our qualification funding approval windows, depending on the user insight gathered as part of the development.

Funding rules

We publish the rules that apply to all provision that we fund. You can find these rules on the GOV.UK website.

Funding rates and formula

We also explain our funding system and rates for our funded qualification offers.

How we define funding approval

Qualifications outside of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below

We look at the content that awarding organisations specify for each qualification, and we decide whether each qualification meets our approval principles for public funding. This can include looking at a qualification’s title, level, size, sector subject area, operational start and end dates, as well as the qualification specification published by the awarding organisation.

We use the term ‘funding approval’ to show where we add a qualification to at least one of our funded offers.

We also review qualifications to see if they meet our principles for funding through advanced learner loans. We do not fund the delivery of qualifications through loans, but we do decide which qualifications a student can study with a loan.

Reformed technical and non-technical qualifications at level 3 and below

From 1 August 2025, we have approved for funding reformed Technical Qualifications (TQs) and Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) developed as part of the post-16 qualification review at level 3 and below in England.

The qualifications funding approval manual from August 2025 describes how we approved TQs and AAQs for funding in 2025 to 2026.

Qualifications reform has the latest news on post-16 qualifications reform at level 3 and below.

Funding approval moratorium

In the first stage consultation document on the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, we said that we would stop approving any new qualifications at level 3 and below for funding, for students aged 16 and over.

From 1 September 2020, we stopped considering new regulated qualifications for funding, unless they meet certain exemption criteria, including being an updated version of an existing quals or a new qual responding to economic need. We are doing this for qualifications at level 3 and below, for students aged 16 and over (including 19 plus). We call this a ‘moratorium’ on funding approval, and it will be in place initially for a period of three years. We will review how the moratorium is working (including the exemptions criteria) once a year. The most up to date information on the operation of moratorium is in the current funding manual.

We will continue to approve qualifications for funding in the 14 to 16 offer and the moratorium does not apply to T Levels.

You can find more information about this in the technical guidance for the moratorium.

Withdrawal of funding approval from qualifications

In the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England, we stated our intention to withdraw funding approval from some qualifications.

You can find more information about this and the lists of qualifications with either confirmed or provisional removed funding approval on the GOV.UK website.

Performance tables

The Department for Education (DfE) publishes lists of technical and vocational qualifications that are approved for reporting in school performance tables.

If we have approved a qualification for funding in the 14 to 16 and/or the 16 to 19 offer, this does not mean that it will be included in the performance tables for Key Stage 4 or 16 to 18.

You can find more information about performance tables on the GOV.UK website. If you have any queries about performance tables, please send them to the DfE through its online form.

School census and QAN codes

You can find information about qualifications and the school census on the DfE school census webpages, or you can contact DfE’s data collection helpdesk service using the service request form.

If you want to find the correct qualification accreditation number (QAN) for a qualification, you can search for this on the DfE QAN website.

Qualifications and courses in academies and maintained schools

Qualifications must be approved for funding for 14 to 19 before some providers (such as academies and maintained schools) can offer them to young people.

Contact us

If you are a provider of education and training and you have a query about funding approval please use the DfE Customer Help Portal.

If you are an awarding organisation and have any queries on the qualification funding approval process, please read the funding manual first, any follow up questions can be emailed to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk.

Is there anything wrong with this page?