Update on proposed defunding of 16-19 qualifications 

The Department for Education (DfE) published a list of qualifications that overlap with wave 1 and wave 2 T-Levels on the 11 May 2022. The vast majority of our Cambridge Technical (2016) qualifications did not overlap with T-Levels and will continue to be funded until our redeveloped qualifications are launched.

We appealed against the defunding of 7 Cambridge Technicals qualifications, and we are delighted to let you know 5 of those appeals were successful.

Cambridge Technicals in IT

We were successful in our appeal for the Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma in IT (360GLH) and Foundation Diploma in IT (540GLH). The Certificate and Extended Certificate in IT were not considered for defunding and continue to be funded. These qualifications will continue to attract funding until July 2025, therefore your final cohort of students for these qualifications would need to be on programme by 31 July 2025. Our redeveloped Cambridge Technicals in IT will be available for first teaching from September 2025.

We were unsuccessful in our appeal for the Cambridge Technical Diploma (720GLH) and Extended Diploma in IT (1080GLH). These qualifications will no longer attract funding from July 2024, therefore your final cohort of students for these qualifications would need to be on programme by 31 July 2024.  

Students starting in September 2024 will not attract funding for the Cambridge Technical Diploma and Extended Diploma in IT. Our redeveloped Cambridge Technicals will be available for first teaching from September 2025.

If you wish to discuss alternative provision for these two qualifications please contact our customer support centre: support@ocr.org.uk or 01223 553998

You can find full details about each of these qualifications, including the last date for new starts for funding purposes on our Cambridge Technicals re-development page.

Cambridge Technicals in Engineering

We were successful in our appeal for all 3 of our Engineering qualifications (the Certificate and Extended Certificate in Engineering were not considered for defunding and continue to be funded).  This means you can continue to offer these qualifications in your centre.  Your final cohort of students for these qualifications would be in September 2024, completing their two years of study in July 2026.  Our redeveloped Cambridge Technicals in Engineering will be available for first teaching from September 2025.

You can find full details about each of these qualifications, including the last date for new starts for funding purposes on our Cambridge Technicals re-development page.

What about the other Cambridge Technical subjects?

Our other Cambridge Technicals (including Health and Social Care) are not being defunded and you can continue to offer them in your centre. You can find full details about each of these qualifications, including the last date for new starts for funding purposes on our Cambridge Technicals re-development page.

Will we appeal the defunding outcomes?

No. The DfE will not be considering further appeals on the defunding decisions.

If you are affected by the defunding of the Level 3 Diploma in IT (720GLH) and Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT (1080GLH) qualifications and would like to discuss alternative provisions, please contact our customer support centre on support@ocr.org.uk or 01223 553998