Post-16 Reform - Background

Background to post-16 vocational reforms

The post-16 landscape is changing and from September 2025 it will look significantly different to the current one. Our aim here is to explain some of these changes to you.

What's happened so far?

The previous government wanted to create a new streamlined qualifications system for students aged 16 and over, aimed at supporting them to move into high-skilled jobs, either directly, or through progression into good quality higher education courses.

Following a review of post-16 qualifications and below in 2022, post-16 qualifications in England went through a 3 phase reform process:

• Phase 1 - the Department for Education (DfE) removed funding from qualifications with sustained low or no publicly funded enrolments
• Phase 2 - the DfE removed funding from 16-19 qualifications which overlap with T Levels and academic qualifications where a subject is more suited to a technical qualification or there is already an associated A level.
• Phase 3 - DfE introduce a new integrated approval process for qualifications that will receive public funding from September 2025. This sets quality criteria for all academic and technical qualifications. Those qualifications that get approved will be those that provide skills for the future and lead to good outcomes.

This reform meant that there would be two routes available for students in 2025. They would choose between:

• A Levels or a mixed curriculum of, typically, two A Levels alongside an Alternative Academic Qualification, such as a Cambridge Advanced National
• T Levels or they may wish to enrol in an apprenticeship.

The new Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) would be developed in two cycles:

• Cycle 1 includes subjects that align with waves 1 and 2 of T Level roll-out with  these AAQs being funded from September 2025.
• Cycle 2 will include everything not covered in cycle 1 and AAQs will be funded from September 2026.

Where are we now?

Following the election of a new government, in July 2024 the Department for Education (DfE) announced an immediate pause and review of the post-16 vocational qualification reform in England. In summary this means:

• A one year pause on the removal of 16-19 funding from Level 3 qualifications assessed as overlapping T levels. This means our Level 3 Cambridge Technicals qualifications originally scheduled to have their funding approval removed after 31 July 2024 will now continue to remain available up to 31 July 2025.
• Level 3 Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) are still funded for first teaching in September 2025. All our Level 3 180 GLH (AS Level size) and 360 GLH (A Level size) Cambridge Advanced Nationals (AAQs) submitted in Cycle 1 are approved for funding, so can be taken as part of a post-16 programme of study from September 2025.