Colleges tell DfE students face uncertainty over BTec funding chaos

More than 450 schools and colleges in England have described the uncertainty about the future of vocational training courses such as BTecs as “chaos”.

The Government is conducting a review of post-16 education following the previous Government’s plans to Reduction of funding for many Level 3 courses in favour of T-Levels.

The Department for Education (DfE) says the review will benefit BTec students – but results are not expected until December.

The lack of clarity has left schools and colleges unsure of what courses they will be able to offer to prospective students in 2025, although many of them have planned open days in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, 455 schools have written to the government saying that the uncertainty makes it “extremely difficult” to plan for the future.

“It’s like having a shop and nothing on the shelves,” said Altaf Hussain, principal and chief executive of Luton Sixth Form College.

He plans to start visiting local schools to talk to students in the next few weeks, but said the current situation was “a minefield.”

“The whole thing is absolute madness,” said Mr Hussain.

And he couldn’t tell some employees what courses they would be teaching next year and whether retraining would be necessary.

“What can I tell you? I don’t know,” said Mr. Hussain.

At Hartlepool College of Further Education, headteacher Darren Hankey is preparing for open days next month.

However, he cannot currently tell new students exactly which courses will be offered in the 2025/26 academic year – or what will be included in the university’s study prospectus.

“We don’t really know what our curriculum will look like until this review is complete,” he said.

“If something like this were to happen in high school, there would probably be an outcry.

“All in all, it’s quite a mess.”

More than 200 vocational qualifications, including BTecs and other post-GCSE courses, were to be abolished by the previous government.

But a few days before the first funding changes were announced, Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said the new Labour government would “pause and review” the plans.

And a final decision will not be made until the end of the year at the earliest – less than 12 months before schools and colleges welcome new students in September 2025.

In response, 455 schools and colleges in England have joined the Protect Student Choice campaign, a coalition of 25 education organisations and trade unions.

They train about a third of all 16 to 19 year olds.

In a letter to Ms Phillipson, they called for more clarity on the future of applied general qualifications (AGQs) such as BTecs.

And they want the break to be extended for another year “to ensure that young people are not disadvantaged by the reforms you propose.”

The DfE said it had taken “immediate action” to suspend the proposed funding cuts until early August – and that the ongoing review would “bring certainty to the sector”.

The changes come against the backdrop of problems that have hampered the introduction of the T-Levels introduced three years ago.

Mrs Phillipson has confirmed that testosterone levels will continue to rise despite delays and An audit committee was fined £300,000 for “serious negligence” with contributions in 2022.

Dropout rates at T-levels also remain high.

Only 71% of the 10,253 students starting their studies in 2022 have completed their studies after two years. By comparison, the completion rate for most A-levels and general qualifications is over 90%.

T-Levels are approximately equivalent to three A-Levels.