The Quiet Collapse of Adult English and Maths

Yesterday’s DfE data release showed a headline figure of a 2% decline in adult FE participation. Sounds manageable. Dig deeper, and the picture is far more dramatic.

Essential skills participation has dropped 14.2% in just three months. That’s 45,000 fewer adults studying English, Maths, ESOL, or digital skills than this time last year.

And the cause? One single policy change.

What happened

Since February 11th 2025, apprentices no longer need level 2 English and Maths to complete their Apprenticeship. The requirement was scrapped.

The sector had long argued for this. Learners who excelled at their trade were failing apprenticeships because they couldn’t pass functional skills exams. It was frustrating for everyone involved.

So the government removed the barrier. Problem solved.

Except now we’re seeing what that actually looks like in practice.

Level 2 English participation through apprenticeships has fallen 52.9%. Maths is down 56.9%. In real terms, that’s around 65,000 fewer adults working toward basic qualifications than last year.

These learners haven’t vanished. They’re still in their apprenticeships, still training, still entering the workforce. They’re just no longer studying English and Maths.

Why this Matters

The apprenticeship system was, quietly, one of the biggest delivery mechanisms for adult basic skills in England. Not by design. It was a byproduct of the completion requirements. But it worked. Hundreds of thousands of adults improved their literacy and numeracy because it was part of the deal.

That infrastructure has now been significantly weakened.

Will these learners pursue qualifications independently? Will employers step in? Will they get by without them? The data can’t tell us this yet. What it does show is that a policy designed to ease completion rates has had immediate knock-on effects for adult skills provision.

The bigger picture

This isn’t happening in isolation.

Non-regulated provision, courses that don’t lead to formal qualifications, now make up 36.9% of essential skills learning. That’s nearly double the 19.8% figure from 2020/21. The shift away from qualification-based delivery has been building for years.

The Multiply programme, which boosted adult numeracy participation, ended in March 2025. That’s contributed to a 15.3% drop in courses with no level assigned.

Overall, adult participation in education and training is down 7%. The 2% headline only holds if you include apprenticeships in the total.

What’s Worth Watching

Not everything in the data is concerning. LLDD representation continues to rise. Learners with learning difficulties and disabilities now make up 24.9% of education and training participants, up from 23.7%. This is a positive trend and worth celebrating.

ESOL is now the most popular essential skills subject, overtaking both English and Maths for the first time!

But the decline in essential skills is crazy. Providers who built capacity around apprenticeship-linked functional skills delivery are now looking at substantially reduced demand. The funding follows the learners, and the learners are no longer required to be there.

The Question Nobody’s Answering

The policy change addressed a real problem. But it also removed the main mechanism that got adults into English and Maths provision.

What replaces it?

Right now, the answer seems to be: Nothing. And that’s worth paying attention to.

By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager at FE News