Register to deliver T Levels in 2023

To mark the launch of registration for providers interested in delivering T Levels from 2023 Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills Gillian Keegan said:

“T Levels are a game-changer for young people, providing a high-quality technical alternative to A levels. Created in collaboration with leading employers, and with an inbuilt industry placement, these new qualifications have been developed to ensure students can get the skills they need to succeed and businesses can access the talent they need to thrive.

“From 2023 all providers with a 16-19 funding contract will be able to deliver the new pioneering qualifications. Registration is now open and I’d encourage all those who are interested to sign up.”

How to register to deliver T Levels in 2023 to 2024 academic year 

Information for post-16 providers planning to deliver T Levels from the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

This is guidance for providers who are already delivering 16 to 19 study programmes. It outlines how to register their intention to deliver T Levels in the 2023 to 2024 academic year and to indicate their interest in delivering a T Level Transition Programme.

The purpose of this guidance is to set out:

• how providers can register
• the registration deadlines of the 30 July 2021 to access implementation planning support and 29 July 2022 to receive upfront funding
• the T Levels that will be available for delivery
• explain what is required from providers wanting to deliver T Levels from the 2023 to 2024 academic year
• the support available to providers after they have registered
• that the current T Level approved providers (selected to deliver in 2020, 2021 or 2022) do not need to submit a registration form to extend their T Level delivery for 2023 to 2024 academic year

The T Level Action Plan 2020 provides important information for providers interested in delivering T Levels from 2023. It provides an update on the progress with T Levels so far and the next stage work. It also provides information on the T Level Transition Programme, and providers will be able to indicate their interest in delivering this as part of their T Level 2023 registration. The T Level Transition Programme framework for delivery is available on GOV.UK.

2023 will be the fourth year of T Level rollout and this is the point at which we are broadening access to T Levels so that it becomes part of the mainstream offer for all students aged 16, 17 and 18. All providers currently funded to deliver 16 to 19 study programmes will be eligible to deliver some of the available T Levels from September 2023.

Providers may submit their registration form from now and up to the closing date, which is midnight on the 29 July 2022. This is the final date to register to receive an up-front funding allocation for T Level delivery for the 2023 to 2024 academic year. We do however encourage providers to register as early as possible so that they can take advantage of the support that will be offered to providers.

Providers submitting their registration form by midnight on the 30 July 2021 will be able to access the following support, to assist them with their T Level 2023 to 2024 academic year delivery preparations:

• support for implementation planning so that you are ready to deliver T Levels
• any support made available for the development of T Level Transition Programmes
• conversations with the T Level support team
• regular updates on the latest T Level news
• guidance on capital funding and signposting to when this is available
• engagement in the development of the qualifications with the awarding organisations
• access to up-front funding for additional T Level delivery hours and industry placements
• access to networks of other providers delivering T Levels and preparing to deliver T Levels
• access to the full range of T Level professional development resources and support

Information on how T Levels are funded and the current T Level providers (those delivering T Levels and the T Level Transition Programmes from 2020 or planning to deliver from 2021 or 2022) can be found on GOV.UK.

Please note, current T Level approved providers (selected to deliver in 2020, 2021 or 2022) do not need to submit a registration form to extend their T Level delivery for the 2023 to 2024 academic year. These providers will be able to deliver any of the T Levels available from September 2023, subject to meeting the awarding body centre approval requirements and will be able to confirm their delivery intentions to us through established T Level data collection channels in May 2021. We will share more details on this in April 2021.

Registration timings

Providers registering their intentions any time up to 29 July 2022 will receive an acknowledgement and a reference number shortly after submitting their application, confirming that it has been received.

Registrations will be processed at the end of the month in which they were submitted, and we will contact providers during the following month to confirm their T Level delivery and share information. Registrations where a provider has not received an Ofsted inspection, have converted to an academy, or have merged/plan to merge may take slightly longer to process.

Providers who complete their registration to deliver T Levels by 30 July 2021 will be linked to our support team. They will be able to engage in the ongoing T Level qualifications development work with awarding bodies and will receive regular contact from the support team, information and updates.

Those registering to deliver T Levels or indicate their interest in delivering a T Level Transition Programme between August 2021 and 29 July 2022 will not be able to access the same level of support. They will receive all T Level updates, will be able to access information and work with others through our Support with delivering T Levels web pages.

All providers registering up to 29 July 2022 will have a conversation with the ESFA team about planned student numbers and will be asked to complete a data return in October 2022. This will confirm their planned T Level student numbers for the 2023 to 2024 academic year to enable a T Level funding allocation to be made in March 2023.

T Levels available to deliver from 2023 to 2024 academic year

There are 24 T Levels, across 11 T Level routes that will be available for delivery in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. These are set out in the T Level route table below, along with their associated occupational specialisms.

There will be one or more occupational specialisms, which are the specific areas of study that providers and students might focus on after they have completed core learning. Further information on the content of the T Levels can be found in the links in the table below. Where T Levels have already been developed and are available, the links will take you to the actual technical qualifications. For those T Levels that are still in development, you will be able to see the final outline content from which the qualifications will be developed.

T Level routes

ODS, 6.58KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Intention to deliver T Levels for the 2023 to 2024 academic year

ESFA funded providers who hold a current 16 to 19 study programme funding agreement or contract, can access the registration form through their DfE sign in account. Providers who have a contract to deliver apprenticeships or adult provision only are not eligible to apply.

If providers are not registered with DfE sign in they should do this first, and once registered should add the 2023 registration form to their account.

Providers will be required to enter a valid UKPRN, as part of their application. This will be used to partially populate the registration form and to validate whether applicants hold an active Education and Skills Funding Agreement, or contract and receive funding to deliver 16 to 19 study programmes.

Providers wishing to access the full range of support available for implementation planning must submit their registration form by midnight on the 30 July 2021.

Providers must submit their registration form by midnight on the 29 July 2022 to secure up-front funding for their T Level 2023 to 2024 academic delivery. After this date, it will not be possible for providers to be supported or funded up-front to deliver T Levels in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Instead, any unregistered T Level delivery will be funded through the in-year growth process applicable in 2023 to 2024, so long as this is correctly coded on the ILR or school census. T Level Transition Programme starts are not funded up-front. Instead, these students will be counted within the usual full-time lagged student numbers for study programmes. Further information is available on the ‘How T Levels are funded’ page on GOV.UK.

After you have submitted your registration form, you will receive a notification confirming that it has been submitted. If you do not receive an email confirmation, or experience any technical issues when registering, please contact us by completing an enquiry form, selecting the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option and include within the query box ‘T Levels 2023’, your provider name and your UKPRN as a reference.

We will write to the Head of Organisation to confirm the T Level(s) a provider has registered to deliver and the T Level Transition Programmes they have indicated an interest in delivering.

We reserve the right to discuss and adjust delivery plans should a provider’s Ofsted rating change to either requires improvement or inadequate between the date of submitting their form and 29 July 2022.

If a registered provider’s Ofsted rating changes between submitting their registration form and the 29 July 2022, they should contact us by completing an enquiry form selecting the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option and include within the query box ‘T Levels 2023’, your provider name and your UKPRN as a reference.

How to complete the registration process

Completing the registration form

Providers wishing to register can access the registration form on GOV.UK.

We will ask for the following information:

• a provider’s published Ofsted rating
• any structural changes, or whether the provider has converted to academy status
• the T Levels a provider plans to deliver in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, and planned student numbers
  • this is an initial indication and we recognise that plans may develop as providers work through their planning and prepare for delivery in 2023
• the T Level occupational specialisms providers are interested in delivering in the 2023 to 2024 academic year
  • again an early indication – we recognise that plans may change
• whether providers are interested in delivering the T Level Transition Programme in the 2023 to 2024 academic year
  • the T Level Transition Programme is in the early development phase. The plans for the next phase of work with providers are not yet agreed. Your interest in delivering this will be registered and we will contact you to share information and confirm next steps, including your intention to deliver the Programme.
  • to deliver the T Level Transition Programme providers must be planning to deliver a T Level within the same T Level route
  • you can find further information on the T Level Transition Programme and it’s framework for delivery on GOV.UK

Why your Ofsted rating is important

Providers who have an Ofsted rating of outstanding, or good can register to deliver any of the T Levels available in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, as set out in the T Level route table.

Providers with an Ofsted rating of requires improvement, inadequate, or those that are newly established and not yet inspected can register to deliver T Levels in the Digital, Construction, Education and Health and Science T Level routes only for 2023 and may then expand their delivery beyond this from 2024.

We will take the Ofsted grade as at 29 July 2022 for the purposes of determining the T Levels that can only be delivered by providers.

If your Ofsted rating is downgraded to inadequate or requires improvement before 29 July 2022 you will not be able to deliver T Levels that are restricted to good and outstanding providers.

If your Ofsted rating is downgraded between 29 July 2022 and June 2023 please contact us to discuss your plans. We will make decisions on a case by case basis considering what is in the best interests of students and how close you are to delivery. You can do this by completing an enquiry form selecting the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option and include within the query box ‘T Levels 2023 – Ofsted change’, your provider name and your UKPRN.

If your Ofsted rating improves from requires improvement, or inadequate before 29 July 2022 then you will be eligible to deliver all T Levels in 2023, but please do contact us to discuss this. You can do this by completing an enquiry form selecting the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option and include within the query box ‘T Levels 2023’, your provider name and your UKPRN as a reference.

If your Ofsted rating improves from requires improvement, or inadequate after 29 July 2022 you will only be eligible to deliver T Levels from the Digital, Construction, Education and Health and Science routes for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, but will be able to extend your delivery in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

We will collect data on planned delivery in October 2022 to feed into T Level funding allocations for the 2023 to 2024 academic year based on the Ofsted position of providers at the end of July 2022.

Providers that have restructured and merged

Where providers have restructured or merged and have not yet received a full inspection, we will use the lead provider’s last full Ofsted inspection rating to determine the routes they can be funded to deliver. Where there is no lead provider, we will combine the ratings of all providers to determine which T Levels a provider can be funded to deliver.

Academy converters

Where providers have converted to an academy and have not received a full inspection since conversion, we will use the last full Ofsted inspection rating of the former school/sixth form college to determine the T Levels they can be funded to deliver.

The Ofsted rating recorded in the registration form, should reflect the provider’s position at the time their application is made, and we will start working with providers on the basis of that confirmed rating.

If a provider’s Ofsted rating changes after they have registered, we will look at each case individually and discuss how this might impact on the provider’s delivery planning.

Where a provider’s Ofsted grade declines to requires improvement or inadequate, much will depend on the point that this happens in the planning process and quality improvement work that is necessary.

If a provider’s grade improves after registration and during the planning period and they wish to extend their delivery then the same applies, but there is a cut-off date of 29 July 2022 for taking an improved grade into account. After this, providers will have less than one year to prepare for T Levels delivery, so we would consider this to be too late to change their delivery plans.

ESFA enquiries

For all enquiries please submit an enquiry form, selecting the ‘some other related/16 to 19 related query’ option and include within the query box ‘T Levels 2023’, your provider name and your UKPRN as a reference.

Useful links

• Action Plan 2020
• T Levels Next Steps for Providers
• Support with delivering T Levels
• How T Levels are funded

Published 24 February 2021 Contents Print this page