T Levels: next steps for providers
Information for post-16 providers on the next steps towards delivery of T Levels.
T Levels are new courses that launched in September 2020. These 2-year courses follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A levels.
T Levels combine classroom theory, practical learning and substantial industry placements (45 days) to make sure students have real experience of the workplace. T Level courses have been developed with employers and businesses so the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work.
They are designed to provide the knowledge, skills and experience needed to open the door to entry level skilled roles, a higher apprenticeship or further study including at university.
Development of T Levels
Co-creating T Levels with T Level providers and other key delivery partners is crucial to their success. We are incredibly grateful for the commitment of providers and the hard work they have put in to make these qualifications happen.
T Level Action Plan
The Department for Education published its latest T Level Action Plan in December 2021. The action plan gives an update on government’s progress in reforming technical education as set out in the Post-16 skills plan.
This is the 5th T Level Action Plan and includes updates on:
- the launch of the first ten T Levels in 2020 and 2021 and ongoing preparations for delivery in future years
- the T Levels which will be available for delivery in 2022 and 2023
- eligibility criteria and how providers can register to deliver T Levels from 2023 and beyond; and
- wider qualifications reform work
Read an introduction to T Levels for more detail about T Levels.
T Level Transition Programme
The T Level Transition Programme provides a high-quality route onto T Levels for students who would benefit from the additional study time and preparation that it will give them before they start their T Level.
We are taking a phased approach to implementing the T Level Transition Programme alongside the introduction of T Levels. We are working closely with a subset of early T Level providers to explore different approaches to delivery, to help determine the shape of the programme what the future national Framework for Delivery should look like.
The providers that are delivering the Transition Programme in 2021 to 2022 and those planning to deliver in 2022 to 2023 are listed in Providers delivering or planning to deliver the T Level Transition Programme.
See the revised T Level Transition Programme Framework for Delivery for information on and expectations for how the programme should be delivered from academic year 2022 onwards.
Development of the national T Level Transition Programme
In April 2021 we announced our plans to firm up the programme for implementation from September 2022. This is to ensure a degree of consistency in how students are prepared for a T Level, regardless of where they are studying, whilst retaining the flexibility the programme needs to support each student individually.
We said that we would:
- set minimum expectations about what students should experience for each element of the programme
- set some outcomes for the technical component and the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to achieve them
- develop key resources for providers to use in designing and delivering their programmes
- develop a student guide setting out what students can expect from the programme
To do this we worked with T Level Transition Programme providers to understand what has worked well over the first year of delivery to help us refine the Framework for Delivery, and with employers and education specialists to put together a set of proposals. Over autumn 2021 we sought the views of a wider group of providers, employers and other stakeholders to help ensure we had captured the right minimum expectations and outcomes that will enable student progression to T Levels.
In December 2021, we published:
- the revised Framework for Delivery
- national technical outcomes for the first 3 waves of T Level routes: Construction; Digital; Education and Childcare (introduced from 2020); Health and Science (introduced from 2021); Business and Administration; Engineering and Manufacturing; Legal, Finance and Accounting (introduced from 2022)
- resources to help providers
- a student guide
T Level Transition Programmes delivered from September 2022 should follow the new Framework for Delivery and technical outcomes.
Next steps
In 2022 we will develop national technical outcomes for the fourth wave of T Level routes and publish these in autumn 2022 or earlier, for delivery from September 2023. These are:
- Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
- Catering and Hospitality
- Creative and Design
- Hair and Beauty
T Levels rollout 2020, 2021 and 2022
The first three T Levels were rolled out in September 2020, these were:
- design, surveying and planning for construction
- digital production, design and development
- education and childcare
A further 7 T Levels were introduced in 2021:
- building services engineering for construction
- digital business services
- digital support and services
- health
- healthcare science
- onsite construction
- science
The T Level Action Plan 2021 sets out how further T Levels will be rolled out. There are over 20 T Levels in total being rolled out in phases until September 2023.
We have published the list of 2020, 2021 and 2022 T Level providers. We are working with these providers to make sure they have the support they need to deliver T Levels successfully and to give them the opportunity to work with us to develop the new programmes.
Registering providers to deliver T Levels from September 2023
2023 will be the fourth year of T Level roll out and we intend to have all T Levels available by this point. To sustain momentum and reinforce T Levels as a mainstream offer for all students, we are increasing the number of providers able to deliver them. All providers currently funded to offer classroom-based study programmes to 16-19 year-olds will be able to register to deliver some of the available T Levels from September 2023:
- all of these providers can offer T Levels that were introduced in 2020 and 2021
- T Levels introduced in 2022 and 2023 will be able to be delivered by Ofsted Good and Outstanding providers only
Approach from September 2024 onwards
By 2024 all T Levels will have been delivered for at least a year and we will be moving towards full national roll out. Therefore from 2024, T Levels can be delivered by all providers funded for 16 to 19 study programmes.
Funding for T Level delivery
Information on how T Levels are funded can be found on GOV.UK.
Support for professional development
To ensure that T Levels deliver great outcomes for learners, we are committed to ensuring that teachers and leaders have the support they need to deliver them well. The T Level Professional Development (TLPD) offer, led by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) has been available since May 2019 at no charge to providers delivering and planning to deliver T Levels.
The offer will continue to be shaped around the needs of providers and their workforce alongside relevant regional, employer and curriculum needs. Providers will see changes to the offer – for example, a move to Regional Facilitators to enhance and replace the Professional Development Adviser role, a more structured and tailored CPD journey, more opportunities for collaboration, and new leadership opportunities.
To ensure providers are up to date with the latest opportunities, the ETF will continue to publicise training and CPD via their newsletter and webpage.
Capital funding
The T Levels Capital Fund (TLCF) will continue to help those further education providers at the forefront of delivering these important reforms.
Over £400m in capital funding has been made available to T Level providers to ensure that they have high quality facilities and industry standard equipment to deliver T Levels.
The T Levels Capital Fund comprised of two different elements – the Building and Facilities Improvement Grant (BFIG) and Specialist Equipment Allocation (SEA).
Almost 150 building projects have been awarded funding through the first three waves of capital funding, aimed at providers delivering in 2020, 2021 and 2022. All providers have also received significant specialist equipment funding before they started delivering T Levels.
All T Level providers have also been allocated Specialist Equipment Funding before they start teaching to ensure that they can teach T Levels on industry standard equipment.
We are making additional funding of over £150m available for providers delivering in 2023, the BFIG element of that fund is now open for bids, further information on how to apply can be found at the link above.
Communications and marketing
Effective communications and marketing are critical in helping key audiences engage with and support the implementation plan for T Levels.
The NexT Level campaign launched in October 2019, supporting provider recruitment activity and making sure young people and their parents have the information they need about T Levels and inspiring them to apply for the first 3 T Levels. Since then, the student/parent campaign has featured across social media, on-demand television, posters, audio and other digital platform and has been updated for the wave 2 T Levels. In addition, a new employer campaign launched in December 2020 aiming to raise awareness of T levels and promote industry placements.
Both campaigns link to the T Level website with section for both students/parents and for employers. The site takes students/parents to find a T Level page which links direct to local provider websites and take employers to a contact form that links to the NAS Contact Centre or the industry placement website with additional materials and support.
Provider communications leads have access to campaign material as well as a toolkit of promotional assets and brand guidelines through the Support with Delivering T Levels site as well ongoing marketing support from DfE.
Last updated 17 December 2021 + show all updates
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We have updated this page to reflect the new T Levels Action Plan the the T Levels Transition Programme Framework for Delivery for 2022 to 2023.
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We have updated the information on the T Level Transition Programme, including the next steps in developing the programme.
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We have updated this guidance following the publication of the T Level Action Plan 2020.
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Updated the transition programme section.
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Page updated with information about the approach from September 2024 onwards.
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Information added about selecting providers to deliver T Levels from September 2023
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Refreshed page to reflect latest updates.
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information regarding expressing an interest to deliver T Levels from 2022 to 2023 academic year has been added to the page
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Updated links to published action plan and the transition programme delivery framework
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Update to the Transition Programme section following the recent publication of the list of providers planning to deliver the T Level Transition Programme.
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Links added to the T Level consultation response and 2021 provider list.
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This page has been updated to provide the latest information about T Levels.
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Link to consultation response and list of providers selected to deliver T Levels in academic year 2020 to 2021 added.
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Latest information for education providers about T Levels including information about the data collection survey.
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First published.