Access to further education

Access to further education

Barriers to accessing further education

The government has commissioned Alan Milburn, a former MP, Health Secretary, and chair of the Social Mobility Commission, to investigate the numbers of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) in the UK.

In May 2025, Milburn published an interim report as part of his review. It said the UK had a relatively high NEET rate, compared to Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, and suggested this “may in part be attributable to lower participation in vocational education”. The report cited analysis by the Resolution Foundation, showing while slightly more young British people aged 18 to 21 are in “general” education than in these countries (36% compared to 32%), significantly fewer are in vocational education (22% compared to 35%).

The interim report of the Milburn review suggested there were several barriers hindering participation in further education:

• Requirements for young people in England to achieve level 2 English and maths qualifications can block some 16- to- 18-year-olds from entering and progressing in further education and apprenticeship pathways. The report said this risks excluding a significant minority of young people from making meaningful transitions towards work at a critical stage.
• Further education colleges face structural funding constraints. Student numbers are capped based on past recruitment (unlike higher education providers), and colleges financially responsible for students who do not complete courses. These rules also limit flexible, in-year provision for NEET young people.
• Across the further education workforce, there are high vacancies (3.9 per 100) and high turnover (around 50% leaving within five years). Key causes include low pay competitiveness, heavy workloads, and limited progression, alongside inconsistent professional development.

Research has also highlighted how the limited availability of local sixth form and further education colleges in rural areas mean that young people are either missing out on these opportunities or having to travel significant distances.

Differing levels of access by area and background in England

‘School leavers’ – destinations after the end of Key Stage 4 (GCSEs)

The latest data on destinations of pupils after their GCSEs is for 2023/24. 89.1% of state school pupils who finished Key Stage 4 (GCSEs) in 2023 were in education or apprenticeships for at least six months of academic year 2023/24. This rate peaked during the pandemic, but the latest rate is around two percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.

The proportion of Key Stage 4 leavers who were in education or apprenticeships was lower for the following groups:

• Disadvantaged (eligible for the pupil premium)
• Males
• Gypsy/Roma and Traveller backgrounds
• Pupils with identified Special Educational Needs

The gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged groups was 12 percentage points among those leaving Key Stage 4 in 2023 and has increased over time, from around nine points among 2017 leavers.

At a regional level the proportion in education or apprenticeship varied from 86.5% in the North East to 92.9% in Outer London. At a local level two areas had rates just below 80% (Blackpool and Knowsley), while six local authority districts (five in and around London plus Craven in North Yorkshire) had rates of over 95%.

Adult (19+) further education

In 2024/25, 914,000 adults in England participated in publicly funded classroom-based education and training in the further education sector. This excludes informal ‘community learning’ courses. This number is an 8% drop on the previous year and almost 50% below the recent peak in 2012/13.

The majority of those in all types of education and training were female (62.5% in 2024/25) and most were aged 25-29 (59.0%). The indicative adult education and training participation rate (per 100 population) was highest in the North East at 4.7 and lowest in the East of England and South West regions (both 2.6).

The Department for Education publishes a dashboard of education and training data which allows users to look at breakdowns by a range of different factors including level, subject and local area.

Government policy

Further education policy is devolved in the UK.

September guarantee

Under Part 1 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, young people in England are required to continue in education or training until at least their 18^th birthday, although most young people continue until the end of the academic year in which they turn 18.

The “September Guarantee” is a policy intended to ensure every young person is offered a suitable place in education or training by the end of September following the academic year in which they reach age 16 or 17. Local authorities are responsible for coordinating this process, working with schools and post‑16 education providers to identify eligible young people, track their plans, and secure offers. The aim is to reduce the risk of young people becoming NEET by identifying those without offers early and providing support and additional provision where necessary.

Post-16 education and skills white paper (October 2025)

On 20 October 2025, the government published its post-16 education and skills white paper. According to the ministerial foreword, the white paper sets out the government’s plan “to educate and train the workforce of the future and give people the skills and knowledge they need to succeed.”

With regards to further education, the white paper said the sector had been treated as “second rate” for several decades, which had contributed to declining participation in adult education and skills gaps in the economy. The government said it wanted to ensure “world-leading provision” for students, and for the sector to contribute to local and national economic growth.

Some of the measures included in the white paper were existing commitments, while others were new policy announcements. They covered four areas – teaching, curriculum and qualifications, Technical Excellence Colleges, and investment and regulation – and included:

• Providing £1.2 billion of investment per year in skills by 2028/29 tomaintain per-student funding for 16- to 19-year-olds in real terms.
• On qualification reform:
  • Replacing the current range of level 3 vocational qualifications with new “VLevel” qualifications, which will sit alongside A Levels and T Levels as the only level 3 options for 16 to 19-year-olds.
  • Introducing two pathways for post-16 students at level 2, giving them a choice between study that would lead either to work or to further study at level 3.
  • Introducing new 16-19 English and maths level 1 qualifications to prepare students at GCSE grade 2 or below before they progress to retaking their GCSE.
• Giving the Secretary of State the power to bar “unsuitable people” from management positions in further education providers.
• Improving the training and professional development offer for teachers, including introducing statutory guidance to ensure consistency and quality in initial teacher education.
• Rolling out Technical Excellence Colleges.
• Bringing further and higher education providers closer together by making the higher education regulator in England, the Office for Students, the primary regulator for all providers offering courses at level 4 or above.
• Simplifying the 16-19 funding formula and ensuring high-value courses are funded sufficiently.

More information is available in the Commons Library briefing The post-16 education and skills white paper.

Financial support for accessing further education

Tuition fee support

Further education students in England do not have to pay tuition fees if they are under 24 and studying for their first qualification at level 3 (A Level or equivalent) or below.

Advanced Learner Loans are available to cover course fees for students aged 19 or older taking eligible qualifications at level 3 or higher that are not designated for higher education student finance. From the 2026/27 academic year, the Lifelong learning entitlement will start to replace advanced learner loans for level 4, 5 and 6 qualifications.

Many essential skills courses in reading, writing, maths, and digital subjects are free. Courses are also funded under various government initiatives, including Skills Bootcamps and the free courses for jobs offer.

Support for living costs

Various bursaries and loans are available to help students with day-to-day living costs:

• The 16-19 Bursary Fund is available for items and costs relating to a further education course, such as books, specialist clothing, transport, and food. There are two types of bursaries for 16- to 19-year-olds:

• Bursaries for defined vulnerable groups (including care-experienced students or those claiming certain benefits).
• Discretionary bursaries which providers award using policies they set, in line with Department for Education funding rules.

Support for transport costs

Section 509AA of the Education Act 1996 requires local authorities in England to publish a ‘Transport Policy Statement’, explaining how the local authority will help young people to attend education or training, including information on any discounts and concessions, such as a bus pass. Statements will be available on a local authority’s website or can be found through the postcode search at gov.uk.

There is statutory guidance for local authorities in England on supplying transport to students and trainees aged 16 and over. The guidance states that while local authorities have flexibility over the decisions they make when assessing what transport arrangements or financial support may be required for their area, they must have regard to a number of considerations, including:

• The needs of those who could not access education if no arrangements were made, particularly:
  • the most vulnerable or socially excluded
  • those vulnerable to becoming NEET at the age of 16 or 17 or who have already become NEET
  • young parents
  • those who live in particularly rural areas where the transport infrastructure can be more limited
• The need to ensure that young people have reasonable opportunities to choose between different establishments at which education and training is provided
• The distance from the learner’s home to establishments of education and training
• The journey time to access different establishments
• The cost of transport to the establishments in question

More information on the particular support available to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England is available in a Commons Library briefing.

Reading list

• Backbench Business Committee Representations: Backbench Debates (PDF), 16 December 2025
• Further Education: Rural areas (UIN 17880, 4 December 2024)

Asked: Improve access to FE for young people in rural areas.

Answer: Outlines existing financial support, and the £300 million funding announcement for FE in the autumn budget.

Also outlines the responsibilities of local authorities to help with transport, particularly in rural areas.

• POST, Challenges facing disadvantaged and deprived communities, 7 October 2024