Regulating post-16 VTQs at L2 and L3

Closes 2 Jul 2026

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Introduction

DfE’s post-16 level 2 and level 3 qualification pathways 

Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, in October 2025 the government published the Post-16 education and skills white paper. This set out its intention to simplify the post-16 landscape into 3 clear pathways for students who do not want to follow an exclusively academic pathway after their GCSEs (such as A Levels), and who are not certain about taking a level 3 qualification related to working in a specific occupational area (such as T Levels). 

DfE consulted on these proposals in its Post-16 level 3 and below pathways consultation between October 2025 and January 2026 and published its response to this consultation in March. The response sets out the government’s intention to introduce 3 new vocational qualifications: 

  • V Levels – At level 3, V Levels will be broad applied in vocational qualifications. They will be 2-year qualifications with the size of 360 guided learning Hours (GLH) and based on DfE-set subject content linked to occupational standards. They are aimed primarily at students who want to progress to higher study, higher technical training or apprenticeships.

  • Foundation Certificates – At level 2, there will be a ‘further study’ pathway with students taking a one-year Foundation Certificate of a size between 240 and 300 GLH. These will be designed to help students progress to further study at level 3. They will be based on content set by DfE linked to occupational standards. 

  • Occupational Certificates – At level 2 there will also be an ‘occupational pathway’ with students taking a 2-year Occupational Certificate, designed to help them progress to employment or an apprenticeship. These will range in size between 540 and 720 GLH. A proportion of the qualification will be based on DfE-set core content providing an overview of a sector, and a proportion on occupation specific content from relevant occupational standards, also specified by DfE.

In its consultation, DfE also set out its intention to continue to enhance the deliverability of T Levels. DfE has decided to change the way in which students can retake the Core Exam sub-component in the Technical Qualification (TQ), to improve deliverability and reduce assessment burden on providers and students. 

Ofqual’s role in the reforms 

Ofqual is the qualifications and assessments regulator for England. Our role includes: 

  • securing standards in qualifications so they give a reliable and consistent indication of knowledge, skills and understanding 

  • promoting public confidence in qualifications and national assessments 

  • promoting public awareness and understanding of the range and benefits of regulated qualifications 

  • securing that qualifications are provided efficiently and represent value for money 

We explain how we will do this in our corporate strategy, where we set out our objective to oversee the improvement and reform of qualifications and assessments. We will do this by providing expert advice to inform the design of the government’s changes and playing a key role in ensuring that qualifications remain trusted, reliable and fair during any transition and into the future. 

The Secretary of State has written to Ofqual in relation to these reforms setting expectations for how Ofqual delivers this role. This sets out the Secretary of State’s intention that the reforms result in the establishment of a high quality, distinctive vocational and technical offer that meets the needs of the intended cohorts, commands long-term confidence, and supports improved assessment practice across awarding organisations. The letter emphasises the importance of consistency between awarding organisations offering the same qualifications, to be achieved through the introduction of nationally set content and common grading scales, alongside national determined qualification sizes and titles for each qualification type. It also says that these qualifications should be developed in a way to ensure that they are suitable for use in performance tables. 

It also sets out the following assessment principles that should guide Ofqual’s regulatory approach: 

  • the structure and assessment of V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates should reflect their distinctive purpose and the needs of the intended cohort 

  • the grading scales should recognise the full range of achievement of the intended cohorts and be straightforward for students, education institutions and employers to interpret 

  • the qualifications should have a modular assessment structure, so that assessment can take place at appropriate points during the course of study 

  • the approach to modular assessment must support comparability and securing of public confidence 

  • the applied and practical nature of the subject content will require the use of a balance of assessment methods, including examinations set and marked by awarding organisations and other assessments set by the awarding organisations and marked by teachers 

  • where assessments are marked by teachers, the quality assurance arrangements that awarding organisations put in place in relation to this must secure fairness and consistency of marking, with sufficient control of standards to secure public confidence 

  • risks to authenticity of students’ assessment evidence, such as those associated with the use of generative AI, should also be addressed 

  • awarding organisations should have scope to innovate in assessment but must consider centre manageability. 

In line with these steers, our proposed regulatory approach seeks to: 

  • prioritise consistency and comparability in these qualifications 

  • reflect the applied and vocational nature of the qualifications and support effective teaching and learning 

  • ensure that assessment arrangements are manageable for awarding organisations and centres 

This consultation is about Ofqual’s approach to regulating the new qualifications and our proposed Conditions, requirements and guidance. The overall DfE policy and timeline for the reforms is not within Ofqual’s remit, so is out of the scope of this consultation. 

Implementation of proposals 

The proposals in this consultation relating to V Levels, Foundation Certificates and Occupational Certificates are intended to support DfE’s intentions that the first subjects in these qualifications will be available for first teaching by centres from September 2027. The first tranche of qualifications that DfE intends to be available from September 2027 is listed below. DfE is consulting on specific titles as part of its subject content consultation:

V Levels 

  • V Level in education 

  • V Level in accounting and finance  

  • V Level in digital systems and data 

Foundation Certificates 

  • Foundation Certificate in digital systems and data 

  • Foundation Certificate in education and early years  

Occupational Certificates 

  • Occupational Certificate for early years practitioners 

  • Occupational Certificate in culinary skills 

  • Occupational Certificate in hospitality (accommodation)  

  • Occupational Certificate in hospitality (food and beverage) 

Further subjects will follow in subsequent years and DfE will publish information about this as part of its implementation plan. 

DfE's consultation is open until 4 June 2026 and the final verions of the subject content will be published later in the summer. Our intention is to publish Ofqual's decisions following this consultation, alongside the final Conditions, requirements and guidance in Autumn 2026.