FEES POLICY 2026/2027

It is proposed to increase the full-time fee 4% to £260 from £250. This fee has been set at a low level to maintain and encourage more adult enrolments to meet local skills demand and fully utilise the adult funding allocation. At this level our adult full-time fees remain competitive compared to other local providers.

Part-time adult courses will generally be made up of different cohorts of adults; some will qualify for full funding, some may be loan funded and some may be co-funded.

For those learners required to pay a fee it is proposed to increase the standard part-time fee by 5% from £2.00 to £2.10 to cover increased costs arising from staff and non-pay cost increases. This would represent just 35% of the unweighted adult funding base rate of £6p/h which is significantly less than the 50% co-funded rate the college is expected to charge.

The College does offer a number of ‘premium’ courses that are in high demand and often over-subscribed. In addition, some provision, e.g. Welding, incurs significantly materials costs. For these courses the College may charge a higher fee to more closely reflect market rates and the cost of delivery.

It is proposed that this fee remains at £25. This fee only applies to a small cohort of learners

A compulsory fee is payable by employers for certain categories of Apprenticeship provision. Other categories, such as apprentices employed by SME’s are exempt from fees.

Where the fee is applicable it has been set by the DFE as 5% of the cost of training negotiated with the employer. This value must not exceed the top of the funding band for the relevant framework / standard.

The College will continue to negotiate fees on an individual basis with employers.

These learners are not eligible for ESFA funding but can apply for a student loan through the Student Loans Company.

Such learners could be studying Full or Part Time College-based courses or work placed NVQs.

The College will normally charge a fee equivalent to the national funding rates applicable to the programme the learner is studying. This rate will be derived from the government ‘Find a Learning Aim’ database. This fee is occasionally capped at £5,750 to maintain a differential with HE fees.

HE fees are set two years in advance. The fee set for 2026/27 is £5,750.

It is proposed to increase the HE fee 4% to £5,980 for new HE learners enrolling in 2027/28. This increase equates to 4% which reflects staffing and non-pay cost increases incurred by the College. This will enable the College to make an adequate contribution whilst maintaining a significant differential to the £9,790 charged by Universities. This fee will remain competitive relative to other local Colleges.

Demand for this provision is strong and increasing. Many learners have complex needs and require significant support.

Fees charges for 14-16 provision in 2026/27 will be;

• Group Rate - £140 p/h (2024/25 £104 p/h) up to a maximum group size of 10 with the school to provide support as required.
• Individual Rate for full time placement (3 days per week) £6,800 (2025/26 £6,750).
• Individual Rate for part time infill into an existing class - £32.5 p/h (2025/26 £31 p/h)
• In class support - £22 p/h and £32.5 p/h for one to one support. (2025/26 £21 p/h & £31 p/h respectively).
• Learners with EHCP will be charged additional fees subject to an individual assessment of needs.

Tailored learning has replaced Community Learning and non-regulated provision and is aimed at learners furthest from employment. The College will remit fees for learners who are unemployed and/or earning below the earnings threshold, currently £25,000, as outlined in the Adult Skills Funding Guidance. Learners who do not meet the ASF remission criteria will be charge a fee for Tailored Learning at a rate of £2.10 an hour per learner (to be consistent with the Adult part-time hourly rate). Where the Tailored Learning provides a direct progression route to further education and training, at the College, funded through the Adult Skills Fund, the fee charged for the Tailored learning will be deducted from the co-funded fee charged against the ASF course.

Tailored Learning qualification aims categorised as Essential Skills at levels pre-entry, Entry, level 1 and level 2 in English, ESOL, Essential Digital Skills and Maths will not be charged.