Summary guidance: Anti-racist action planning

This refreshed Further Education College Anti-racist Action Planning Information document has been informed by funding guidance issued by Welsh Government and Medr to ensure consistency and continuity.

This document makes direct reference to previous anti-racism guidance. It has been further developed by Medr to take account of the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP) and the 2024 update.

We welcome the continued engagement of colleges with this work through their commitment to the actions in the ARWAP. In line with our values, we want to work collaboratively with the sector to support the delivery of the requirements of this guidance. You can contact the team at wa.inclusi[email protected].

We have committed to sustain the same amount of the anti-racism funding for colleges in 2026/27. Colleges will receive £25k and be expected to:

• continue to take account of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan 2022 to 2026;
• develop and extend their 2025/26 action plans,
• continue to identify and make progress with 2026/27 data-informed priorities;
• update their equality impact assessments;
• build on self-assessment outcomes identified in the Welsh Government’s maturity matrix exercise from 2025/26; and
• engage with the anti-racist curriculum (Metaverse) project (and its evaluation).

Colleges’ anti-racism action plans, should be ‘live documents’, regularly reviewed and updated as part of the college’s annual strategic planning, risk and quality assurance processes.

Notes

Anti-racist policies, procedures and action plans should cover the full range of delivery offered by the College (FE based learners, apprenticeships, Job Growth Wales plus, adult learning and ESOL, teacher education and higher education as appropriate).

Where colleges are the lead partner in collaborative provision, they should involve delivery/consortia partners, staff, students and other experts with lived experience (as appropriate) in:

• shaping their vision, principles and values for anti-racism and
• further developing their anti-racist action plan.

Introduction

1. This funding and information builds on the progress made by colleges in 2022-2024 led by previous guidance from Welsh Government and the support of the Black Leadership Group and 2025/26 guidance from Medr to become anti-racist and it is informed.

2. The 2026/27 information document aims to support colleges to further update their anti-racist action plans to:

• contribute to the goals and actions of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan to become an Anti-racist Wales;
• make a positive and measurable difference to current and future learners/apprentices and staff;
• develop actions informed by experts and practitioners, learners/apprentices and staff with lived experience of racism; and
• demonstrate institutional leadership, commitment and energy to tackle racism in further education and secure culture change.

3. We recommend that colleges read this document alongside and in the same context as anti-racist action planning guidance for colleges published by Welsh Government in 2022.

4. The Welsh Government’s ambitious anti-racist agenda is articulated in the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. We expect colleges’ revised action plans to take account of the revised Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan’s update has strengthened its emphasis on leadership and priority groups. It is expected that accountability for colleges’ commitment to anti-racism will be overseen by the appropriate senior staff (Vice-Chancellors and Principals) and supported by governing bodies. It is also expected that colleges improve their engagement and support to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

5. Medr has a strategic duty to promote equality of opportunity in tertiary education including as this relates to under-represented groups. Under-represented groups include people disadvantaged by social, cultural, economic and/or organisational barriers.

6. In April 2026, Medr published its regulatory conditions. To meet the requirements of the Staff and Learner Welfare condition colleges must submit to Medr by 30 November 2026 its two year staff and learner welfare action plan informed by self-evaluation. Under the condition providers must ensure effective arrangements for the wellbeing, safety, and support of both staff and learners. This includes emotional wellbeing, mental health, and safety, with safety defined as freedom from harassment, misconduct, violence (including sexual violence), and hate crime. Medr’s equality of opportunity condition will come into effect in 2027.

Updating the action plan

7. This guidance relates to the period over the 2026/27 academic year. We expect colleges to further update their action plans to us focusing on:
A. the strategic overview; and
B. self-evaluation of the core actions for leadership.

8. We expect colleges to take account of the revised Welsh Government Anti-racist Wales Action Plan: 2024 update actions in updating their action plans.

9. Colleges will be expected to provide assurance that they are making progress against their strategic overview. Where there is a change from the original submission, we expect colleges to provide a summary explanation.

10. Where colleges chose to extend their 2025/26 action plans to July 2027 to facilitate ongoing and/or longer term activity for 2026/27 reporting we expect confirmation of this in the reporting.

11. We expect colleges’ plans for progressing with their strategy to be led and directed by its Board and senior leaders. Board and senior leadership should ensure this work continues to be resourced adequately and that they remain accountable and responsible for driving cultural change through a whole college approach.

12. We encourage colleges to continue to take account of the original guidance from the Black Leadership Group, including the Ten Point Plan. We are providing additional funding to support anti-racism training across the sector, as a priority for continuous professional development in 2026/27, recognising that training is Point Two in the Black Leadership Group Ten Point Plan.

Review and development

13. We expect colleges’ review and development to be informed by an equality impact assessment underpinned by data and evidence. We reserve the right to call in equality impact assessments where we are unclear on the level of ambition and/ or focus of the plans.

14. The review and development of colleges’ anti-racist action plans should be incorporated into colleges’ annual review and development cycle to inform self-evaluation, quality and continuous professional development, strategic planning (including those aspects of the college’s Strategic Equality Plan related to race/ ethnicity) and decision-making.

15. Progress against the anti-racist action plan should be monitored at team, senior management and Board level at least three times a year.

16. Additionally, learners, apprentices, staff and collaborative partners, critical friends with lived experience should be involved in updates, including to inform judgements about progress and to shape subsequent priorities and training needs.

Funding

17. Colleges will receive £25k for 2026/27. This maintains the level of funding provided in 2025/26 and for the colleges to sustain their commitment to anti-racism from 2025/26.

18. In response to the £25k funding we expect colleges to:

• take account of the updated Anti-racist Wales Action Plan 2024-26;
• update their action plans for 2026/27;
• update their equality impact assessments;
• identify data-informed priorities;
• build on self-assessment outcomes identified in the Welsh Government’s maturity matrix exercise from 2025/26; and
• engage with the anti-racist curriculum (Metaverse) project (and its evaluation).

Name of provider	Total allocation
Adult Learning Wales	£25,000
Bridgend College	£25,000
Cardiff and Vale College	£25,000
Coleg Cambria	£25,000
Coleg Gwent	£25,000
Coleg Sir Gâr	£25,000
Coleg Y Cymoedd	£25,000
Gower College Swansea	£25,000
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai	£25,000
Group NPTC Grŵp	£25,000
The College Merthyr Tydfil	£25,000
Pembrokeshire College	£25,000
St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College	£25,000
Total – Pay as one line	£325,000

19. Separately, in 2026/27 Medr will procure sector wide training to facilitate anti-racism training. Training will build on the outcomes provided by colleges following completion of the ArWAP maturity matrix, analysis of 2925/26 reporting and input from the FE sector.

20. We expect colleges to provide us with assurance from Principals/ Chief Executives confirming that all funding provided has been utilised for the purposes set out in this guidance.

21. The full allocation of £25k will be issued to the colleges in November 2026, subject to submission of 2026/27 action plans. We reserve the right to reclaim funding where plans or end of year monitoring is unsatisfactory.

Reporting arrangements

22. Colleges should send us a copy of their action plan for 2026/27 to [email protected] by Monday, 12 November 2026. By this date, we will accept draft copies of plans which have not yet been signed off by the Board, with approved plans submitted before the end of December at the latest.

23. We expect colleges to submit their monitoring template to [email protected] by Monday, 18 October 2026.

Further information and submissions

24. For further information please contact Savanna Jones ([email protected]).

Grant Application Information Session – webinar

Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2026
Time: 11:00 – 12:30

Register

Introduction

1. This publication sets out a one-off allocation of £57,200 to support investment in training for Adult Community Learning (ACL) staff, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing which should be completed between July 2026 and February 2027.

2. For the purposes of this funding, Adult Community Learning refers to provision delivered by providers who are allocated Community Learning Grant. This provision offers part-time learning opportunities from Entry Level to Level 2 for learners aged 19 and over and is typically delivered in community settings.

3. This funding supports:

• Implementation of the Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition, which requires providers to have effective arrangements, including policies, procedures and services, that promote and support staff and learner wellbeing and safety using ongoing self-evaluation to identify strengths, gaps and emerging risks to plan activities; and
• Medr’s Common Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework provides a shared approach to mental health and wellbeing across tertiary education in Wales. It supports the development of a Support Map that helps learners access appropriate support, from early intervention through to crisis response. 

Allocation

4. A total of £57,200 is allocated equally across providers delivering Adult Community Learning as set out in Table 1.

5. While Adult Community Learning funding is allocated on a formula basis, this fund is distributed on an equal basis across providers. This reflects its purpose as a one-off intervention where a minimum level of resource is needed to enable meaningful staff training activity. An equal allocation approach ensures consistent opportunity for participation and avoids very small allocations that would limit impact, particularly for smaller or more rural providers.

Table 1

Local Authority	Total allocation
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council	£2600
Bridgend College	£2600
Caerphilly County Borough Council	£2600
Cardiff Council	£2600
Carmarthenshire County Council	£2600
Ceredigion County Council	£2600
Conwy County Borough Council	£2600
Denbighshire County Council	£2600
Flintshire County Council	£2600
Gwynedd Council	£2600
Isle of Anglesey County Council	£2600
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council	£2600
Monmouthshire County Council	£2600
Neath Port Talbot County Council	£2600
Newport City Council	£2600
Pembrokeshire County Council	£2600
Powys County Council	£2600
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council	£2600
Swansea Council	£2600
Vale of Glamorgan Council	£2600
Torfaen County Borough Council	£2600
Wrexham County Borough Council	£2600

Use of funding

6. Funding must be used within the 2026-27 financial year, for mental health and wellbeing training activity delivered between July 2026 and February 2027.

7. Training activity for ACL tutors and staff could include:

• recognising and responding to mental health needs of staff and learners
• embedding trauma-informed approaches;
• understanding escalation and safeguarding routes (excluding mandatory training).

8. Eligible activity includes:

• development or procurement of training programmes (external providers or partnerships);
• bilingual training resources;
• payment of staff hourly rate to take part in training.

9. Funds cannot be used on capital expenditure (e.g. equipment) or to directly fund delivery of clinical or specialist therapeutic services for staff or learners.

10. To make best use of funding and support local and regional priorities we encourage working collaboratively, including with other ACL providers and ACL partnerships where appropriate.

Monitoring

11. Local Authorities must submit a Certificate of Expenditure (annex A) to reclaim funding.

12. The Certificate of Expenditure asks for a breakdown of expenditure between:

• Staff costs (e.g. tutor release / hourly paid tutor time)
• Payments to training providers / external delivery

13. Reclaims will occur in March 2027. Certificate of Expenditure must be submitted before 19 February 2027 to [email protected].

14. No additional end-of-year report is required. Medr will engage providers through the Adult Learning Partnership Network to share learning, understand impact and inform continuous improvement.

Introduction

1. This publication sets out the arrangements and timing for additional funding of £3,000,000 for Post-16 Transition Funding in academic year (AY) 2026/27 – £2,202,000 to further education institutions (FEIs)and £798,000 to local authorities (LAs)for mainstream schools with sixth forms.

2. Further education institutions and local authorities should adhere to the ‘Post-16 Transition Funding for Local Authorities and Further Education Institutions Guidance Note 2026/27’.

Additional funding amounts and timings

3. An allocation of £798,000 will be allocated to LAs for mainstream schools with sixth forms for Post-16 Transition Funding in 2026/27, as shown in the table below. Funding is allocated at £6,000 per school.

Local Authority	Allocation (£)
Isle of Anglesey County Council	30,000.00
Gwynedd Council	42,000.00
Conwy County Borough Council	42,000.00
Denbighshire County Council	36,000.00
Flintshire County Council	36,000.00
Wrexham County Borough Council	18,000.00
Powys County Council	66,000.00
Ceredigion County Council	36,000.00
Pembrokeshire County Council	24,000.00
Carmarthenshire County Council	48,000.00
Swansea Council	42,000.00
Neath Port Talbot Council	12,000.00
Bridgend County Borough Council	54,000.00
Vale of Glamorgan Council	42,000.00
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council	66,000.00
Caerphilly County Borough Council	42,000.00
Torfaen County Borough Council	6,000.00
Monmouthshire County Council	24,000.00
Newport City Council	54,000.00
Cardiff Council	78,000.00
Total	798,000.00

4. An allocation of £2,202,000 will be allocated to FEIs for Post-16 Transition Funding in 2026/27, as shown in the table below.

Further education institution	Allocation (£)
Bridgend College	112,941.53
Coleg Sir Gâr	145,572.70
Coleg Gwent	309,916.58
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai	251,523.59
The College Merthyr Tydfil	78,663.31
Pembrokeshire College	92,487.15
St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College	60,670.22
Gower College Swansea	200,972.67
Cardiff and Vale College	260,891.90
Coleg Cambria	294,693.41
Coleg y Cymoedd	231,518.47
NPTC Group of Colleges	162,148.47
Total	2,202,000.00

5. This funding relates to the period 1 November 2026 to 31 July 2027. This additional funding will be paid in full in one instalment to FEIs and local authorities in December 2026.

6. Where expenditure is less than 100% of the allocation, the under delivery will be reclaimed in full.

New statutory register strengthens transparency, accountability and learner protection across Wales’ higher education sector

Medr’s Register of Higher Education Providers in Wales comes into force on 1 August 2026, marking a key milestone in the effective regulation of the tertiary sector in Wales.

The Register provides a publicly accessible record of higher education providers in Wales that have successfully met Medr’s registration requirements. It identifies registered providers and their registration status.

Registration demonstrates that a provider has satisfactorily met the minimum requirements of initial registration and the initial registration conditions and is committed to ongoing regulatory requirements designed to protect learners, safeguard public funding and maintain quality standards.

Registered providers must continue to meet ongoing registration conditions throughout their period of registration.

Where there is significant and evidenced risk relating to compliance, Medr may impose a Specific Ongoing Condition. These measures help protect learners, support improvement and address identified risks. Details of any such conditions will be published within a provider’s Register entry.

In serious cases, providers may be removed from the Register if they no longer meet registration requirements or where de-registration is required under legislation or the Regulatory Framework. Any removal will be reflected publicly in the Register.

The Register contains two categories:

Higher Education (Core)
Providers are eligible for Medr higher education funding, can offer courses automatically designated for Welsh Government student support and are subject to additional regulatory requirements.

Higher Education (Alternative)
Providers are not eligible for Medr higher education grant funding but can offer courses automatically designated for Welsh Government student support at a lower level than the Core category.

James Owen, Chief Executive of Medr, said:

“The introduction of the Register is an important step in strengthening Wales’ tertiary education system. It provides learners, students and stakeholders with clear information about providers that have met Medr’s registration requirements and are subject to ongoing regulatory oversight.

“The Register supports transparency and accountability while helping to ensure confidence in higher education provision across Wales.”

The Register is now available.

Main points

• In 2024/25, 13% of enrolments by students from Wales were known to be fluent Welsh speakers. A further 15% had some level of Welsh speaking ability which was either non-fluent or at an unknown ability level.
• In 2024/25, 33% of enrolments by students from Wales who were known to be fluent Welsh speakers studied at least 1 credit in Welsh, and 22% studied at least 40 credits in Welsh. These were increases from 30% and 21% in 2023/24.
• 4% of enrolments by all students, including those who were not from Wales and were not known Welsh speakers, involved studying at least 1 credit in Welsh in 2024/25, the same proportion as in 2023/24.
• Across all enrolments, there were 5,720 enrolments including at least 1 credit studied in Welsh in 2024/25, an of increase 3% compared to 2023/24, though still lower than in earlier years.
• More than twice as many enrolments from female students included at least 1 credit studied in Welsh compared to enrolments from male students. Of enrolments with at least 1 credit studied in Welsh, female students were also more likely to study a higher number of credits in Welsh than male students.
• Education and training was the module subject with the highest number and proportion of enrolments with at least 1 credit studied in Welsh.
• There were 630 academic teaching staff contracted to teach in Welsh in 2024/25, an increase from 565 in 2023/24.

Revisions from previous releases

Data for 2023/24 has been revised to include updated data from the University of South Wales. The impact of this has been to reduce the overall number of enrolments by 45 while increasing the number of enrolments by students from Wales by 1,010.

There has also been an update to the number of enrolments with at least 1 Welsh medium credit in 2023/24 as a number of postgraduate research students at Bangor University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David were not categorised correctly. This has increased the number of enrolments with at least 1 credit studied in Welsh by 50 at Bangor University and 5 at University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

Introduction

1. Welsh Government have indicated that £10m capital funding will be made available for allocation within the 2026-27 financial year. This funding will be allocated to support Medr’s strategic priorities.

Basis of capital funding allocations

2. The capital funding will be allocated based on a formulaic approach. As the funding is to be used, at least in part, to support learning and teaching, the student experience and student facing infrastructure, the allocations have been determined based on student numbers. The number of students at an institution represents a reasonable proxy for the amount of estate and facilities required. This method is consistent with previous allocations of capital.

3. The student numbers used for the initial allocation are the HESA Student Record Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) for all modes, levels and domiciles based on the 2024/25 academic year. This is the same basis on which the previous round of capital funding was allocated.

Application of a minimum funding allocation

4. In order to provide capital funding that will allow all institutions to invest in projects that will make a sustainable impact, a minimum allocation of £750,000 has been applied. Given its limited estate in Wales, the OU will have a minimum threshold set at 50% (£375,000) to contribute to projects that will benefit Welsh students.

5. The funding for institutions where the original allocation based on their student FTEs fell below this value has been increased to this amount and the FTEs for those institutions then removed from the calculation. The remaining balance of available funding has been apportioned between the other institutions based upon the remaining FTEs in the calculation.

6. The resulting allocations for each institution are provided in Annex A.

Planning and monitoring

7. Institutions will not be required to submit plans to Medr regarding information about the project(s) that utilises the investment.

8. Medr expects the below criteria to be met by the projects that have utilised the Capital Investment.

1. Strategic alignment
   The project(s) must align clearly with at least one of Medr’s strategic aims and supports relevant regional or national priorities.
2. Student benefit and voice
   The project(s) must benefit students in improving student experience, outcomes, wellbeing, or participation. The institution must engage with the student voice to develop the project(s) collaboratively.
3. Long-term sustainability and impact
   The investment must deliver lasting value, including future adaptability, efficient use of resources, contribution to net zero where relevant, and benefits that can be sustained over time.

9. We will continue to monitor HESA metrics via the published data releases and so institutions should continue to be mindful of the impact projects may have on them.

10. If an institution foresees being unable to spend their full allocation, they should notify Medr at the earliest opportunity and any residual funds will be reallocated to other institutions via the formulaic approach described previously.

11. A monitoring exercise will be undertaken in 2027 to ensure that the funding has been used as intended and to provide an update on the impact that the investment has had. As part of Medr’s ongoing engagement with institutions, discussions will take place in January to review projects funded in the previous academic year, consider progress against projects being delivered in the current academic year, and provide updates on potential future funding opportunities where available.

12. As part of the monitoring exercises, institutions will be expected to provide a breakdown of the capital expenditure and details of the projects that the funding has contributed. Institutions will also be expected to provide a qualitative summary of the outcomes and positive impacts this investment has had, including how the investment has supported Medr strategic priorities and the criteria outlined above.

Timetable

13. Medr will schedule payment of the allocated funds to institutions in October 2026.

14. Institution engagements will take place in January 2027 to discuss progress with projects, review any actual or anticipated underspend and discuss the impacts of previous years invested projects. Engagements will be through the submission of forms, meetings either online or in person where Medr and institution think is necessary.

15. A final evaluation return will be requested from institution in July 2027, providing a summary of expenditure, project delivery and outcomes achieved.

Further information

16. For further information, contact [email protected].

Introduction

1. This publication sets out our intentions in 2026/27 to allocate:

• £2,350,000 funding to universities to implement well-being and health strategies (universities only);
• £2,000,000 additional funding for well-being and health support for learners (universities and further education (FE) providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding).

2. For 2026/27, Medr will continue to support a number of national projects aligned to mental health and wellbeing priorities. These will be funded separately via grant letter.

3. This funding contributes directly to the:

• Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition which requires providers to have effective arrangements, including policies, procedures and services, that promote and support staff and learner wellbeing and safety using ongoing self-evaluation to identify strengths, gaps and emerging risks to plan activities; and
• Medr’s Common Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework which provides a shared approach to mental health and wellbeing across tertiary education in Wales. It supports the development of a Support Map that helps learners access appropriate support, from early intervention through to crisis response.

4. Welsh Government highlights the continuing importance of strong mental health and wellbeing support across the post-16 sector. In April 2025, the Welsh Government published its Mental health and wellbeing strategy 2025 to 2035. Medr expects all providers to take account of the national mental health and well-being strategy when developing and revising their well-being and health strategies, suicide prevention and self-harm approaches and well-being policies.

5. In April 2025, the Welsh Government published its Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Strategy for Wales. Medr encourages all providers to participate in, and contribute to, the Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Community of Practice.

6. We expect providers to take account of intersectional impacts on learner and staff emotional and mental well-being. Therefore, providers should take account of how the mental health and well-being funding contributes to the following Welsh Government equality plans:

• Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan;
• LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales;
• Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence: strategy 2022 to 2026 and its Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence: blueprint high level action plan;
• Disabled People’s Rights Plan: 2025 to 2035.

7. Higher education (HE) providers must use the findings and conclusion of their own equality impact assessments to inform plans, policies, procedures to demonstrate actions are evidence-based.

8. Providers should consider the suicide prevention guidance, uploaded to the HE and FE suicide prevention community of practice Padlet. They should also take into account the implications from the National Review of HE Student Suicides and consider actions that address the recommendations.

9. Providers should consider the Violence against women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) self-evaluation framework for universities and higher education providers in Wales tool to support universities to identify need, plan and deliver interventions to prevent and respond to VAWDASV affecting staff and students.

Funding allocations

10. In 2026/27 £4,350,000 (£2,350,000 strategy funding in Table 1 and £2,000,000 additional funding in Table 2) will be allocated directly to HE institutions and further education providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding.

Table 1: Wellbeing and health, including mental health, strategy allocations 2026/27 

Provider	2026/27 Allocation £
University of South Wales	344,032
Aberystwyth University	139,920
Bangor University	166,298
Cardiff University	527,668
University of Wales Trinity Saint David	257,269
Swansea University	317,604
Cardiff Metropolitan University	205,436
Wrexham University	129,389
The Open University in Wales	262,384
Total	2,350,000

Notes: Verified HESA student record 2024/25 data. Headcounts – HESA standard registration population, all modes and levels, reduced to a headcount where students have more than one enrolment.

Table 2: Wellbeing and health, additional funding, 2026/27

Provider	2026/27 Allocation £
University of South Wales	290,716
Aberystwyth University	118,236
Bangor University	140,526
Cardiff University	445,895
University of Wales Trinity Saint David	217,400
Swansea University	268,384
Cardiff Metropolitan University	173,599
Wrexham University	109,337
The Open University in Wales	221,722
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai	11,634
NPTC Group of Colleges	1,587
Gower College Swansea	439
Coleg Cambria	524
Total	2,000,000

Notes: Verified HESA student record 2024/25 data. Headcounts – HESA standard registration population, all modes and levels, reduced to a headcount where students have more than one enrolment.

11. In 2026/27 we will allocate Table 1 and Table 2 funding in one tranche with payment in December 2026.

Use of funding

12. Providers must ensure that Mental Health and Wellbeing funding is used to deliver effective, evidence-informed support that meets the needs of their learners and staff.

13. Wellbeing and health, including mental health, strategy allocations may be used to support a broad range of activity, including (but not limited to):

• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training, and resources for staff and learners which includes postgraduate learners; international learners and learners at franchise/partner organisations;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources provided bilingually and/or separately in Welsh;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources to secure the well-being and health of staff and learners, including health affected by harassment, hate and sexual misconduct and violence, regardless of identity;
• providing well-being and health, including mental health services, activities, training and resources to, or providing information about supporting, staff and learners with protected characteristics;
• extend, enhance or subsidise period dignity and personal hygiene products and/or clothes washing services for their students;
• activities, services, training and resources that take account of the Universities UK (UUK) Stepchange: mentally healthy universities self assessment findings and recommendations;
• clearly identifiable actions to address gaps, priorities or recommendations identified as a result of the university’s review using the UUK self assessment tool;
• activities, services, training and resources that take account of the Universities UK (UUK) Suicide Safer Framework and supporting guidance.

14. Funding should not be used for capital expenditure (e.g., purchase of equipment) is not eligible for funding.

15. As a result of this funding, providers and their Students’ Unions are not eligible to apply for the Period Dignity Grant from their Local Authority under the Period Proud Action Plan.

16. Universities and colleges are subject to the Learner Engagement Code from 1 August 2026 and as such, must demonstrably ensure that their Students’ Union, or equivalent body, participates in the making of decisions relating to this funding.

17. In line with the expectations of the Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition, providers should engage with staff representatives, including recognised trade unions, where appropriate, as part of their arrangements to promote and support staff wellbeing.

18. We expect providers in direct receipt of Medr funding to manage and spend in full in-year their 2026/27 allocations.

19. Medr reserves the right to clawback funding where it is not used in line with the purpose and conditions set out in this guidance. This includes, but is not limited to, unspent funding identified through monitoring or ineligible expenditure.

Monitoring and reporting

20. Providers are not required to submit a standalone action plan for Mental Health and Wellbeing funding. Medr will instead draw on the two-year welfare action plan (required under the Staff and Learner Welfare Regulatory Condition) to understand providers’ delivery intentions and strategic priorities.

21. Providers are expected to maintain ongoing dialogue with Medr throughout the academic year. This approach supports timely intervention, shared learning, and continuous improvement across the sector. This could include:

• Raising emerging issues or delivery challenges as they arise;
• Providing updates through meetings, networks and engagement activity;
• Sharing learning and practice.

22. Universities are required to submit an end-of-year monitoring return to demonstrate the use of the 2026/27 wellbeing and health funding. Monitoring will be aligned with approaches used in recent years, and will be expected to provide information which will include:

• alignment with national frameworks (including UUK Stepchange and suicide safer approaches);
• the use of funding in line with the purposes set out in this document;
• the proactive engagement with learners, via Students’ Unions or equivalent bodies, in provider decision-making relating to this investment;
• the impact of activity on learners and staff, including those with protected characteristics;
• how activity aligns with and supports implementation of the Common Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework, including the development and/or use of a Support Map, and evidence of progress, areas for further development, and key challenges and learning from implementation.

23. Further education providers in direct receipt of Medr higher education funding in Table 2 to support HE learners specifically, this activity should be reported using the monitoring template provided in Medr/2026/36: Support and Wellbeing Fund 2026/27 – Phase 1: further education institutions.

24. Monitoring will include a combination of:

• quantitative returns, capturing activity and reach;
• narrative reporting, including progress against key strategies and actions
• case studies, demonstrating examples of practice and impact across different funding streams;
• financial reporting, confirming allocation, expenditure and any underspend.

25. The completed monitoring return must be submitted by Friday 24 September 2027.

26. Medr will review all monitoring returns to ensure that funding has been used in line with the purpose and expectations set out in this guidance. Medr may request further information from providers in exceptional circumstances.

27. Medr will also use information from monitoring returns to identify and share emerging practice, innovation and approaches across the sector. This will support collective learning and contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of mental health and wellbeing provision.

Assessing the impact of our policies

28. We have updated our ongoing impact assessment to take account of equality, diversity and inclusion. We also considered the impact of policies on the Welsh language, and Welsh language provision within the tertiary sector in Wales and potential impacts on the goals set out in the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

29. Our impact assessment findings include:

• identifying likely positive impacts on the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. No negative impacts were identified.
• confirming that the funding supports five of the seven well-being goals and takes account of the five ways of working of the Well-being of Future Generations Act
• noting that the funding and monitoring seeks to have a positive impact on the Welsh Language.

Introduction

1. In Medr’s publication Medr/2026/16: Investment for Academic Year 2026/27 (May 2026), a new single funding envelope, which is the combination of 5 existing budgets lines, for the further education (FE) sector was introduced under the working title of the Learner Wellbeing Fund. Following further development and engagement, this funding is now formally titled the Support and Wellbeing Fund.

Purpose and rational

2. The Support and Wellbeing Fund brings together five existing component funding streams into a single, overarching framework, while retaining their individual identities:

• Additional Learning Support (ALS) (Annex B)
• Financial Contingency Fund (FCF) (Annex C)
• Learner Recovery and Progression (LRP) (Annex D)
• Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHWB) (Annex E)
• Period Dignity (Annex C paragraph 24)

3. While each funding stream has distinct delivery requirements, they collectively represent a joined-up system of learner support and are underpinned by strong shared objectives, which include:

• Enabling focused support for vulnerable and disadvantaged learners;
• Supporting active participation;
• Improving wellbeing in its broadest sense;
• Removing barriers to learning;
• Promoting equity and inclusion.

4. The move to a single overarching fund recognises providers are best placed to understand how different types of support interact and where resources will have the greatest impact for their learners. How providers will use this investment can change annually. This reflects Medr’s strategic intent to:

• Encouraging collaboration for greater coherence to minimise duplication across different funding streams;
• Enable a more holistic approach to learner support;
• Provide greater autonomy and flexibility for providers;
• Support local decision making, informed by learner need to improve impact of the investment.

Funding allocation

5. Each provider will receive a total allocation under the Support and Wellbeing Fund, comprising of component allocations provided in Table 1.

6. The 2026/27 academic year will operate as a pilot phase for the Support and Wellbeing Fund. This will allow Medr and providers to:

• Test how flexibility is used in practice;
• Understand impacts on learners and provision;
• Identify risks, constraints, and opportunities;
• Inform the development of a Phase 2 approach in 2027/28.

Table 1: Provider allocations

Institution	Additional Learning Support Investment	Financial Contingency Funds (FE)	Period dignity	Learner Recovery and Progression (LRP)	Mental health and wellbeing (MHWB)	Total Support and Wellbeing Fund 2026/27
Bridgend College	£1,066,111	£381,857	£25,785	£419,586	£216,827	£2,110,166
Coleg Sir Gâr	£1,341,108	£486,576	£33,109	£516,455	£250,693	£2,627,941
Coleg Gwent	£2,957,320	£1,056,786	£70,784	£1,165,073	£541,070	£5,791,033
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai	£2,331,423	£756,684	£56,541	£946,392	£449,134	£4,540,174
The College Merthyr Tydfil	£694,145	£280,817	£15,856	£275,700	£170,286	£1,436,804
Pembrokeshire College	£814,036	£246,113	£19,981	£316,061	£187,653	£1,583,844
St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College	£485,323	£229,008	£10,758.	£202,054	£148,161	£1,075,304
Gower College Swansea	£1,808,793	£727,140	£42,354	£661,731	£330,936	£3,570,954
Cardiff and Vale College	£2,558,705	£970,363	£60,727	£858,871	£468,139	£4,916,805
Coleg Cambria	£2,607,521	£718,076	£62,642	£1,023,827	£483,850	£4,895,916
Coleg y Cymoedd	£2,213,526	£770,607	£51,302	£776,159	£404,986	£4,216,580
NPTC Group of Colleges	£1,571,257	£549,154	£38,327	£598,439	£310,189	£3,067,366
Adult Learning Wales	£391,732	£62,184	£11,834	—	£88,077	£553,827

Structure of the fund for 2026/27

7. What has changed:

• The five funding streams are now positioned within a single Support and Wellbeing Fund.
• Providers have increased flexibility to move funding between these components.
• A single planning process is introduced to capture strategic priorities and delivery intentions.
• Where funds are transferred from one funding stream component to another, the transferred funding will be subject to guidance and requirements of the component into which the funding has been moved.

8. What has not changed:

• All five funding component streams continue to exist.
• Detailed guidance which outlines eligible activity and expectations for each component stream remains in place, noting Period Dignity funding guidance is incorporated within the Financial Contingency Fund (FCF) guidance.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing funding supports both learners and staff.

Provider requirements and supporting guidance

9. All FE providers are required to submit a Support and Wellbeing Fund Plan (Annex A) by 9 October 2026 to [email protected].

10. Medr will review all submitted plans to ensure that:

• Proposed allocations are supported by a clear rationale and evidence of need;
• Potential risks and impacts have been appropriately identified and mitigated;
• Any movement of funding aligns with the overall purpose of the Support and Wellbeing Fund.

11. Medr will provide feedback of plans by 3 November 2026. This may include requests for further information or clarification and discussion where there are concerns regarding learner impact.

12. Providers will be required to update on delivery and spending plans by 12 February 2027. This will include:

• Progress against original plans;
• Changes made to allocations (if any);
• Emerging impacts and outcomes;
• Updated risk and mitigation position.

13. While the fund is presented as a single allocation for 2026/27 this document should be read alongside detailed guidance for each funding component.

14. Monitoring will still occur at component level. Reporting arrangements and further detail is provided in the individual guidance documents.

15. Any underspend against a provider’s total Support and Wellbeing Fund allocation will be reclaimed in full. Reclaims will be calculated following submission of the required monitoring expectations for each component funding stream. There will be no opportunity to carry forward unspent funding into future years.

16. The intention is to develop a Phase 2 approach for 2027/28, informed by learning from this year. Medr will engage with the sector during late Autumn/early Spring 2026/27 to inform the next phase and consider the actual impact this approach has had. We will take account of provider feedback and delivery experience and exploration of future funding and monitoring models. Feedback will be sought alongside the February 2027 update and through additional engagement activity.

Assessing the impact of our policies

17. We have completed an Integrated Impact Assessment to consider equality, diversity and inclusion, socio-economic impacts, learner voice, Welsh language considerations and the potential impacts of the Support and Wellbeing Fund on the well-being goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

18. There are identified anticipated positive impacts arising from the introduction of the Support and Wellbeing Fund, particularly through improving the coherence, flexibility and responsiveness of support funding. No likely negative impacts were identified at this stage.

19. Many impacts remain prospective rather than evidenced. Medr will therefore monitor implementation, provider use of funding flexibility and emerging impacts throughout the year to ensure any unintended consequences are identified and to inform future development of the fund.

20. Our impact assessment findings include:

• Identifying likely positive impacts for learners with disabilities and those with Additional Learning Needs.
• Identifying likely positive impacts across the protected characteristics of disability and sex. No likely adverse equality impacts were identified. 
• The fund contributes positively to a number of national well-being goals and indicators, particularly those relating to mental health and reducing barriers to learning.
• There is no adverse impacts on the Welsh language were identified.

Introduction

1. This publication informs higher education providers (HEPs) of the higher education (HE) data used for the following purposes:

• the calculation of funding allocations;
• monitoring National Measures;
• monitoring equality and diversity;
• providing data to Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol about Welsh medium provision;
• publications;
• analysing HESA student record data quality;
• monitoring part-time fee waivers;
• monitoring degree apprenticeships;
• publishing Official Statistics;
• monitoring Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Further Education (FE) provision;
• informing policy.

2. In this publication HEPs include further education institutions (FEIs) providing higher education and higher education institutions (HEIs), that are funded by Medr. Also included are providers that subscribe to HESA to return their specifically designated course provision, but are not funded by Medr for their higher education provision. These providers are not included in the extractions and analysis relating to funding but are included in some of the other data extractions and analysis presented in this publication. Inclusion by provider type is signalled under the individual headings below and is further summarised in the table in Annex R.

3. The mappings in the annexes that relate to student data are based on Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record data being collected by Jisc for the 2025/26 data collection year. The mappings presented have been tested on data returned on the HESA student record for 2024/25 and early submissions for 2025/26. We welcome any feedback that providers have on the mappings in the annexes, either during the 202526 submission process so that we can make immediate changes to the Information Reporting Interface Service (IRIS) programs as necessary, or to feed into our review of these mappings ready for next year. Any comments that providers have should be sent to [email protected]. Mappings for the end of year monitoring data extraction are contained in Annex K of the End of Year Monitoring (EYM) publication. Comments on that mapping are also welcomed. Any significant changes to the mappings either in this document or in the EYM publication, made during the submission process, will be communicated to providers.

4. Should there be any major problems with the data extractions during the submission process, for example, issues with the mapping, the IRIS system or issues at individual providers, which mean that some or all of the IRIS outputs are not usable, then there is a possibility of re-extraction post-collection. If this is likely, we will inform providers.

5. Funding methods for 2027/28 are not final at the time of publication of this circular and some allocation methods may change. The funding methods included in this circular are those for 2026/27. It is assumed for the sake of extraction of data that the funding methods will remain the same for 2027/28.

Main changes for 2026/27 compared to 2025/26

6. The main changes included in this publication compared to Medr publication Medr/2025/14: Higher Education Data Requirements 2025/26, comprise:

• Annex  E has been updated to outline the data extraction methods associated with Medr’s Official Statistics publications.
• Annex F has been updated to reflect changes made after taking into account the responses to the consultation on the review of the data quality analysis outputs. Details of the updated outputs for 2025/26 that were not implemented in 2024/25 IRIS, and any changes that will require further work are included in Annex S. We have also included additional sheets in the data quality analysis outputs that show the student data used in the tables.
• A new Annex P has been introduced to outline the data extraction method associated with data used in calculating Initial Teacher Education (Qualified Teacher Status) placement funding.
• A new Annex Q has been introduced to outline the data extraction method associated with data used for identifying Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Further Education (FE) students. 

Contents

7. The contents of the annexes are as follows:

Annex A	Data used in teaching funding allocations
Annex B	Data used in research funding allocations
Annex C	Data used in the PGR training funding allocation
Annex D	Data provided to Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
Annex E	Data used in Medr’s Official Statistics publications
Annex F	Data provided to higher education providers in the HESA student record data quality analysis
Annex G	Data used for allocating and monitoring the part-time undergraduate fee waiver scheme
Annex H	Data used in income analysis
Annex I	Data used for monitoring national measures
Annex J	Data used for monitoring and adjustment of degree apprenticeship funding
Annex K	Data used in the calculation of Research Wales Innovation Fund
Annex L	Data used in the calculation of anti-racism funding and Well-being and mental health funding
Annex M	Data used in targeted employability support allocations
Annex N	Data used in the calculation of capital funding
Annex O	Data used in calculating Wales Research Environment and Culture funding
Annex P	Data used in calculating Initial Teacher Education (Qualified Teacher Status) placement funding
Annex Q	Data used for identifying Postgraduate Certificate in Education in Further Education students
Annex R	Detail of outputs that each type of provider will receive through IRIS and associated sign-off requirements
Annex S	Summary of changes to IRIS Data Quality Analysis following 2025 review

Further information

Providers are welcome to contact us if they need any further clarity or have comments on the mappings outlined in the annexes, any further updates required will be communicated to providers.

Any queries regarding this publication should be directed to Rachael Clifford ([email protected]).

Introduction

1. This publication sets out how we will meet our strategic duty to promote a global outlook across tertiary education and research in Wales.

2. Our Global Outlook roadmap, at Annex A, outlines what we and the tertiary education and research sector are already doing in this space, and how we will support providers to develop international engagement. Through providing information and insight, enabling collaboration, and monitoring and horizon scanning, it aims to better:

• promote mobility
• enable international collaboration, and
• maximise the benefit to Wales.

3. We will help to facilitate international engagement by building on our current support and focusing on actions that address risks, bridge gaps in provision, enable greater representation and participation of Welsh providers and learners in international activity, as well as promoting the development of knowledge and expertise.

4. The roadmap is supported by Medr’s Global Outlook roadmap: Background, context and approach at Annex B. This outlines in greater detail the process through which the roadmap was designed, the context in which it has been developed and how new and existing activity will enable Medr to meet its strategic duties by focusing on three thematic areas:

1. Providing information and insight
2. Enabling collaboration
3. Monitoring and horizon scanning

5. The approach to the ongoing delivery of the Global Outlook roadmap will prioritise engagement and collaboration – at home and internationally – and focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for Wales, our learners and our education providers.

Further information

6. Any queries regarding this circular should be directed to Bill Burson ([email protected]).