Funding for providers

We fund tertiary education and research, including school sixth forms, apprenticeships, further education, higher education, and research and innovation. We are currently working to arrangements inherited from our predecessor bodies, the Welsh Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). These include different arrangements for different parts of the tertiary sector, from large, formula-based annual funding allocations to smaller pots of funding for shorter term projects. We will start to consult on and develop our own arrangements during our first year of operation. 

Funding, planning, delivering and monitoring under the Post-16 Planning and Funding Framework is mostly done through programmes, with most provision ranging from Entry Level to Level 3. A programme is a package of learning with an intended outcome for learners such as progression into employment or onto further or higher education. 

The Programme Directory lists all full and part time programmes, from Entry Level to Level 4; including access programmes to further or higher education. 

Programme directory 2024-25

Any requests for a new full time programme or an amendment to an existing programme must be completed on a programmes directory amendment request form, and submitted to Medr: [email protected]  

Post-16 planning and funding framework programmes directory (amendment request)

The Welsh Government guidance on funding and planning post-16 education continues to apply until Medr publishes its own guidance in this area. 

Post-16 planning and funding guidance
Mainstream funding for school sixth forms  

Mainstream funding for school sixth forms will be paid to local authorities from Medr from August 2024.   

Mainstream school sixth form provision consists primarily of general education at Level 3 (A/AS levels) for 16-19 year olds, alongside some vocational learning and provision at Level 2. Provision is delivered within schools. 

Historically, allocations were made from the Welsh Government, with local authorities informed of allocation amounts for the upcoming year no later than January.   

Funding period: financial year, April to March. 

Payment profile: monthly. 

2023-24

Learner Recovery and Progression Funding 

Learner Recovery and Progression Funding is provided to local authorities to distribute to school sixth forms in order to provide additional learning hours for full time learners in Years 12, 13 and above.  

This additional funding recognises that learners will have experienced disruption as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and might require further support and guidance during the 2024/25 academic year to help safeguard their well-being, develop their resilience and successfully achieve their qualifications. 

Funding period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: one annual payment in August. 

Post-16 Learner Recovery and Progression: local authority sixth form funding allocations 2023 to 2024

Transition funding 

This funding is to give all Year 10 and 11 learners the opportunity to visit a further education college and, where possible, take part in relevant transition activities, such as college taster days, masterclasses, interactive workshops and summer programmes. 

Funded period: April to August. 

Payment profile: one payment in autumn 2024. 

Transition funding for learners in Year 11 and learners in Year 12 and 13 studying AS/A2 levels

Medr will fund local authorities for adult community learning from August 2024.  

Adult community learning provision consists of part-time provision at all levels from Entry Level to Level 4, and available to all ages from 16+. Learning is generally delivered at community learning centres. 

Historically, allocations have been made by the Welsh Government. Local authorities are informed of allocation amounts for the upcoming year no later than January. 

Funded period: financial year, April to March. 

Payment profile: three annual instalments. 

Funding allocations 2022-23 

Post-16 local authority: adult learning funding allocations 2023-24

Funding allocations 2024-25 to follow.

Funding for apprenticeships

Medr will fund the contracted lead providers for the Apprenticeship Programme from August 2024. 

Apprenticeships is an employment-based learning programme for employed learners following a recognised Apprenticeship Framework which has been approved for delivery in Wales. 

Apprenticeship providers receive funding on an academic year basis to support the delivery of vocational learning at Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW) levels 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

Historically, allocations have been made by the Welsh Government, with lead providers being informed of allocations for the upcoming year prior to the start of the academic year.  

Funded period: academic year, August to July.

Payment profile: monthly.

2024/25 Allocations: Circa £134 million.

Medr will provide funding to the Apprenticeship contracted lead providers for the Shared Apprenticeship Scheme from August 2024. 

The Shared Apprenticeship Scheme allows  apprentices to complete a full apprenticeship programme by working with a number of different local employers, to gain the skill sets they require to become qualified. 

Shared Apprenticeship starts are allocated on an annual basis to interested lead providers. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: quarterly/monthly basis following receipt of satisfactory evidence. 

2024/25 Allocations: £1 million. 

Medr will provide funding to the Apprenticeship contracted lead providers for the Additional Learner Support fund from August 2024. 

The Additional Learning Support fund is available to assist providers to work flexibly and secure the Additional Learning Provision (ALP) necessary to enable them to make their provision accessible to learners with Additional Learning Needs (ALN).  ALS Funding also assists providers with the costs of making reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July.

Payment profile: quarterly payments, following submission and satisfactory evaluation of satisfactory evidence. 

Medr will provide funding to the Apprenticeship contracted lead providers for the Employer Incentive Scheme (EIS) from August 2024. 

Employer Incentive is an initiative which provides support to employers to help them to provide opportunities for disabled apprentices. 

Funded period: financial year, April to March. 

Payment profile: monthly payments, following submission of satisfactory evidence. 

2024-25 Allocations: £400k. 

Higher education providers receive funding annually to deliver degree apprenticeships against the Digital, Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing and Construction Frameworks. 

Funding for further education

Mainstream funding for further education colleges will come from Medr from August 2024.   

Mainstream further education provision consists of general education and vocational learning at all levels from Entry Level to Level 4. Provision offered is primarily for full time 16-19 year olds, but is available to all ages and includes part-time all-age provision. Learning is generally delivered at further education colleges but also includes some community learning. 

Historically, allocations have been made by the Welsh Government, with further education colleges informed of allocation amounts for the upcoming year in late January.   

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: monthly.

This has been allocated to enable further education colleges to provide additional learning hours for learners in College Years 1, 2 and above.  

This additional funding has been provided in recognition that learners will have experienced disruption as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and might require further support and guidance during the 2024/2025 academic year to help safeguard their well-being, develop their resilience and successfully achieve their qualifications. 

Allocations are funded on an academic year basis, running from August to July, with one payment being made in August. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: one annual payment in August. 

Post-16 learner recovery and progression funding 2023 to 2024

Transition funding enables further education colleges, in collaboration with schools, to provide guidance on post-16 pathways to learners in Years 10 and 11 to enable them to make an informed decision about the next step in their educational, training or employment pathway. 

This could be achieved through activities such as college taster days, masterclasses or interactive workshops, or summer programmes. 

Allocations are funded from April to August, with one payment made in the spring. 

Funded period: April to March. 

Payment profile: monthly. 

This funding provides financial help to those eligible learners whose access to further education might be inhibited by financial considerations, or who, for whatever reason, including a disability, face financial difficulties.  

Institutions administer the Financial Contingency Fund to their learners on a discretionary basis, and are responsible for distributing the funding to ensure that support can be tailored to the needs of the students. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: three annual payments. 

This funding ensures access to period products, free of charge. The funding is used to support: 

  • all learners; and  
  • people in the college community who require access to period products, prioritising those from low-income households.    

Funded period: moves to academic year, August to July, from 2024/25.

This funding assists institutions to meet the educational needs of young people, enabling them to reach their full potential, and implementing the right support to remove significant barriers to achieving individual potential. 

Institutions use this funding to respond to individual learner needs.  

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: two annual payments. 

The key objectives of the bureaus are to offer a recruitment service to local employers and increase the employment opportunities available to learners within colleges. 

The funding supports the costs of an entrepreneurship champion who: 

  • works with learners (and leavers) from the institution to champion entrepreneurship and support staff to embed entrepreneurship in the curriculum, and 
  • provides bespoke support to learners and leavers to develop their entrepreneurship ideas and business knowledge, and improve pathways and support them into self-employment and business start-up. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: two annual payments. 

Professional learning funding allows further education colleges to provide professional learning activities for teaching staff. The funding can be used for activities that reflect an institution’s individual priorities, based on its policies and the identified needs of staff.  

The fund aims to build on activities carried out as part of funding in previous years, providing support and opportunities for staff to further their professional learning. 

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: two annual payments, following submission and satisfactory evaluation of an interim and final report.

This enables further education colleges to build capacity to support learner and staff mental health and well-being.  

The funding can be used for activities that reflect an institution’s individual priorities, based on policies and identified needs of their learners and staff.  

Funded period: academic year, August to July. 

Payment profile: two annual payments, following submission and satisfactory evaluation of an interim and final report.

Most of our funding is distributed as block grants to higher education providers, allocated by formulas. These take into account various factors, including recruitment in academic subject categories, mode and level, and the amount of high-quality research undertaken in the institution. 

We inform funded higher education providers of their core grant allocations before the academic year starts in August. Institutions can allocate the grant as they deem appropriate, provided it is used to support teaching, research, and related activities. 

Funding for higher education was allocated annually from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). Medr has inherited HEFCW’s funding methods and funding allocations for the 2024/25 academic year (1 August – 31 July) (HEFCW circular W24/13HE).

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We fund research and innovation

  • We provide £82 million a year through our main formula-based Quality Research (QR) funding stream, based on the outcomes of the UK-wide Research Excellence Framework. 
  • We support innovation and engagement, including civic mission, through our £15 million Research Wales Innovation Fund. 
  • We also provide £6.2 million to institutions for the training of postgraduate research students.  

Public funding for research in higher education is administered under a dual support system.

Under this system, the funding which we provide to institutions in Wales helps support their research infrastructure and gives them the flexibility to determine the strategic direction of their research.  

On the other side of the dual support system, grants for specific projects and programmes are provided by the Research Councils, charities, the EU and government departments. 

Funding allocations for academic year 2024/25 (HEFCW circular W24/13HE)

Research Wales Innovation Fund (RWIF) 

We provide annual funding (HEFCW circular W20/09HE) to Welsh higher education institutions to further their knowledge exchange activity and enable them to work with industry and businesses, to support entrepreneurship and skills, and to support their civic mission and public engagement ambitions. Five-year strategies outline areas of key focus which will support social and economic prosperity in Wales. 

 The strategies are monitored annually and updated to reflect new challenges and opportunities. 

 See strategies for: 

UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) 

UKRPIF provides funding for capital investment in major new research facilities in universities.  

 The funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is awarded through UK-wide competitions managed by Research England, working in conjunction with the other UK higher education funding bodies. Bids must include co-funding from the private sector. 

 Wales has received funding for three programmes of investment through the UKRPIF scheme. 

  • Energy Safety Research Institute, Swansea University (£11.65 million). 
  • Research Foundation in Compound Semiconductor Technology, Cardiff University (£17.30 million). 
  • Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials, Swansea University (£29.92 million). 

Higher Education Research Capital (HERC) 

HERC (HEFCW circular W20/17HE) is funded jointly by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Welsh Government, and supports the development of the physical infrastructure associated with research.  

 Institutions must meet a threshold based on excellence to be eligible for support.  

 £8.4 million was made available in 2023-24. 

We fund research and innovation

  • We provide £82 million a year through our main formula-based Quality Research (QR) funding stream, based on the outcomes of the UK-wide Research Excellence Framework. 
  • We support innovation and engagement, including civic mission, through our £15 million Research Wales Innovation Fund. 
  • We also provide £6.2 million to institutions for the training of postgraduate research students.  

Public funding for research in higher education is administered under a dual support system.

Under this system, the funding which we provide to institutions in Wales helps support their research infrastructure and gives them the flexibility to determine the strategic direction of their research.  

On the other side of the dual support system, grants for specific projects and programmes are provided by the Research Councils, charities, the EU and government departments. 

Funding allocations for academic year 2024/25 (HEFCW circular W24/13HE)

Research Wales Innovation Fund (RWIF) 

We provide annual funding (HEFCW circular W20/09HE) to Welsh higher education institutions to further their knowledge exchange activity and enable them to work with industry and businesses, to support entrepreneurship and skills, and to support their civic mission and public engagement ambitions. Five-year strategies outline areas of key focus which will support social and economic prosperity in Wales. 

 The strategies are monitored annually and updated to reflect new challenges and opportunities. 

 See strategies for: 

UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) 

UKRPIF provides funding for capital investment in major new research facilities in universities.  

 The funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is awarded through UK-wide competitions managed by Research England, working in conjunction with the other UK higher education funding bodies. Bids must include co-funding from the private sector. 

 Wales has received funding for three programmes of investment through the UKRPIF scheme. 

  • Energy Safety Research Institute, Swansea University (£11.65 million). 
  • Research Foundation in Compound Semiconductor Technology, Cardiff University (£17.30 million). 
  • Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials, Swansea University (£29.92 million). 

Higher Education Research Capital (HERC) 

HERC (HEFCW circular W20/17HE) is funded jointly by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Welsh Government, and supports the development of the physical infrastructure associated with research.  

 Institutions must meet a threshold based on excellence to be eligible for support.  

 £8.4 million was made available in 2023-24. 

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