The Department of Education has published detailed advice on how all further education provision should operate in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

It offers FE leaders guidance on classroom delivery, saying all classroom delivery and training should be stopped from 23 March, with the exception of dependants of critical workers and vulnerable young people, definitions of which can be found here. 

It also repeats reassurances on funding that skills and apprenticeships minister Gillian Keegan offered in a letter to leaders last week. It says: “ESFA will continue to pay grant-funded providers their scheduled monthly profiled payments for the remainder of the 2019-20 funding year.

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“ESFA allocations for 2020-21 will have been confirmed by the end of March, and payments will be made in line with the national profile which will be confirmed in the 2020-21 funding rules.”

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It says that it is expected that students do carry on learning remotely and that FE commissioner Richard Atkins will be available to talk to college leaders who would like to talk through plans, concerns and issues.

It repeats the announcements on how students will receive grades for cancelled exams, and says the department is working with Ofqual to explore options when it comes to vocational and technical qualifications and more information will be published as soon as possible.

The guidance states that Ofsted and FE commissioner intervention visits have been suspended and says that colleges can make a hugely valuable contribution.