Partnerships
Leicester City Council has successfully secured additional funding from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for delivery of Adult Skills Fund (ASF) programmes.
Leicester City Council has successfully secured additional funding from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for delivery of Adult Skills Fund (ASF) programmes. Therefore, the Leicester Adult Education Service seeks to commission up to £1.2M of ASF activity in the academic year 2026-27 for up to 10 providers.
Applications should be for between £50,000 and £300,000 of activity.
For this call, we are looking to deliver activity that complements the existing Leicester Adult Education Service programme and supports the city elements of the following strategies:
This opportunity is for Adult Skills Funded (ASF) and ‘free courses for jobs’ (FCFJ) funding only and does not include Tailored Learning provision, Advanced Learning Loans, Skills Bootcamps, fully online or self-study options. Leicester Adult Education Service is seeking partners to deliver the following Adult Skills fundable provision on their behalf:
- Essential Skills provision to meet current, unmet demand for ESOL, English, Maths and Digital skills.
- Vocational preparation or progression opportunities that complement an existing LCC Adult Education or Skills Bootcamp programme.
- Specialist vocational courses which meet sectoral priorities and priority groups identified in the Local Skills Improvement plan and Get LLR working plan.
- Skills to support the Creative Industries aligned to the Council’s Creative Industries Strategy
- Programmes to support digital and management skills for efficiency and productivity in the small business, public and VCS sectors.
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please complete the application documents listed and linked below by 12 O’clock midnight 18th September 2026.
For more information, check the Call Document and the LCC ASF Subcontracting Policy
If you have any questions or would like us to send you an application pack, please contact us at adult.ed-partners@leicester.gov.uk.
Leicester Adult Education Qualification Provision.
As requested during the webinar, find our provision in the document attached above. A recording of our webinar is available.
1. Would fully online provision be considered?
Section 2.1 of the call document states that we are not looking for "fully online self-study courses". Fully online synchronous tutor led courses are within scope. It is the responsibility of the providers to decide the level of blended delivery, quality-assure their offering and demonstrate how their provision would be of high quality.
Provision must be bespoke to Leicester residents and proposals to infill national programmes will not be considered.
2. As we do not currently have a delivery track record in Leicester, would this be treated as a barrier to eligibility, or simply a factor considered at the shortlisting stage?
Having a presence in Leicester and Knowledge of the local area will be taken into account when shortlisting.
3. Do qualifications need to follow a traditional academic year timetable, or can providers deliver the required guided learning hours flexibly?
No, qualifications do not require to follow a traditional academic-year timetable. However, qualifications must have been delivered by the end of the academic year (July 31st).
4. Is there any flexibility regarding the minimum application value?
The £50,000 minimum application value is not absolute and there is flexibility. However, we are not looking to commission too many small programmes.
5. Is the video for the webinar accessible?
Yes, the recording of the webinar is available.
6. We have never been inspected by Ofsted. Can we still apply?
Yes. All subcontracted provision is treated as part of the Leicester City Council Adult Education programme and will form part of their Ofsted inspection.