Form

Apprenticeship units learning support claims: information

Published 15 April 2026

Applies to England

The learning support cost forms are for providers. They must be used to submit estimated and actual costs for each learner whose learning support costs exceed £150. Any claims will be subject to affordability checks at the actual claim submission.

You can claim this support for learners who have a disability or learning difficulty as defined in section 15ZA(6) of the Education Act 1996 (as amended by section 41 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009) who, as a result of this learning difficulty or disability, requires reasonable adjustments to be able to complete their apprenticeship unit.

This includes learners that:

• have an identified learning difficulty and/or disability (LDD) with an education, health and care (EHC) plan;
• have not previously had a learning difficulty or disability identified but to whom the provider has identified a learning difficulty or disability through their assessment process

Further information is available in the Apprenticeship unit funding rules, 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK, the Learning Support Guidance and in the Apprenticeship Unit Technical Funding Guide (to be published in April 2026). This includes information on when to claim the initial £150 learning support cost.

The attached estimated cost form must be used to submit indicative learning support costs, which may vary throughout the apprenticeship unit funding period – this is likely to be linked to support staff costs. Any estimated costs will be subject to affordability checks at final claim submission.

The attached actual cost form must be used to provide evidence of the total expenditure for learning support costs incurred. This is to be used for material costs and for final support staff costs.

Once completed, you should upload the form to Document exchange following the the steps outlined in the cost forms.

Do not include learner names, initials or other personal information in the file titles when uploading your cost forms. Including personal identifiers is a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Uploaded files should contain only the Unique Learner Number (ULN) for identification purposes. We will not download or process files that do not follow this protocol.

You must:

• submit learning support claims at the beginning of the apprenticeship unit, or as soon as it becomes clear that support costing more than £150 is required, using the appropriate learning support cost claim form. Note: learning support can only be claimed once milestone 1 has been reached – see apprenticeship unit funding rules for details
• gain agreement from the department for each learner whose reasonable adjustment costs more than £150 by submitting the relevant cost form via Document exchange
• get further agreement if the learner’s support needs change significantly during their learning by submitting an updated estimated cost form
• contact the  Apprenticeship Service Helpdesk if you do not have access to Department for Education (DfE) Sign-in
• get further approval by the department if the actual claims for support costs are higher than the approved estimated cost