Guidance

Child and family ASYE April 2026 to March 2027: registration and funding

Published 26 February 2026

Applies to England

Overview

The child and family Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme is a 12-month, employer-led, employment-based programme providing support and assessment for newly qualified social workers (NQSWs). It is not compulsory for social workers to do the child and family ASYE programme, but it is recommended.

Employers should ensure their staff meet the post-qualifying standards for child and family social work practitioners through their ASYE.  

Eligibility

The child and family ASYE eligibility will remain the same as previous years. The ASYE programme is available across all sectors:

• statutory
• private
• voluntary
• independent

Any NQSW can complete the child and family ASYE programme. NQSWs should undertake the ASYE programme within 4 years of qualifying. NQSWs may still undertake the ASYE programme if they do not meet these criteria, but no funding will be provided by DfE.

All NQSWs participating in the programme must be registered with Social Work England.

Funding

Grant funding is available for the child and family ASYE programme between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. Claims for 2026 to 2027 can be submitted to DfE from 1 April 2026.

Employers can receive £2,000 funding for each NQSW they support through the child and family ASYE programme. Grant payments will be paid in two £1,000 instalments, the first instalment at registration and the second at the completion of the programme.

In the final year of the programme, employers will receive £1,000 completion payment for all participants still on the programme as of March 2027, prior to participants completing the programme. The process for submitting claims at the end of the financial year will be set out in further detail in advance of March 2027, including the final dates for when claims can be submitted.

Employers will be responsible for completing the child and family ASYE programme for deferred participants and participants who will complete after March 2027.

Table 1 provides more information on dates for final payments:

Table 1: ASYE completion payments

Scenario	Registration	Completion	Final Payment
NQSW completes before March 2027 (including deferred participants)	1 April 2022 onwards	Before March 2027	Paid at completion in the 2026 to 2027 year at the next DfE payment window.
NQSW does not complete by March 2027 (including deferred participants)	1 April 2022 onwards	Not completed before March 2027	Employers can submit claims in March 2027 for NQSWs who have not yet completed, and these claims will be paid in advance in the March 2027 payment window.

Registration dates for payment

Participants who have qualified before 1 April 2022 will not be eligible for payment.

Participants who have started ASYE before 1 April 2022 will not be eligible for a completion payment in 2026 to 2027.

NQSWs who started in financial years 2022 to 2023 onwards, who are still completing their child and family ASYE programme and have not submitted a completion claim through the Skills for Care portal in 2025 to 2026 will remain eligible to claim funding upon completion.

The Skills for Care portal closes on 28 February 2026. DfE will not be able to process claims for registrations or completions that occur on or before 28 February 2026, these must be processed through the Skills for Care portal.

There is a different process for claims for March 2026.

Allocation

In line with previous years, there will be a limit of 3,080 places for the final year of the programme. Funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If a claim is submitted after all places have been allocated, it will not be successful, and funding will not be distributed.

Grant process overview

The grant process operates on a per participant basis. Employers must submit an application to DfE for registrations and completions of ASYE participants. These should be collated and sent as a single application in line with the grant assurance windows. Where an application meets the eligibility criteria, DfE will issue a grant letter outlining the conditions attached to the grant.

The application process for registration and completion is set out below. Use the ‘ASYE application spreadsheet’ (which is available on Child and family social work ASYE programme: registration and funding) to capture registration and completion information for each NQSW you employ and enter withdrawal or deferral details if either of these apply.

The application spreadsheet must be password protected. The password must be sent in a separate email from the application itself and the email containing the password must include the organisation name and date in the subject of the email.  

All claims must be submitted to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk.

Registration

Registration claims must be submitted by 1 February 2027. Participants will not be able to register for ASYE after this date. DfE will not process any registration claims received after 1 February 2027.

At registration, employers will be required to fill in the application spreadsheet and provide the:

• local authority code
• organisation name
• organisation area
• employer type
• newly qualified social worker name
• Social Work England registration number of participant
• social worker qualification date
• ASYE start date
• projected ASYE completion date
• participant protected characteristic data

Employers must also include a 2026 to 2027 action plan that provides information on their ASYE offer and areas of focus for the ASYE year. A template for the action plan is available on Child and family social work ASYE programme: registration and funding. This must be attached to the funding application with the application spreadsheet.

DfE will not offer a grant without the inclusion of a 12-month plan.

Completion

Completion claims in year can be submitted from 1 April 2026 using the application spreadsheet to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk.

Final dates for completion claims to be submitted in 2026 to 2027 will be confirmed in end of year guidance. Any claim made after this point will not be processed by DfE and child and family ASYE funding will not be granted to ensure sufficient time to complete all remaining payment activity before the closure of the programme.

The completed application spreadsheet for completion claims must include:

• actual completion date
• assessment outcome

The email with the application must attach signed ASYE completion declaration ‘ASYE Completion Declaration and Funding Return’ available on Child and family social work ASYE programme: registration and funding.

Grant application

The grant application will be checked by DfE to assess the grant claim meets the funding eligibility criteria (set out in registration and completion sections). DfE grant assurance will happen at fixed points in the year, detailed below. DfE will issue a grant offer letter detailing the terms and conditions of the award, based on the number of ASYE participants who register and complete. Once the grant application is approved, a grant offer letter will be sent to employers. Payment will be made shortly after the windows set out below upon receipt of a completed grant offer letter and annexes.

Employers should submit their claims in advance or during the windows below for the preceding period. For example, a grant claim for all registrations or completions for the period of 1 April to 30 June 2026 should be submitted by 14 July 2026.

Applications received after a processing cut-off point will be carried forward to the next scheduled assurance window and will still be eligible for payment. DfE will review and assure all claims submitted before or during the payment periods and payment will be distributed after the windows close.

Grant assurance windows

• Window 1: 1 to 14 July 2026.
• Window 2: 1 to 14 October 2026.
• Window 3:  March 2027 – final dates to be confirmed.

Table 2 provides more information on grant assurance windows.

Table 2: DfE grant assurance

Application window	Dates for claims submitted	Dates for DfE application assurance	Dates for grant offer letter/payment
Window 1	1 April to 30 June 2026	1 July to 14 July 2026	15 July to 31 July 2026
Window 2	1 July to 30 September 2026	1 to 14 October 2026	15 to 31 October 2026
Window 3	March 2027 dates TBC	TBC	TBC

Before any payment can be made, employers must sign and return the grant offer letter, along with the included documents:

• annex A (acceptance of grant offer and effective date)
• annex B (bank account details)

Payment cannot be processed without receipt of these documents.

Employers who have not previously claimed grant funding from DfE will also be required to complete a Vendor Registration Form (Provide information about your banking and payments to DfE). ASYE co-ordinators should check with internal finance colleagues if your organisation has previously received a DfE grant within the last 2 years. 

For the final payment window in March 2027 an annex D (forecast for completions beyond March 2027) form must also be completed and returned to DfE during the final payment window, for claims made in advance of completion in the cases where participants have not completed the child and family ASYE by March 2027.

All annex forms are included within the grant offer letter:

• annex C (grant claims in arrears) forms must be supported by the number of NQSWs for both new registrations and completions
• annex D (grant claims in advance) forms require detail of forecast expenditure and claim amounts - for all outstanding completions in the final payment window only
• annex Gii (statement of grant usage) – employers who are not a local authority will have additional sampling carried out – required at end of financial year
• annex I (sample exit plan)
• annex K (Data Protection Schedule) forms require details of which the Parties are required to keep in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation.

An authorised senior officer must complete all annexes and sign the grant offer letter.

Grant application process

1. Employer sends the application spreadsheet with 12-month plan and completion declaration to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk.
2. DfE assures claims meet eligibility criteria within assurance windows.
3. DfE distribute grant offer letter and certificate to employer.
4. Employer returns signed grant offer letter and annexes to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk.
5. DfE distributes grant payments.

Certificates

Employers will be required to provide certificates to NQSWs on completion of the child and family ASYE programme. The ASYE completion certificate template will be sent by DfE to employers with the confirmation of grant funding and the grant offer letter.

Deferrals and withdrawals

It’s expected that a NQSW will be able to demonstrate their professional development within 12 months. As such, capability is not grounds for a deferral.

The grounds for deferral are limited. They include:

• long-term sickness
• maternity or parental leave

• circumstances when the employer is temporarily not able to put the required levels of support and assessment in place for the NQSW - examples include:

  • appropriate support for someone with neurodivergence, such as dyslexia
  • appropriate support for English as an additional language
  • problems in obtaining team support (for example, finding a new supervisor where the original one is no longer available)
  • in the case of a NQSW transferring into the team midway through the ASYE to allow time for an induction period
• other exceptional circumstances, for example:
  • a formal investigation into an allegation relating to poor behaviour by the NQSW
  • the institution of fitness to practise procedures

In the above circumstances, the deferral may also include an agreed period for the increased levels of support to be established. The length of the deferral period should be agreed between the NQSW, the assessor and the ASYE programme lead.

Any current deferrals, where possible, should complete the programme in 2026 to 2027. If this is not possible, employers can claim for the completion payment in 2026 to 2027.

To report a withdrawal, the employer must inform DfE through their updated application spreadsheet by sending an email to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk and completing the relevant sections of the spreadsheet.

Withdrawal clawback process

Clawback applies when:

• an NQSW withdraws within the first 4 weeks of starting the programme
• a claim is noncompliant with grant criteria (identified by the DfE or through DfE dip sampling)

In the event of clawback:

• overpayments will be deducted from future invoices, or the grant recipient must repay directly within 28 days if no future invoices remain
• grant recipients must record the exact withdrawal date and update the ASYE application spreadsheet
• the DfE will issue a formal clawback notice setting out the reason, amount, method, and repayment deadline

Sampling

DfE will sample check 10% of participating employers’ claims. This will include a virtual visit where employers meet with DfE to:

• talk through their child and family ASYE programme
• share assessment moderation reports and evidence of how they’ve delivered the terms of the grant

Support

Templates and guidance materials to support organisations and those taking part in, and supporting, the child and family ASYE programme will be available shortly. These will be applicable across all sectors (statutory, private, voluntary and independent).

It is strongly recommended that organisations use the templates, as they support effective quality assurance, moderation, and consistency across England.

Contact us

Grant applications and documents for grant payments should be sent to CFASYE.payments@education.gov.uk.

If you have any queries, email CFASYE.queries@education.gov.uk.