Skip to main content
Guidance

Supporting learners with learning difficulties and disabilities in apprenticeships or apprenticeship units

How providers can make reasonable adjustments, get funding and offer flexibilities for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published:
19 October 2022
Last updated:
31 July 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated 'Support for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities' to reflect changes in claiming reasonable adjustment costs for apprenticeship units.

  2. The guidance has been updated to include information about supporting learners undertaking apprenticeship units.

  3. We have published new guidance on English and maths flexibilities for apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. Providers now have more flexibility to make lower-level English and maths qualifications available when an apprentice does not have an education, health and care plan. This reflects a change in the apprenticeship funding rules for 2024 to 2025. We have also updated guidance on how to support apprentices by making reasonable adjustments.

  4. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Support for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities

HTML

English and maths flexibilities for apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities

HTML

Details

Responsibility for this guidance moved to the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 April 2026. You should continue to follow this guidance.

The support for learners document sets out how providers:

  • should assess and identify the needs of learners with learning difficulties or disabilities
  • should support these learners
  • can claim learning support funding, to help them make reasonable adjustments to support these learners

The English and maths flexibilities document has information about how providers can offer apprentices the option to study English and maths at a lower level, if appropriate.

Sign up for emails or print this page

Related content