Sam Hawkins commented, 15 July 2025 13:42

Hi Samantha McCarthy You dont need a formal diagnosis to claim LSF.  Our coaches do an Initial Assessment at the beginning of the learners journey to gauge previous issues at school, further education, work etc. (We can start claiming at any point even if we dont at the beginning of their apprenticeship)  The learner may not be aware at all they have an ALN or may not want to share this due to feeling vulnerable.  We have created a document to break down these barriers, put our learners at ease and let them know that extra practical support is available with whatever tools they need or extra time/visits etc.   I think the key thing is evidence logged of extra support given each time we claim, so our coaches log this extra support, and we do a monthly check before sending the ILR for any new claims or ones we 'switch off' for that month (where there is no evidence logged). I believe you only have to actually review this every 3 months but we choose to do this monthly to keep a good handle on it and not make any claims that may end in a claw back. HTH :) Sam

1. Learning Support Funding - when can you claim

Hi Samantha McCarthy You dont need a formal diagnosis to claim LSF.  Our coaches do an Initial Assessment at the beginning of the learners journey to gauge previous issues at school, further educat...