Guidance

Apprenticeships care leavers바카라 사이트™ bursary guidance

Updated 12 June 2025

Applies to England

Overview

The bursary is for eligible apprentices who are care leavers or still in care. Throughout this guidance, the phrase 바카라 사이트˜care leavers바카라 사이트™ includes those who are still in care.

Care leavers often face additional financial barriers as they are likely to be living independently, without family support. The bursary provides additional financial support to help them access and complete apprenticeships. There are no rules around what an apprentice can spend the bursary on.

Tax and National Insurance contributions are not paid on the bursary and it is not treated as income in Universal Credit calculations.

It is paid in instalments during the first year of an apprenticeship. It is claimed by training providers who pass the instalments on to apprentices.

It is separate to the additional funding that employers and training providers can receive to support care leaver apprentices.

How the bursary is claimed

To make sure eligible apprentices receive their first payment as soon as possible, training providers must:

• tell all apprentices under the age of 25 about the bursary before or during the apprentice바카라 사이트™s initial assessment
• allow apprentices to declare their eligibility
• capture evidence that they have informed apprentices as part of the initial assessment evidence requirements, as described in the apprenticeship funding rules
• record eligibility on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR), using code EEF4

If, for any reason, eligibility is not recorded in the ILR in the first funding year of the apprenticeship, and the apprenticeship has not finished, providers can make late claims via an earnings adjustment statement (EAS). Approval must be obtained from the Department for Education before claiming via the EAS by:

• emailing helpdesk@manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk
• telephoning 08000 150 600

If an apprentice wishes to claim the bursary, they must get written confirmation of their care leaver status from their local authority and pass it to the training provider. There is no specific format required for the confirmation - an email is acceptable. Providers should assist the apprentice in obtaining this where necessary.

Additional payments for training providers and employers with apprentices바카라 사이트™ consent

Separate from the bursary, additional payments are generated to training providers and employers for all apprentices aged under 19 at the start of their apprenticeship. These payments are also paid in respect of apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or who are care leavers.

Where an employer receives additional funding for a care leaver apprentice aged between 19 and 24 years old, this could alert the employer to the apprentice바카라 사이트™s care leaver status. Training providers should make sure apprentices understand this and ask whether they consent for their employer to know their care leaver status.

If the apprentice does not consent, the provider must record the Learning Delivery Monitoring code 362 바카라 사이트˜Apprentice care leavers바카라 사이트™ in the ILR. This will prevent the employer payment from being generated, but the bursary and the training provider payment will still be generated.

The Apprenticeship funding rules and Apprenticeships technical funding guide contain further details.

Payment of the bursary

The bursary is paid by the Department for Education to the apprenticeship training provider. For apprentices who start their apprenticeship on or after 1 August 2023, the bursary is £3,000. It is paid in 3 instalments of £1,000 over the first year of the apprenticeship, providing the apprentice is still undertaking their apprenticeship at 60, 120 and 300 days after their start date

The third instalment will be paid earlier for apprentices who are on a foundation apprenticeship, or on a shorter apprenticeship (where the published typical duration of the apprenticeship standard is less than 12 months) and they started their apprenticeship after 1 August 2025.

The provider must pass each payment on to the apprentice within 30 days of receiving it.

For apprentices who started their apprenticeship up to and including 31 July 2023, the bursary is a single payment of £1,000.

Eligible apprentices

For an apprentice to be eligible for the care leavers바카라 사이트™ bursary, they must meet all of the following:

• be aged under 25 at the time they start their apprenticeship
• not have received the care leavers바카라 사이트™ bursary before
• meet the legal definition of a 바카라 사이트˜care leaver바카라 사이트™, as either an 바카라 사이트˜eligible child바카라 사이트™, a 바카라 사이트˜relevant child바카라 사이트™ or a 바카라 사이트˜former relevant child바카라 사이트™, as defined in 바카라 사이트˜Legal definition of 바카라 사이트˜care leaver바카라 사이트™ - where a young person has been supported by a local authority leaving care personal advisor, it is likely they meet this criterion

Where an apprentice has received part of the £3,000 bursary before, but left or completed their apprenticeship before receiving the full amount, they may be entitled to receive further payments on a new apprenticeship until they have received £3,000 in total.

Young people should speak to their local authority personal adviser (PA) or social worker if they are unsure about their leaving care status.

Legal definition of 바카라 사이트˜care leaver바카라 사이트™

Eligible child

This is a young person who:

• is 16 or 17 years old
• has been looked after by a UK local authority or health and social care trust for at least a period of 13 weeks since the age of 14
• is still looked after by a UK local authority or health and social care trust

Relevant child

This is a young person who:

• is 16 or 17 years old
• has left care within the UK after their 16^th birthday
• was an eligible child before leaving care

Former relevant child

This is a young person who is under 25 who was either an eligible or a relevant child before turning 18.

Further information

 are available from the Learning and Work Institute. These include case studies and practical tips on supporting care leavers in apprenticeships

Amazing Apprenticeships provides resources for apprenticeships, including support for care leavers, such as:

• the which includes employers and training providers and aims to increase care leavers accessing apprenticeships
• the

You can also direct apprentices to the , which includes a guide for care experienced apprentices with information about the bursary and the Care X network for care experienced apprentices.