Claiming the apprenticeships care leavers’ bursary

The bursary is for eligible apprentices who are care leavers or still in care. The bursary provides additional financial support to help them access and complete apprenticeships.

It is paid in instalments during the first year of an apprenticeship. It is claimed by you as their training provider or employer/provider to then pass each instalment on to your apprentice(s).

How the bursary is claimed

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

• tell all apprentices under the age of 25 about the bursary before or during the apprentice’s initial assessment, ensuring they understand that:

           it is tax-free

           it is not treated as income in benefits claims

           their employer does not have to know they are care-experienced

• allow apprentices to declare their eligibility
• capture evidence that you 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, you 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 their training provider. There is no specific format required for the confirmation - an email is acceptable. As their provider you should assist the apprentice in obtaining this where necessary.

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.As the provider you 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 leavers’ bursary, they must meet all the following:

• be aged under 25 at the time they start their apprenticeship
• not have received the care leavers’ bursary before
• meet the legal definition of a ‘care leaver’, as either an ‘eligible child’, a ‘relevant child’ or a ‘former relevant child’, as defined in ‘Legal definition of ‘care leaver’ - 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.

You can find more information at Apprenticeships care leavers’ bursary guidance - GOV.UK

Last updated on 18 December 2025 15:45