The Cognassist digital cognitive assessment identifies learners who need support and provides the evidence needed to claim LSF. Through a comprehensive learner report and personalised tutor and learner strategies, Cognassist provides the evidence-based framework required to have confidence in your compliance.
By identifying and supporting hidden learning needs, you can claim Learning Support Funding (LSF) from day one, turning insights into impact and income.
LSF is financial assistance for education providers, to help support learners with additional learning needs and/or disabilities. This support ensures that these students can access education on an equal basis by removing barriers.
LSF is available to meet the costs of implementing reasonable adjustments to support apprentices who have a learning difficulty or disability that impacts their work, even if not previously identified.
“Costs” includes the provision of additional tutor time to support learners.
Case study
Lincoln College collaborated with Cognassist to identify and support neurodiverse learners, resulting in improved engagement and retention.
Key outcomes
learners assessed
learner engagement
course retention
Cognassist helps providers deliver effective learning support from onboarding to qualification.
Funding recovery (clawback) by the ESFA often occurs when providers lack clear, consistent processes for recording and justifying their support claims. Cognassist helps you eliminate that risk.
Our team will work with your quality team to embed learning support into your day-to-day operations and train tutors to deliver the best in-class support.
Since 2023, apprenticeship providers must screen for learning support needs. Cognassist helps you meet this requirement with ease.
Our 30-minute digital assessment is:
Easy to use and evidence-based
Trusted by over 200 providers
Compliant with ESFA audits and JCQ/Ofqual standards
Supports funding claims including ALS, EAS and ELS.
If a need is identified, providers must explore how it could affect the learner’s ability to complete their qualification.
This means:
Defining the need through discussion and review
Determining the impact on learning and progression
Developing a support plan tailored to the learner
This is known as a ‘further detailed assessment’ and helps build effective, personalised support.
Each month the tutor chooses one or more of the learning adjustments they defined in the individual learning plans and works with the learner to integrate this into their learning.
The learner can engage with their tutor-designed learning adjustment strategies independently, and at any time via the Cognassist platform.
Where one-off costs exceed £150 in a month, the additional amount should be claimed via EAS (alongside the monthly fixed amount).
At least once every 3 months the tutor should perform a review with the learner to evaluate if reasonable adjustments are still necessary and appropriate.
View our guide for more detail de-mystifying the Learning Support Funding Claim Process.
Hawk Training partnered with Cognassist to personalise learner support, improving educational outcomes, compliance, and staff efficiency across programmes.
See full story
Learning Support Funding (LSF) is government funding (DfE via the ESFA) available to education and training providers to help support apprentices who have a learning challenge or disability that affects their ability to complete their program. It provides up to £150 per month per eligible learner to cover the cost of reasonable adjustments and additional support.
Only if you fail to show sufficient evidence and/or retain the evidence should you be audited. As long as you retain the evidence of the support you are providing via Cognassist to your learners then you can have confidence that you are compliant and not at risk of clawback.
These insights enabled personalised learning strategies, improving learner outcomes and tutor efficiency.
Stephanie Taylor
Learning Support, Safeguarding and Inclusion Manager, Hawk Training
The real difference has been having it embedded at the very start. Learners that have really engrossed themselves into it from the beginning have seen the power of it and it’s been able to support them, not only in their work but around their life and dealing with different areas. We found that with our functional skills as well.
Nick Preston
Head of Quality and Education, Educationwise Academy
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