What is a learning support plan? In further education and apprenticeships, it is the written plan, agreed with the learner, that records how a learning difficulty or disability affects their learning on this programme, the reasonable adjustments that will remove the barrier, how they will be delivered, and when the support is reviewed.
What goes in a learning support plan?
A learning support plan records six things: the assessment that found the need, why the adjustments are needed to complete the programme, how progress would suffer without them, the adjustments and how they will be delivered, the learner’s written agreement, and the review dates.
A good plan is a golden thread: each adjustment traces back to the barrier, and each review records what was delivered, its impact and a decision.
Each row below also supports part of the evidence pack: the records the apprenticeship funding rules ask a provider to keep behind a learning support funding claim.
| What the plan records | What it must show | The evidence it supports |
|---|---|---|
| The assessment that found the need | What was assessed, how and what it found. Never an automated assessment alone. | A copy of the assessment that identifies the learning difficulty or disability. |
| Why the adjustments are needed | How the learning difficulty or disability affects this programme. | The reasons the adjustments are needed to complete the apprenticeship. |
| How progress would suffer without them | What would happen to the learner’s progress if the adjustments were not made. | How progress would be affected without the adjustments. |
| The adjustments, and how they will be delivered | Each adjustment, who delivers it and how often, with a record of each delivery. | The plan for delivering the adjustments, and evidence of the adjustments delivered for each month claimed. |
| The learner’s written agreement | That the learner agreed the plan, and when. | For apprentices: the plan agreed in writing and signed off before any claim, and shared with the employer where the apprentice consents. For every learner, agreeing the plan is good practice under the graduated approach. |
| The review dates | When each review is due and, at each one, what was delivered, its impact and the decision. | Reviews confirming the adjustments are still necessary and effective, and that the months claimed are accurate. |
Who writes the plan, and who agrees it?
A learning support plan is drafted by the people who support the learner, often a tutor or a learning support coordinator, and agreed with the learner. For apprentices, the funding rules require the plan to be agreed in writing, and signed off by the apprentice, before any claim.
For every learner, agreeing the plan together is good practice under the graduated approach of assess, plan, do and review, the statutory guidance in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice. The draft is a starting point for a conversation, not a document filed by a specialist. A learner may decline support; that is a valid choice, and it is recorded.
With the apprentice’s consent, the plan is shared with their employer.
Does a learner need a diagnosis to have a plan?
No. For apprentices, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidance accepts a learning difficulty the learner self-declares, or one never identified before, provided a thorough, evidence-based assessment finds it. For Adult Skills Fund learners, the rules ask for a thorough assessment, carried out and documented. For every learner, never rely on an automated assessment alone.
For apprentices, an existing education, health and care plan (EHCP), statement of special educational needs or learning difficulty assessment also establishes the need.
A cognitive assessment can show where a learner may need support. It is a signal for professional judgement, not a diagnosis, and never the only basis for eligibility.
What the funding rules require of the plan in 2026 to 2027
If you claim learning support funding, the plan is part of the evidence the rules require. Good records are evidence of good practice, and the claim is the provider’s own.
One special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) puts it simply:
Workload-wise, it’s much smoother. I no longer have to search for information. I can simply attach the learning support plan and Cognassist assessment, and everything is clear and ready to go.
| Apprenticeships | The Adult Skills Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | A thorough, evidence-based assessment, or an existing education, health and care plan (EHCP), statement or learning difficulty assessment. Not an automated assessment alone. Claims run from the date the evidence is acquired. | A thorough assessment, carried out and documented. Its cost cannot be claimed. As for apprentices, never an automated assessment alone. |
| Plan and agreement | A plan for delivering the adjustments, agreed in writing and signed off by the apprentice before any claim. Shared with the employer where the apprentice consents. | Record the adjustments and how support will be planned and delivered. |
| Delivery evidence | For each month claimed, evidence and details of the adjustments delivered. Invoices for costs above £150. | Evidence of delivery for each month claimed. Claim only for months in which adjustments are provided and costs can be evidenced. |
| Review | At least every three calendar months, the first one month after the adjustments start. | Confirm each month that the reasonable adjustments are still necessary and appropriate. |
| Not claimable | Adjustments that cost nothing. Everyday difficulties not linked to the apprenticeship. Learning gaps with no identified learning difficulty or disability. Further detailed assessment. | The cost of the assessment. Any month without delivered adjustments and evidenced costs. |
| Rate, 2026 to 2027 | £150 per supported learner per month, for each month adjustments are needed, delivered and evidenced. Higher costs can be claimed up to £19,000 a year. | £150 per supported learner per month, for each month adjustments are provided and costs can be evidenced. Higher costs can be claimed up to £19,000. |
The Adult Skills Fund rules above apply in non-devolved areas only: nine combined authorities and the Mayor of London set their own. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) owns both sets of rules. This guide covers apprentices and adult learners, not 16 to 19 study programmes.
The rules themselves are in three documents: the DWP guidance Support for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities (GOV.UK, updated 31 July 2026), the apprenticeship funding rules for August 2026 to July 2027 and the Adult Skills Fund funding and performance management rules 2026 to 2027.
For background on how the fund works, read our guide to learning support funding.
How often should a learning support plan be reviewed?
For apprentices, at least every three months, with the first review one month after the adjustments start. For adult learners on the Adult Skills Fund, the need for the adjustments is confirmed monthly. A review records what was delivered, its impact and a decision: continue, adapt, reduce or close.
New for 2026 to 2027: where a permanent disability makes an apprentice’s need stable and unlikely to change, the review can be light-touch. It can also be combined with the three-monthly progress review, as long as there is evidence of both.
Contact between reviews matters too. At Brighter Horizons Training, an independent training provider, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) meets learners every month:
I meet with learners on a monthly basis to review their Cognassist modules and focus on developing the specific skills identified. This approach not only strengthens our professional relationship but also allows us to provide highly tailored, effective support.
What Ofsted inspectors record about plans and reviews
Inspectors praise support that is reviewed, adapted and reduced, and record a gap where support is given but its impact is not reviewed. In our count of 494 Ofsted reports on further education and skills providers published from 12 January to 23 October 2026:
- 281 praise support that is reviewed, adapted and reduced, including 86 of the 101 reports graded strong or exceptional for inclusion.
- 74 record support whose impact is not reviewed. None of them is graded strong or exceptional.
- 26 record support that is never stepped down.
Each count is the reports in which inspectors wrote the finding. A report that says nothing on it is silent, not clear. Ofsted names no method for planning or reviewing support; these are what inspectors record.
What inspectors praise:
Staff use this information to agree skilfully personalised support, review its impact frequently and adapt or reduce it as apprentices become more confident and independent.
What they record as a gap:
However, leaders do not yet evaluate the impact of support systematically to determine whether it remains effective, requires adjustment or should be withdrawn.
When should support be reduced or stopped?
When a review shows the learner no longer needs an adjustment, step it down and record why. If you claim learning support funding, stop claiming from that date; for apprentices, also update the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).
Inspectors treat support that is never stepped down as a gap: 26 of 494 Ofsted reports on further education and skills providers published from 12 January to 23 October 2026 record it.
Coaches review support with apprentices through discussions at progress reviews, however they do not consistently taper it to encourage independence as apprentices make progress.
A learning support plan template
Copy this template. Fill in the second column for each learner, then add a row to the reviews table at every review.
The plan
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| Learner and programme | |
| The assessment that found the need | |
| Why the adjustments are needed | |
| What would happen without them | |
| The adjustments, and how they are delivered | |
| Who delivers it, and how delivery is recorded | |
| The learner’s agreement | |
| Reviews |
The reviews
| Review | What was delivered | The impact | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
The example below fills in the template for one apprentice. Follow the golden thread: each adjustment traces to the barrier, and each review says what was delivered, its impact and the decision.
An example plan (an illustration, not a real learner)
The plan
| Section | Example |
|---|---|
| Learner and programme | Apprentice A, aged 19, level 3 business administrator apprenticeship, 18 months. |
| The assessment that found the need | A cognitive assessment at enrolment flagged a possible barrier with taking in and holding new information. The learning support coordinator followed it up with a structured conversation with the apprentice and a review of their first two weeks of work, and recorded the outcome: the apprentice has a learning difficulty that makes written instructions with several steps, and new technical vocabulary, much harder for them than for their peers. Not a diagnosis. Both records are attached. |
| Why the adjustments are needed | The apprenticeship’s assignments are long written briefs with several stages, and the knowledge modules introduce a lot of new terms. Without support, the apprentice cannot complete the off-the-job learning and the assessments to the standard. |
| What would happen without them | Assignments started but not finished; falling behind the planned timetable within the first quarter; a real risk of withdrawal. In the first two weeks, two tasks were returned incomplete. |
| The adjustments, and how they are delivered | 1. A weekly one-to-one session (45 minutes) with the learning support coordinator: new vocabulary taught before each module, and each assignment brief broken into numbered steps with check-in points. Costs staff time, so it is claimable. 2. Written step-by-step summaries of every assignment brief, prepared by the tutor. Costs tutor time beyond normal teaching, so it is claimable. 3. Extra time to finish assignments, agreed with the assessor. Costs nothing, so it is not claimed. |
| Who delivers it, and how delivery is recorded | The learning support coordinator records each session (date, what was covered, how the apprentice got on). The tutor records each summary given. |
| The learner’s agreement | Agreed and signed by the apprentice before any claim, with the date. The apprentice agreed that their manager may see the plan. |
| Reviews | The first one month after the support starts, then at least every three months, alongside the progress review (with a record of both). |
The reviews
| Review | What was delivered | The impact | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| First review, one month in | Four one-to-one sessions; three assignment summaries. | Both assignments set this month were finished on time. The apprentice says the step lists help most. | Continue both claimable adjustments. |
| Second review, three months later | Weekly sessions held, two missed for annual leave; a summary for every brief. | On track against the timetable. The apprentice now breaks briefs into steps themselves before the session. | Adapt: sessions every two weeks, focused on new vocabulary. Summaries continue. |
| Third review, three months later | Sessions every two weeks; summaries for every brief. | Assignments on time, vocabulary checks passed without pre-teaching for the last module. | Reduce: summaries stop, and a session is held only before a new module. A month is claimed only when a session is delivered. When the sessions are no longer needed, the plan closes, claiming stops from that date and the ILR is updated. |
Learning support plans, EHCPs and individual support plans
An education, health and care plan (EHCP) is a statutory plan for children and young people under 25 with significant special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A learning support plan is the provider’s own plan for a learner who needs reasonable adjustments, whether or not they have an EHCP.
The SEND reforms point towards individual support plans. As proposed in the government’s SEND reform consultation (February 2026), settings, including colleges, would produce one for every child and young person with SEND: digital, statutory and updated at least annually. Each would record barriers to learning, day-to-day provision, any reasonable adjustments and intended outcomes, and none would depend on a diagnosis.
This is reform direction, not law. The reformed system is not expected before September 2029, according to the House of Commons Library briefing The Schools White Paper 2026: SEND reform. Whether the duty reaches independent training providers is still open: the consultation’s definition of post-16 settings does not name them.
Other meanings: learning support plans in schools and universities
In schools, a learning support plan usually means the written record of special educational needs (SEN) support for a pupil under the graduated approach. The graduated approach of assess, plan, do and review is statutory guidance in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (2015).
At university, it usually means the record of a disabled student’s agreed adjustments. Some universities call it a student support plan.
Plans at scale
The hard part is not one good plan but a consistent one for every learner who needs it, reviewed on time. That is where inspectors record the gaps: of 494 Ofsted reports on further education and skills providers published from 12 January to 23 October 2026, 74 record support whose impact is not reviewed and 26 record support never stepped down.
For how plans can flex as a learner progresses, read how flexible learning plans improve the learner journey.
Cognassist drafts a personalised support plan in approximately 10 minutes, for the tutor to tailor with the learner.
What does that look like in practice? At Brighter Horizons Training, an independent training provider, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) meets learners every month and attaches the learning support plan and the assessment as evidence.
