DfE funding rules
Journey applies supported, versioned DfE funding-rule packs selected from each apprentice's start date, including 2024/25, 2025/26 and published 2026/27 version 3 coverage, to support provider review.
R14 Period · Closes in 4 days
Forecast Cashflow (Period)
£248,500
+12% vs last period
On-programme payments
£210,000
945 active learners
Completion payments
£38,500
22 expected achievers
No Error 1 / Error 2 violations
Required fields and funding-rule consistency checks passed.
3 Warnings (Rule: OTJ_Hours_01)
Learners recorded with planned hours below minimum for standard.
Illustrative funding rule view with sample data.
Definition
The DfE apprenticeship funding rules set out who and what can be funded, how funding is calculated, and the evidence providers must hold. They change each academic year, and apprentices are funded under the rules in force when they started — so software must apply the correct year's rules to each learner.
Journey applies supported, versioned DfE funding-rule packs selected from each apprentice's start date. Coverage includes 2024/25, 2025/26 and the published 2026/27 version 3 pack, which covers starts from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027; figures are computed server-side and never supplied by the client. The controls support provider review and evidence, rather than certifying every funding-rule clause. Journey is independent software and is not DfE or Ofsted approved. It does not guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.
Each academic year's DfE funding rules are held as a distinct, versioned pack rather than hard-coded into the calculations.
A single source of truth selects the configured supported rule pack from each apprentice's recorded start date. Providers can review the selected pack and supporting evidence.
Funding-sensitive figures are computed and enforced server-side; the client can request a transition but never supplies the resulting numbers.
Funding-sensitive figures carry an evidence trail to support provider preparation for a DfE/ESFA funding audit.
Last reviewed: August 2026
The DfE apprenticeship funding rules change by academic year, and apprentices on programme can straddle those changes. Journey therefore keeps supported years as distinct, versioned rule packs selected from the learner's start date, with provider review before official submission.
Each supported year's rules are a separate pack, and a single source of truth selects the configured pack from each apprentice's recorded start date. The same implemented calculations support the funding controls and the ILR build workflow, with provider review before export and official submission.
Funding-sensitive figures are computed and enforced on the server. The client can request a state transition — an enrolment, a break in learning, a withdrawal — but never supplies the resulting funding figure, which reduces a class of accidental and deliberate mis-claims. Generated figures retain an evidence pack so providers can prepare the working behind them for review.
Journey centrally carries the 2024/25, 2025/26 and published 2026/27 version 3 DfE apprenticeship funding rule packs. The 2026/27 pack covers apprenticeship starts from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, alongside historic packs selected from the learner's start date. Journey is independent software built around published funding rules. Its controls help providers review their own records and evidence; they do not certify every funding-rule clause, make funding decisions or guarantee funding outcomes.
This page reflects current public guidance. For the definitive rules, always check the official sources below.
Evidence-linked and accountable by design
Tenant-scoped access controls are designed to keep each provider's records separate on reads and writes.
Significant application state changes are recorded against the person who made them, supporting a traceable history.
Journey applies supported, versioned DfE funding-rule packs selected from the apprentice's start date, including 2026/27 version 3, to support provider review.
After provider, DPIA and release approval, Journey Advanced offers authorised drafts, K/S suggestions and fixed Director Insight views for human review. It does not make regulated decisions or change the source record.
Tenant isolation, access controls, audit records and governed operations are designed into the platform.
Export options are available under the applicable terms, and employer relationships remain with the provider.
Journey is independent software and is not DfE or Ofsted approved. It does not guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.
Book a walkthrough and confirm the right operating scope.