Learner support software for independent training providers

Independent training providers (ITPs) are private or voluntary-sector organisations that deliver funded training, most often apprenticeships. Assessors travel to workplaces, learners may be spread across many employers, and teams are often small. This page explains how Inclusion Studio, as learner support software for training providers, fits that model and how it overlaps with the pilot.

What do ITPs need to get right on learner support?

The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and the duty in section 20 is anticipatory. For apprenticeships, DfE funding guidance adds conditions for claiming learning support: a qualifying need, the learner’s written agreement to arrangements, evidence of costs, and regular reviews. The guidance says apprenticeship needs are reviewed at least every three months, with the first review one month after adjustments begin, and that workplace adjustments are the employer’s responsibility, with Access to Work as a possible source of help. Funding rules change by funding year, so always check the current version. See learning support funding for apprenticeships and reasonable adjustments for apprentices.

Providers are also inspected. Ofsted’s FE and skills framework, renewed from 10 November 2025, has an inclusion area covering support for learners with SEND and disadvantaged learners. This page is general information, not legal advice.

What is different about learner support software for training providers?

• Distributed delivery. Assessors and coaches meet learners at work, online or in short visits, so support is easy to miss.
• Employer-dependent adjustments. Many barriers sit in the workplace and need the employer to act.
• Lean teams. There may be one inclusion lead covering large caseloads, with no dedicated learning support staff.
• Multiple contracts and funding streams. Rules differ for apprenticeships, adult skills and other provision, and evidence needs follow.
• Subcontractors. Delivery partners may need limited access without seeing everything.

How does the journey work for an ITP?

The platform is built around the idea that the provider holds the full record and employers see only what they need. See employer collaboration and the employers page.

Who would use it?

• Inclusion or learning support leads, or a combined role.
• Assessors and coaches, who need a quick view of adjustments before a visit. See tutors and assessors.
• Learners, who see their own plan and give feedback.
• Employer contacts, with a narrow view.
• Quality and compliance managers, who need a controlled evidence export. See quality and compliance.

What does the pilot cover?

The pilot starts with FE colleges and apprenticeship providers in England. Many ITPs are apprenticeship providers and sit squarely in the pilot’s focus. ITP provision outside apprenticeships is relevant but has not been validated, and funding rules differ. Inclusion Studio is pre-pilot: the production application is in development on synthetic data, with no customers or certifications yet. Launch prices are on the pricing page. Connections to other systems are limited to verified capabilities; see imports and integrations. Read the pilot page and the roadmap.

What does a fictional example look like?

This is a fictional example, not a real provider. A small provider with three assessors and one inclusion lead delivers business administration apprenticeships across forty employers. A new apprentice says in her own words that she finds long written instructions hard to follow and works best with a checklist. The inclusion lead records that, agrees a short plan with her, and the plan names one action for the provider (checklists for each assessment task) and one for the employer (a printed task list at the start of each week). Two visits later an assessor records that the checklist was not ready, and the recovery is noted. At the three-month review the apprentice says the weekly list helps more than the checklists, so the plan is changed. Nothing in this story needs the employer to see her history, only the one adjustment that affects them.

How does Inclusion Studio support this process?

It gives a small team one consistent routine for every learner and employer, with a trail of what was agreed, delivered, missed and reviewed. It does not replace your quality system, decide who is eligible for funding or ensure legal duties are met. To discuss involvement, contact us. Related settings: apprenticeship providers and FE colleges.