Learning support policy template for FE and apprenticeship providers

A learning support policy tells staff, learners and governors how your organisation makes sure learners get the support they need. A good learning support policy template is short enough to read and specific enough to follow. This one is written for FE colleges and apprenticeship providers in England. It follows the same four steps as our other templates: Understand, Agree, Deliver, Review.

Adapt it and take professional advice. This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Your duties depend on your type of organisation, your learners and the funding you receive. Check every section against current law, the SEND Code of Practice, the Equality Act 2010 and the funding rules for the current year, and ask your own legal, data protection and funding advisers before you adopt it.

When should you use this learning support policy template?

Use it when you are writing a learning support policy for the first time, merging separate SEND, ALS and reasonable adjustments policies, or reviewing an old policy that no longer matches what staff actually do. It works best when the people who run support day to day write it with learners who use it, then senior leaders approve it.

How do you fill it in well?

• Describe what you really do, not what you wish you did. A policy that does not match practice creates risk.
• Use plain English. Learners and parents should be able to read it.
• Name roles, not people, so the policy survives staff changes.
• Link to your procedures, forms and templates rather than repeating them.
• Keep funding detail general and point to the current rules, because they change each funding year.
• Do not promise outcomes you cannot guarantee. Say what you will do and how you will check it.

The template

1. Purpose and scope

• This policy explains how [organisation name] identifies, agrees, delivers and reviews support for learners who need it.
• It applies to: [all learners / learners on study programmes / apprentices / adult learners].
• It covers: learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), learners with an EHC plan, learners receiving additional learning support, and disabled learners who need reasonable adjustments.

2. Our commitments

• We start from what the learner says helps, in their own words.
• We plan ahead for barriers disabled learners are likely to face, not only when someone asks.
• We do not require a diagnosis before we talk to a learner about support.
• We agree support with the learner and record any disagreement.
• We record whether support was delivered, put things right when it is missed, and ask the learner whether it helped.

3. Legal and funding framework

• Equality Act 2010: duty to make reasonable adjustments and not to discriminate. [Add public sector equality duty if it applies to you.]
• Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25: [describe the duties that apply to your organisation, such as best endeavours and EHC plans].
• Funding: [name the current funding rules that apply, for example high needs funding or apprenticeship learning support funding, and where staff can find them].
• Data protection: UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Support records often include special category data.

4. Roles and responsibilities

5. How learners ask for and receive support

• How to ask: [support request form, tutor referral, transition information, application form]. Our support request form template is one starting point.
• First contact within: [timescale].
• Agreeing support: [support plan or reasonable adjustments agreement, shared with the learner].
• Sharing: [who sees what, and how learner consent is handled, including for employers].

6. Recording and reviewing support

• Delivery is recorded: [how and by whom].
• Missed support is recorded with a reason and a recovery step within: [timescale].
• Support is reviewed with the learner at least: [frequency], and the outcome is keep, change or stop.
• Exam access arrangements and assessment adjustments follow: [the relevant rules and named lead].

7. Complaints and disagreements

• How a learner can challenge a decision: [process].
• Where to find the complaints procedure: [link].

8. Data protection

• Records are kept: [where], accessed by: [roles], retained for: [period].
• A data protection impact assessment covers: [systems used].

9. Monitoring and review

• We monitor: [for example request waiting times, review completion, learner feedback].
• Policy owner: [role]. Approved: [date]. Next review: [date].

How do you involve the learner?

Ask a small group of learners who use support to read a draft. Ask what was hard about asking for help, what made a difference and what words they would use. Change the wording to reflect what they say. Our learner voice conversation template has prompts you can adapt, and the free tools include a support process health check.

What are the data protection notes?

The policy itself should not contain personal data. It should explain how you protect support records, which often include health and disability information. Ask your data protection officer to review section 8. See special category data in education.

What does Inclusion Studio add?

Inclusion Studio is pre-pilot and in development. It is designed to help you do what a learning support policy promises: capture requests, agree support plans with learners, record delivery and missed support, and review whether it helped. See SEND and ALS support and reasonable adjustments. This template is not legal advice.