Guidance

Learning and Development Support Scheme for the adult social care workforce: a guide for employers

Updated 20 October 2025

Applies to England

Introduction

This guidance for adult social care (ASC) employers outlines the criteria and process for accessing the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS). It also outlines how reimbursement for the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (‘Oliver’s Training’) can be claimed. It is important to note that different rules apply to this training, as explained in this guidance.

The LDSS was launched in September 2024 by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The scheme supports the non-regulated ASC workforce to advance their careers, develop new skills and specialisms and gain recognition for their existing expertise. It does this by allowing eligible ASC employers to claim towards costs they have incurred when putting their staff on certain courses and qualifications.

The overall funding pot is limited. There are currently 2 separate, ring-fenced funds for:

• Oliver’s Training
• all other eligible course claims

If either of the ring-fenced funds is exhausted, no further claims made in relation to that fund will be reimbursed. As the funds are ring-fenced, funding designated for Oliver’s Training will not be used for other eligible course claims and vice versa.

The scheme is now accepting claims for eligible courses and qualifications that have been paid for in financial year 2025 to 2026, as well as those paid for in financial year 2024 to 2025. Regardless of the financial year in which the training course or qualification was paid for, a 3-month claims window applies:

• for training courses - claims must be submitted within 3 months of course completion
• for qualifications - claims are split into 2 parts: the ’60 part’ and the ’40 part’. The 60 part of the claim must be submitted within 3 months of the qualification being paid for and started (whichever is the later date). The 40 part of the claim must be submitted within 3 months of qualification completion

The exception to the above is Oliver’s Training where, for the 2025 to 2026 financial year, claims for training completed and paid for within the same financial year can be submitted at any time up to 11:59pm on 20 March 2026. Claims submitted for Oliver’s Training after 11:59pm on 20 March 2026 will be considered on an exceptional case-by-case basis.

In addition to this guidance, employers should refer to the following documents published alongside this guidance:

• a comprehensive list of training opportunities eligible for funding from the LDSS
• grant determination letters detailing the scheme terms and conditions. You should refer to:
  • the grant determination letter for 2025 to 2026 for claims relating to training courses or qualifications paid for between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026 (inclusive)
  • the grant determination letter for 2024 to 2025 for claims relating to training courses or qualifications paid for between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 (inclusive)

Where courses or qualifications have been paid for in instalments, the grant determination letter applies according to the date that the first payment was made.

Eligibility criteria

Who can apply for funding

LDSS funding can only be claimed by an eligible employer, towards the cost of eligible training courses and qualifications undertaken by eligible staff. To qualify, the employer (including local authorities) must meet all of the following criteria. They must:

• provide an ASC service
• directly employ care staff in England
• have an up-to-date account on the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS). Employers must ensure that they have met all the minimum data requirements, as specified within the ASC-WDS service, to ensure their account is considered up to date before submitting a claim. When updating your ASC-WDS account, you will find a helpful tool that tells you whether there is information you still need to supply. To retain ‘up to date’ status, employers must update their ASC-WDS account annually
• for Oliver’s Training, also be registered with the CQC for the provision of adult social care

Who can undertake the training and qualifications eligible for LDSS funding

Staff undertaking eligible training courses or qualifications must be:

• non-regulated care staff in England, including deputy and Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered managers and agency staff. Eligible employees must be employed by an eligible employer (see above) to qualify for funding
• legally employed in England and have a UK National Insurance number

There is no requirement for non-UK nationals to have resided in the UK for a specific period of time to qualify for funding.

There are no restrictions on the number of working hours that care staff must be contracted for to be eligible for this support.

All points above apply to claims for Oliver’s Training, with the following addition: funding for Oliver’s Training is available to all staff members employed by CQC-registered adult social care services, in respect of regulated and non-regulated care staff in England, including agency staff and CQC-registered managers and deputy managers.

LDSS funding is not available for:

• regulated members of the ASC workforce (including registered nurses, nursing associates, allied health professionals and occupational therapists)
• personal assistants, whose employers may not meet the criteria above. These employers should seek funding for training through the Individual Employer Funding scheme administered by Skills for Care
• courses and qualifications completed as part of an apprenticeship. These employers may wish to seek funding through the apprenticeship levy

Eligible training and qualifications

Funding from the LDSS is only available for eligible courses and qualifications listed in ‘Eligible training courses and qualifications’, published alongside this guidance. Note that this list may be subject to change. We recommend that employers check the course list prior to booking training for their staff.

Eligible training courses or qualifications must be paid for before reimbursement can be claimed, and proof of payment must be provided to support each claim. Proof of payment is not applicable to claims relating to in-house provision of Oliver’s Training - see ‘Funding for training courses and qualifications delivered internally’ below for more information.

Employers can claim reimbursement for the evidenced payment, up to the maximum reimbursement amount per item. Maximum reimbursement amounts are published in the list of eligible training courses and qualifications. These amounts have been updated for courses and qualifications paid for in the financial year 2025 to 2026. Ensure that you are referring to the correct maximum reimbursement amount, depending on the financial year in which the training course or qualification was paid for.

Qualifications must be awarded by an eligible awarding organisation, as set out in the list of eligible training courses and qualifications. Employers may wish to refer to Skills for Care’s list of quality assured training providers when deciding which eligible training they wish to book (see the section ‘Quality-assured care learning’ below for more information).

Any pre-conditions of enrolment for courses and qualifications are set out by awarding organisations and training providers.

LDSS funding can only be used for the cost of the course or qualification. The funding cannot be used to cover backfill pay, travel costs or any other associated costs. The only exception to this requirement is in-house claims for Tier 2 of Oliver’s Training, where travel costs may be claimed.

There is a cap on the total value of claims that can be reimbursed per claimant organisation. This cap is set at different levels for Oliver’s Training and the wider LDSS course list. Details can be found in the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme grant determinations.

The overall funding pot is limited. There are currently 2 separate, ring-fenced funds for:

• Oliver’s Training
• all other eligible course claims

If either of the ring-fenced funds is exhausted, no further claims made in relation to that fund will be reimbursed. As the funds are ring-fenced, funding designated for Oliver’s Training will not be used for other eligible course claims and vice versa.

Funding for training courses and qualifications delivered internally

Employers may submit claims for reimbursement for eligible courses and qualifications that are delivered and assessed internally (‘in-house training’), provided that these claims are supported by appropriate evidence as outlined in the ‘Evidence requirements’ section below. This must include proof of payment.

Appropriate evidence for internal training claims could include proof of payment to an awarding organisation for learner registration and certification fees, or proof of payment to a third-party training subsidiary.

Claims made for in-house delivery of Oliver’s Training require that you present a certificate of course completion. You do not need proof of payment.

How to claim

To use the online claims service employers must first sign up using the onboarding form. NHSBSA will then contact employers who have expressed interest as soon as possible to book an onboarding appointment.

Following the onboarding appointment employers can submit claims using the online claims service, supported by the evidence outlined in the ‘Evidence requirements’ section below.

The claims process differs depending on whether you are claiming for a training course or a qualification.

Claims for training courses

Claims for eligible training courses can only be submitted once the training course has been paid for and completed. These claims must be submitted within 3 months of the training course being completed.

The exception to this rule is Oliver’s Training where, for the 2025 to 2026 financial year, claims for training completed and paid for within the same financial year can be submitted at any time up to 11:59pm on 20 March 2026. Claims submitted for Oliver’s Training after 11:59pm on 20 March 2026 will be considered on an exceptional case-by-case basis.

There are 4 course claim options for Oliver’s Training, which correspond with both of the following:

• the tier of training completed
• whether it has been procured or delivered in house

Employers should submit claims for the course option that aligns with the training delivery method used - see ‘The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver’s Training)’ entry in the ‘Glossary of terms’ for definitions of procured vs in-house training.

Claims for qualifications

For eligible qualifications, a ‘combined claims’ model applies, whereby each claim is split into 2 parts. You must claim 60% reimbursement when the qualification has started and been paid for. This is known as the ’60 part’. You must claim the remaining 40% reimbursement when the qualification has completed. This is known as the ’40 part’.

Note that an approved qualification start claim must have been submitted before a qualification completion claim can be made.

60 part

Employers must submit the 60 part of a combined claim within 3 months of an eligible qualification being paid for and started, whichever is the later date.

40 part

Employers must submit the 40 part of a combined claim within 3 months of an eligible qualification being completed.

Evidence requirements

Evidence of eligibility

For each claim, ASC employers are required to:

• confirm the employee is employed in an eligible non-regulated care role (defined in the ‘Glossary of terms’ section below) and that the information provided is correct to the best of their knowledge.
• provide the employee’s UK National Insurance number for identity verification purposes
• confirm the employee has started the course or qualification
• confirm that the training is eligible (see the list of eligible training courses and qualifications)
• provide the following evidence that the training course or qualification is eligible:
  • the name of the awarding organisation
  • the name of the training provider or learning centre
  • the name of the training course or qualification
  • certificate of completion (except in the case for the qualification start claim for qualifications that have been paid for and started, but not yet completed)
• for Oliver’s Training, confirm the claim is from a CQC-registered service providing adult social care. All other points above apply, with the exception that employers do not need to confirm that an employee is in an eligible non-regulated care role for claims for Oliver’s Training (because both regulated and non-regulated staff working within a CQC-registered adult social care service are eligible)

Evidence of payment

Employers must demonstrate that the training has been paid for, including providing:

• proof of payment (which must include the name of the organisation that made the payment and the name of the organisation that received the payment)
• the name of the training course or qualification paid for
• the amount paid (if the total cost is for more than one learner, ensure you are including the cost per learner. If this is not detailed on the invoice or receipt, include a covering letter as additional evidence, stating the cost per learner)
• valid VAT number (if not exempt)
• the date of payment (the date on the evidence should match the date inputted onto the claim page)

Forms of evidence that can be provided to show proof of payment include:

• a receipt
• a receipted invoice (an invoice on its own is not sufficient as this does not show proof of payment)
• a redacted bank statement (a bank statement on its own is not sufficient as this will not meet all the above requirements. A remittance on its own will not be accepted as proof of payment but can be uploaded in conjunction with a bank statement)

Where possible, ASC employers should also retain any evidence of an employee starting a course as this may be requested as part of post-claim assurance processes carried out by NHSBSA.

ASC employers will be required to sign a declaration of adherence to the rules and conditions set out in the appropriate Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme grant determination before claims will be processed.

Costs paid out in error or fraudulent claims will be recovered. Further action including criminal proceedings may be taken if a fraudulent claim has been made.

Claims for:

• in-house delivery of Oliver’s Training do not require proof of payment. Instead, a certificate of course completion must be provided
• procured courses of Oliver’s Training must provide proof of payment in line with ‘Evidence of payment’ above. A certificate of course completion must also be provided

Quality-assured care learning

The quality-assured learning service does not currently impact the scope of LDSS.

For the financial year 2025 to 2026, ASC employers can claim reimbursement for eligible courses and qualifications delivered by any training provider, provided that, in the case of qualifications, the qualification is awarded by an accredited awarding organisation. Eligible awarding organisations are set out alongside each item on the list of eligible training courses and qualifications.

For Oliver’s Training, eligible courses will be delivered by trainers that are registered and recorded on NHS England’s list of approved trainers.

In the longer term, the courses eligible for reimbursement may be limited to those delivered by training providers that have been quality assured. Any changes will be clearly communicated in this guidance publication. We recommend that employers check the latest guidance before booking training for their staff.

About the quality-assured care learning service

The quality-assured care learning service reviews the quality of individual courses and qualifications delivered by training providers. It enables ASC providers to more easily identify high-quality learning and development opportunities, and trust that courses and qualifications funded by the government will meet their needs. 

This service is funded by DHSC and delivered by Skills for Care. There is no cost to training providers to apply for quality assurance.

Guidance on the quality-assured care learning service has been published on the Skills for Care website. This includes detailed information on the quality standards and the application process for training providers to be quality assured.

Enquiries and further updates

This guidance, including the list of eligible training courses and qualifications published alongside it, is subject to change. Those with accounts registered on the online claims service will be notified of any changes to this guidance or course list.

If you have a query about using the new digital online claims service, email asclearninganddevelopmentsupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk or phone 0300 330 0522.

For any other queries about the Learning and Development Support Scheme for 2025 to 2026, email ascreimbursement@dhsc.gov.uk.

Glossary of terms

Adult social care services

Adult social care services include the services outlined below, or services which are similar to them:

• adult residential (care home services with nursing, care home services without nursing, sheltered housing or other adult residential care services)
• adult day (day care and day services or other adult day care services)
• adult domiciliary (domestic services and home help, domiciliary care services, extra care housing services, live-in care, supported living services or other adult domiciliary care services)
• adult community care (carers support, community support and outreach, disability adaptations or assistive technology services, information and advice services, occupational or employment-related services, Shared Lives, short breaks or respite care, or social work or care management)

Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set

ASC-WDS is a free online data collection service hosted by Skills for Care. ASC-WDS covers the ASC workforce in England. It can also provide access to the Workforce Development Fund.

Care Quality Commission

CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

Non-regulated care staff

Non-regulated care staff are non-regulated members of the ASC workforce, including agency staff, employed in:

• direct care roles (for example, advice, guidance and advocacy, care worker, community support and outreach work, employment support, nursing assistant, senior care worker and technician)
• managerial roles (for example, first line manager, managers and staff in care-related but not care-providing roles, middle management, registered managers, senior management or supervisor)

Note that CQC-registered managers and deputy managers, as well as agency staff, are considered in scope of funding.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver’s Training)

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, from 1 July 2022, CQC-registered providers must ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism that is appropriate to their role. Oliver’s Training is the government’s preferred and recommended package to support registered providers to meet this legislative requirement. 

The training is separated between Tier 1 and Tier 2 and will either be:

• procured - when an ASC provider pays an external company to deliver the training with costs charged per staff member completing the course
• in-house - when a trainer is employed by an ASC provider to internally deliver a training session to its staff