Guidance

Overview of the Turing Scheme

Updated 22 March 2024

The Turing Scheme offers education providers the opportunity to apply for funding to support their students with study and work placements around the world.

Funding is open to organisations in the UK and British overseas territories from across the education and training sector, including:

• schools
• further education (FE) providers
• higher education (HE) providers

There is more information on making an application for Turing Scheme funding.

Students taking part in Turing Scheme placements must be receiving their education or training from an eligible organisation in the UK or British overseas territories.

Students do not need to be UK nationals to take part. They must be located in the UK or a British overseas territory, and studying at the organisation which is eligible for Turing Scheme funding, or studying at an organisation which is part of a consortium application.

From the 2024 to 2025 academic year, the Turing Scheme will be delivered directly by the Department for Education (DfE). An independent organisation will assess applications.

Purpose and aims

Funding through the Turing Scheme allows education providers to give their students the opportunity to:

• develop their skills
• gain international experience
• boost their employability

Students can also develop their language skills and a deeper understanding of other cultures.

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, the Turing Scheme is designed to meet the aims of:

• enhancing skills
• advancing social justice
• ensuring value for money

Enhancing skills

Turing Scheme projects should offer career-building opportunities and deliver strong educational outcomes. They should give students the hard and soft skills that employers look for, whether they are on an academic or technical route.

We have updated our eligibility criteria, so that funding is directed at organisations that are registered and recognised to provide education in the UK or British overseas territories. These organisations know their students best and can create placements that complement the education curriculum or training programme.

Advancing social justice

Turing Scheme projects should support social mobility and expand international opportunities for students across the UK and British overseas territories, particularly for those who might not otherwise get the chance to study and work abroad.

Additional Turing Scheme funding is available for students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds, and those with special educational or additional needs and disabilities. Providers should show how placements will benefit those students and address the barriers faced by them in their application.

Ensuring value for money

You should ensure that your Turing Scheme projects use funding effectively to enhance students’ skills and improve their education outcomes.

The Turing Scheme’s application process rewards applicants who can show how they will ensure value for money for the UK taxpayer in the way that they manage their projects.  

To help deliver better value for money, we are giving providers more flexibility in how they use travel funding, and providing clearer guidelines on what organisational costs can be funded.

Supporting other government priorities

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, providers can gain additional marks if they can demonstrate how placements might deliver a positive environmental impact, and where apprentices may benefit from the scheme.   

The Turing Scheme is part of our long-term ambition to support student international mobility.

The scheme:

• encourages international engagement and new relationships
• enhances existing partnerships
• helps forge new relationships for the UK

It builds on the wider Global Britain aims, and DfE and the Department for Business and Trade’s International Education Strategy.

Eligible providers

Schools, FE and HE providers are eligible to apply for Turing Scheme funding if they are:

• registered or recognised in the UK or British overseas territories
• responsible for delivering education or training to the students going on placements

In accordance with HM Treasury’s guidance on managing public money and the Government Functional Standard for grants, applicants must be financially viable and have the delivery capability to be approved for Turing Scheme funds.

Turing Scheme funds cannot be used towards the activities of Confucius Institutes.

Consortium partnerships

Education providers in schools and FE may partner with other providers from their sector and apply for funding as a consortium. A limited number of other organisation types may join the consortium if they are acting in the coordinating role.

There is more information on the role of consortiums for schools and further education providers.

Available funding

Turing Scheme funding is a contribution towards the costs of international educational placements. In most cases, it is provided on a per-student basis.

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, the Turing Scheme will provide up to £110 million. We will allocate final amounts of funding based on:

• the quality of applications
• demand for the scheme
• distributing funding to meet the purpose and aims of the scheme

Funding is available for:

• travel costs for a return journey
• contributions to living costs
• organisational support
• passports, visas application fees, vaccines, medical certificates and travel insurance for disadvantaged students (known as readiness to travel funding)
• language learning for students on FE placements
• specialist support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – including students with additional learning needs (ALN) in Wales and additional support needs (ASN) in Scotland
• staff accompanying students on school and FE placements

Different funding amounts are available depending on:

• whether a student is at school, in further education or higher education
• whether a student is from a disadvantaged background, or has special educational or additional needs or a disability
• where the student intends to travel
• how long the placement is expected to last

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, travel funding will be provided at a set grant rate for a return journey to each destination, meaning providers no longer need to calculate an individual travel grant rate for each participant.

Providers have more flexibility than previous years in how they use travel funding. If actual costs are less than the suggested rate, providers can now use the difference to pay for travel costs in other placements. DfE will no longer provide funding for exceptionally expensive travel.

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, there is now a defined list of eligible items for organisational support expenditure and readiness to travel funding for disadvantaged students.

There is more information on the funding available for schools, further education providers and higher education providers.

How Turing Scheme funding can be used

As Turing Scheme funding is intended to be a contribution towards the cost of placements, you can also give students additional funding from other sources for costs that are not met by the scheme.  

Turing Scheme funding should not be used for activities that have already been funded by another source.  

You must regularly report how much of this funding you spend and return any unused funds to DfE. You should retain evidence of spending and be prepared to provide a detailed breakdown of this on request.

There is more information on how funding can be used by schools, further education providers and higher education providers.

Complaints

Complaints can be made by education providers, consortium coordinators, students and members of the public who have interacted with us.

You can submit formal complaints to the Department for Education at any time in relation to any stage of the application or project lifecycle by contacting us.