NHS Learning Support Fund

The NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF) is available to eligible students studying one of the following courses at a university in England as either an undergraduate or postgraduate:

• dietetics
• dental hygiene/dental therapy (level 5 and level 6 courses)
• midwifery
• nursing (adult, child, mental health, learning disability, joint nursing/social work)
• occupational therapy
• operating department practitioner (level 5 and level 6 courses)
• orthoptics
• orthotics and prosthetics
• paramedicine (including nurse paramedicine)
• physiotherapy (including MPhysio)
• podiatry/chiropody
• radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic)
• speech and language therapy

NHS LSF is made up of the following elements:

Training Grant: a non-means tested grant of £5,000 each academic

• Specialist subject payment: an additional £1,000 is added to your account automatically if you’re studying one of the following courses:
  • mental health nursing
  • learning disability nursing
  • radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic)
  • prosthetics and orthotics
  • orthoptics and podiatry
• Regional incentive: further details will be announced in due course.

Both the specialist subject payment and regional incentive are only available for new students starting their course from September 2020.

Parental Support: formerly known as Child Dependants Allowance, you can apply for £2,000 each academic year if you have parental responsibility for a child under 15 years old, or under 17 years if they’re registered with special educational needs. This is a set amount and is per student, not per child.

Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses (TDAE): you can claim reimbursement of any additional travel and temporary accommodation costs incurred as part of attending your practice placements.

Exceptional Support Fund (ESF): a grant of up to £3,000 each academic year for students who find themselves in unforeseen financial hardship.

To be eligible for NHS LSF you must be in receipt of, or at least eligible for, the full tuition fee and maintenance loan package from the Student Loan Company. If you are eligible but have chosen to not take out the full loan, we ask you for some extra details when you apply for NHS LSF. You will also be studying at a university in England and be in attendance at a specified date, this will depend on when you started your course.

If you are a new student starting your first year in September 2020 (and beyond), you will need to create an account on the new NHS LSF application system. When creating your account, please have the following details with you:

• Your student finance confirmation letter: you will need to upload this to your account as proof of eligibility. If you are eligible for student finance but have decided not to claim the full package, there is an option for you and you will be asked a series of additional questions so we can check your eligibility. Please have proof of identity with you, for example a passport.
• Your bank details: you will need to add this so you can be paid by NHSBSA Student Services. If you change bank accounts at any stage, you will be able to update your details. It’s really important you keep these details up to date.
• Child’s birth certificate: if you are applying for Parental Support at the same time as applying for the Training Grant, you will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate to upload to your account. If you have more than one child, we suggest uploading your youngest child’s birth certificate.

If you are a continuing student who is resuming study from 1 September 2020, you will need to create a new account on the new application system above.

If however, you will be continuing your studies in say January, February 2021 etc. you should continue to use your existing LSF account until you start your next full academic year. If at this stage you have any outstanding TDAE claims for the 2019/20 academic year, you will need to put these through your old account.

Confirming your attendance
Funding is paid over the academic year in 3 instalments. Before you’re paid, your university needs to confirm you’re attending your course for each term. You will also have to confirm this for certain terms. This process is called Confirmation of Student Attendance (COSA).
 
You’ll need to use your NHS LSF account to confirm your attendance.
 
You do not need to do anything yourself for term 1. You’ll receive your term 1 payment once your university confirms your attendance.
 
You’ll receive your term 2 and term 3 payments once both you and your university confirm your attendance. We’ll contact the email address on your NHS LSF account asking you to do this. Once you’ve confirmed your attendance status, your university will do the same after their COSA window opens. 
 
Further information can be found on the NHS LSF webpages.