Course Costs and Reduced Fees
Most of our courses are free of charge, however, some of our courses do have a fee attached to them.
You may qualify for reduced course fees depending on your circumstances.
Full Fees (including enrolment and tuition fees): £3.00 per hour
Accredited Learning: Full accreditation fee (if applicable) - if the course has a qualification there will be additional fees to pay for registration and certification.
No fees will be charged for publicly subsidised courses where:
1. Learners are aged 16-18 (on 31st August of the academic year)
2. Learners are aged 19-24 (on 31st August of the academic year) with a learning difficulty and / or disability as evidenced through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan or Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDA)
3. Learners are aged 19 or older where the learning aim is up to and including level 2, and the learner is studying English or Maths
4. Learners are aged 19-23 (on their first day of study) and are studying their first 'full' level 2 or first 'full' level 3, excludes English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
5. Learners are aged 19 or older where the learning aim is up to and including level 2 (including ESOL), the skills training will help them into work, and the learner is classed as unemployed and one of more of the following apply:
a. They receive Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) - this includes those receiving National Insurance credits only, or
b. They receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the learner is in the work-related activity group (WRAG), or
c. They receive of Universal Credit, earn less than 16 times the national minimum wage or £330 a month and are determined by Jobcentre Plus (JCP) as being in one of the following groups:
i. All Work Related Requirements Group
ii. Work Preparation Group
iii. Work Focused Interview Group
d. They are released on temporary licence (RoTL) and studying outside a prison environment and not funded through the Offender's Learning and Skills Service (OLASS)
Evidence required: Letter of entitlement from Job Centre Plus indicating the date and claim or for copy of licence (RoTL) from Probation Service
6. Learners aged 19-24 who are unemployed and on a Traineeship
Courses with no public subsidy
For learners aged 19 or above and where the learning aim is level 3 or above (except for exclusion above), learners may need to take out an Advanced Learning Loan, subject to funding availability. Further details can be found on our Student Loans page.
Asylum Seekers - individuals will be assessed for eligibility in conjunction with SFA guidance Special fees - some courses have special fees, cost on application.
FE course - NVQ and similar price on application.
The following courses are free:
Family Learning, Functional Skills, Distance Learning, Continuing Professional Development, Learning for Inclusion, Bespoke Employer Led Programmes, Multiply, Study Programme and courses which are funded through external projects.
Additional Learning Support (ALS)
Is intended to enable disadvantaged learners to achieve their learning goal by providing funding, on top of programme funds, to help them overcome their barriers to learning. The funding is intended to be flexible and to help support learners who have a range of learning difficulties and / or disabilities.