NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF)

NHS Learning Support Fund accounts are unavailable every Tuesday from 5pm until 7am on Wednesday.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you're starting and continuing your course from 1 September 2020 onwards, you can apply for NHS LSF if you're on one of the following pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate courses:

dental therapy or dental hygiene (level 5 and 6 courses)
dietetics
midwifery
nursing (adult, child, mental health, learning disability, joint nursing, and social work)
occupational therapy
operating department practitioner (level 5 and 6 courses)
orthoptics
orthotics and prosthetics
paramedics (DipHE and FD courses are not eligible for NHS LSF)
physiotherapy
podiatry or chiropody
radiography (diagnostic and therapeutic)
speech and language therapy

If you're eligible, you can get:

a training grant of £5,000 per academic year
parental support of £2,000, if you have at least one dependent child under 15 years, or under 17 years if registered with special educational needs
money back for excess travel and temporary accommodation costs (Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses) while you're on your practice placement
students experiencing financial hardship (Exceptional Support Fund)

Guidance

NHS LSF guidance booklet 2023-24 (PDF: 609KB)

You can watch a short video with information about NHS LSF.

Accessing your NHS LSF account

You can sign into your NHS LSF account to:

apply for funding
upload your evidence
manage your personal details

Eligibility for NHS LSF

To apply for support, you need to be:

studying on an eligible programme at a university in England
eligible for tuition fees and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company, either through:
actively in study, whether academic or practice learning

Other arrangements are in place for those who may not apply for a loan due to personal reasons.

Those students must still show that they meet the eligibility criteria as defined by SFE, SFW, SFNI or SAAS, as applicable.

If you started or continued your course between January and August 2020, you will be able to apply for additional funding from the start of your next academic year.

For example, if you started your course in January 2021, you'll be able to apply for extra funding when you start your second year in January 2022.

Part-time students will receive pro-rata payments of the Training Grant and Parental Support.

If you're in receipt of an NHS Bursary, visit our NHS Bursary students section. NHS Bursary students are not eligible for NHS Learning Support Fund.

How and when to apply

New students

If you're a new healthcare student starting from September or October 2023, you can apply for the NHS Learning Support Fund from 1 March 2023.

You should not apply on any other systems as your application will be rejected.

Continuing students

If you're continuing your studies between September and October 2023, you'll receive an email from us inviting you to apply for the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Invites will be sent out from 3 April 2023 and will be sent out weekly until September 2023.

Invites will be sent out in groups to make sure we process all of your applications for the start of the academic year.

Application closing date

All NHS LSF applications must be submitted within 6 months of the start of the academic year.

When you will receive your payments for 2022 to 2023

Funding will be scheduled over the academic year and will be paid in 3 instalments.

Payment will be made once we've received confirmation of your attendance from your university. If you start or continue between September and October 2022, you must be in attendance on 1 November to receive your first instalment. This process is the same for those who start after September 2022.

For example, a student who starts or continues studying in:

January or February 2023 needs to be in attendance on 1 March 2023
March or April 2023 needs to be in attendance on 1 May 2023

Payment dates for the 2022 to 2023 academic year

The following is a list of main payment dates. Depending on when your university confirms your attendance, you may receive payment earlier or later than the dates stated. This should be used as a guide only, your NHS LSF account will always set out your actual payment dates.

Academic year starting September or October 2022

Term 1 - 21 November 2022
Term 2 - 21 March 2023
Term 3 - 25 July 2023

Academic year starting January or February 2023

Term 1 - 21 March 2023
Term 2 - 25 July 2023
Term 3 - 21 November 2023

Academic year starting March or April 2023

Term 1 - 23 May 2023
Term 2 - 26 September 2023
Term 3 - 23 January 2024

Academic year starting July or August 2023

Term 1 - 26 September 2023
Term 2 - 23 January 2024
Term 3 - 23 May 2024

Confirmation of attendance and payment dates for 2023 to 2024

Funding will be scheduled over the academic year and will be paid in 3 instalments.

A new confirmation of attendance (COSA) will commence in 2023 to 2024.

Term 1

Your term 1 payments will be made once we have received confirmation of your attendance from your university. If you start or continue between September and October 2023, your attendance cannot be confirmed until 1 November. Your university will have until 14 November to guarantee you receive your first payment on 21 November 2023.

For example, a student who starts or continues studying in:

January or February 2024 needs to be in attendance on 1 March 2024
March or April 2024 needs to be in attendance on 1 May 2024

Term 2 and 3

You’ll need to confirm your attendance for term 2 and term 3. You’ll be prompted to do this via email, using the email address on your Learning Support Fund account. Once you have confirmed your attendance status, your university will be able to match you in attendance as they do for term 1.

Term 2

Student window open – 19 February 2024
University window open – 19 February 2024
Student deadline for payment date – 5 March 2024
University deadline for payment date – 12 March 2024
Earliest payment date – 19 March 2024

Term 3

Student window open – 24 June 2024
University window open – 24 June 2024
Student deadline for payment date – 9 July 2024
University deadline for payment date – 16 July 2024
Earliest payment date – 23 July 2024

If a student or university misses the last university deadline window, the student will not receive payment on the payment date detailed.

Payment dates for the 2023 to 2024 academic year

The following is a list of main payment dates. Depending on when your university confirms your attendance. This should be used as a guide only, your NHS LSF account will always set out your actual payment dates.

Academic year starting September or October 2023

Term 1 - 21 November 2023
Term 2 - 19 March 2024
Term 3 - 23 July 2024

Manage your NHS LSF account

The first time you apply for any element of NHS LSF in each year of study, you'll need to upload a copy of your student finance letter to your online account.

Uploading a document to your NHS LSF account

The selected file must be:

a JPG, BMP, PNG, TIF or PDF
an original copy that displays the document in full
clear and in focus
in colour
unaltered by computer software
at least 50KB and no more than 5MB

If the document does not meet these criteria, your application will be rejected.

Your NHS LSF account

Once you’ve registered for an NHS LSF account, you’ll be able to:

apply for funding elements of NHS LSF
update your personal details including your bank account
check your scheduled payments

Once you’ve registered for an account, you'll keep it throughout your studies and will not need to create a new one.

If you’re in receipt of LSF and are in training before September 2020, you’ll continue to use your current online account until you start your next academic year.