Following the announcement of the new 2025/26 funding rules, we hosted a webinar attended by nearly 1,000 people across the sector: “Understanding the 2025/26 Apprenticeship Funding Rules”, led by compliance expert David Lockhart-Hawkins. The session offered valuable insight into the most significant changes to apprenticeship funding and compliance since 2017, helping providers prepare for new rules effective August 2025.

David walked attendees through key updates, including the reduction of the minimum practical period to 8 months and the new minimum off-the-job hours requirement (dropping from 278 to 187 hours) and the impact of RPL on the published minimum. He explained the greater flexibility now available for programme delivery and clarified new expectations and best practices around initial assessment, prior learning, and programme design.

The webinar also explored the contentious changes to Level 7 apprenticeships, along with other critical compliance and quality assurance considerations for apprenticeship teams. These included forthcoming changes to End-Point assessment (EPA), and planning and evidencing delivery of maths and English.

The webinar also covered the introduction of Foundation Apprenticeships and changes to eligibility criteria. David emphasised the importance of robust change management, prioritising quality over speed, and reviewing programme designs in line with the newly published minimum standards.

Slides summarising the session’s key points are available here.

Aptem customers can also track on our Help Centre how we are developing our platform to ensure users are fully compliant with the new rules by August 2025.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at hello@aptem.co.uk.