NHS Learning Support Fund

What the NHS Learning Support Fund gives you

You get a Training Grant of 5,000 GBP per academic year (about 5,800 EUR), paid in three instalments across the year. This is a grant, not a loan, so you never repay it. It does not depend on your or your parents' income. It runs for each year of your course, but you must reapply every year. On top of the base grant, several extras can apply:

• Shortage subjects: An extra 1,000 GBP a year (about 1,150 EUR) if you study a field with staff shortages, such as mental health nursing, learning disability nursing, radiography, prosthetics and orthotics, orthoptics or podiatry. It is added automatically.
• If you have children: 2,000 GBP a year (about 2,300 EUR) if you care for at least one child under 15 (under 17 if the child has special educational needs).
• Placement travel: You get back the extra travel and temporary accommodation costs when you attend a clinical placement further away than your usual university trip.
• Hardship: A one-off payment of up to 3,000 GBP (about 3,450 EUR) if you hit unexpected money trouble and have already used your other loans.

The fund is run by the NHS Business Services Authority for the UK government's Department of Health and Social Care.

Who can apply

• Course: You study a pre-registration nursing, midwifery or allied health course, for example nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, radiography, dietetics or paramedic science. Post-registration and CPD courses (further training after you already qualify) do not count.
• Study level: Undergraduate (BSc) and postgraduate (MSc) pre-registration courses both qualify. Foundation years are not covered; funding starts from Year 1.
• University: You study at a university in England.
• Active study: You are currently studying, either in classes or on a practice placement.
• Student finance: You qualify for tuition fee and maintenance support from the Student Loans Company (through Student Finance England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland).
• Not paid to train: You do not get a wage or salary support from an NHS employer while training, and you do not get the NHS Bursary.

How to apply

You register for an online NHS LSF account and apply there. You must apply within 6 months of the start of each academic year, and you reapply every year. There is no interview. Eligibility is checked from the documents you submit, including your student loan award letter.

How realistic are your chances?

The main allowances are not competitive. If you are on an eligible course in England and meet the student-finance conditions, you receive the 5,000 GBP grant and any add-ons that fit your situation. The one uncertain part is the hardship payment, which is means-tested and not guaranteed. Apply within the 6-month window each year so you do not lose an instalment.