Inspire Learning Fees Policy For 2022/23

This fees approach covers activity classified as Adult Education Budget Community Learning, funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and sub-contracted to Nottinghamshire County Council/Inspire Learning for delivery in Nottinghamshire.  Programmes for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (LLDD) contracted to Nottinghamshire County Council/Inspire Learning for delivery in Nottinghamshire will be free of charge.  In addition, this policy also applies to the fees established by the ESFA for accredited provision which must follow the national regulations (the fees policy for the 2022/23 academic year are due to be published in April 2022).   

This policy will take effect from 1st April 2022, excluding the inclusion of Family Learning programmes for fees and fee remissions which will be implemented in August 2022

The hourly charge for Community Learning Employability, Health and Wellbeing themed Family Learning programmes (Wider Family Learning, Family English, Mathematics and Language) courses will be £4.50 per hour.  The collection method is at the discretion of the Community Learning provider. Learners who pay tuition fees will also be charged examination fees if relevant to the course of learning. Exemptions/remissions in respect of course fees also apply to examination fees, if appropriate.  The regulations covering how charges for accredited courses are applied vary and are published by the ESFA in their annual fee’s guidance.  Where appropriate, a deposit will be required to secure a place on a course for both fee paying and fee remitted learners.

A £5 administration fee will be charged to all learners undertaking an accredited course to contribute to the cost of examination registration and issuing of certificates. NB learners eligible for remitted tuition fees will not be exempt from the administration charge.

The following provision within Community Learning will be exempt from fees:

• Customised Provision for Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (LLDD): discrete provision for LLDD cohorts will be exempt from fees. Individual members of the LLDD cohort enrolling on Community Learning courses will be charged fees unless they are covered by one of the remissions detailed under section 6, below.
• Discrete Courses for Volunteers: prior approval for remission is required from the Learning Director.
•  ‘E’ Learning provision that may be ‘experimental’ in nature and which it would be inappropriate to charge fees for currently.

Learners in receipt of the following benefits will be eligible for fee remission:

• Income based Job Seekers Allowance (not contribution based)
  
• Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support ( Not Single Person’s Discount)
  
• Employment Support Allowance
  
• Income Support
  
• Incapacity Benefit
  
• Working Tax Credit
  
• Pension Credit (not savings credit)
• Unwaged Dependents of those in receipt of the above benefits.
• Identified elements of Universal Credit.

All benefits claimants will be required to provide evidence of their benefit status to qualify for fee remission.

There are some categories of learners, for example but not exclusively: foster carers; young adults leaving care; travellers; the homeless; and hostel dwellers, who, whilst not necessarily in receipt of benefits, are clearly unable to contribute to the cost of their learning. In such instances, Inspire Learning may agree discretionary fee remission to groups of learners or individual learners without the prior consent of the ESFA.  Records of all such discretionary remissions will be retained.  This category of discretionary remissions will be actively kept under review to widen participation.

In light of the aftermath of Covid-19 the standard hourly (as outlined in section 3) fee of £3.00 will be charged for a period to enable the recovery of learner numbers.  This reduction will review each term. 

If a Community Learning course is terminated by the provider because, for example, of low numbers, learners who have paid in advance will be refunded for the sessions cancelled by the provider. Individual learners who choose to leave a Community Learning course before its completion will not be eligible for a refund. If an award bearing class is cancelled by a provider, full refunds will be provided to course participants. 

Refunds will be made by the learner’s initial payment method. If payment was made in cash this will be refunded by cheque to the learner’s home address.

If you wish to apply for a refund, complete the fund request form below. 

As mentioned above, the fee remissions for AEB Formula Funded courses will abide by the 2022/23 ESFA Funding Rules. In addition, individuals with an income of less than £18,525 will be eligible for fee remission from the cost of their accredited courses using the ‘Low Wage Threshold’.