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Glossary

Change control

The discipline of controlling, recording and authorising changes to reported data.

In full

Change control means changes to data that has already been reported are made deliberately, by people authorised to make them, with the reason recorded.

Without it, a return can change between periods with nobody able to say why, which is both an audit problem and an operational one.

The rules behind this

Recommended good practice

When learner data is changed after it has been reported, the reason for the change and the authority for it should be recorded. An unexplained change between returns is a common audit query.

Where this comes up

scenario

An apprentice changes employer mid-programme

An apprentice moves to a new employer and wants to continue the same apprenticeship. Several records have to change together.

diagnostic

Changes to actual end date or planned end date after R14 of previous year

The learning planned end date must not change between funding years. You can only amend this date in the first ILR year to correct administrative errors. You must not change this date to reflect slow progress, illness or similar circumstances. If a learning actual end date was recorded for a learning aim in the previous year’s R14 file and the aim continues to be returned in the current year, this date must not be changed. For apprenticeship standards on a programme aim, the learning actual end date must not be changed once the end point assessment (EPA) period has been completed. You must record the date the EPA is completed in the achievement date field, regardless of the outcome.

diagnostic

Funding dropped this month and nobody can explain why

The funding report for this period shows less than expected, or less than last period. Because every return restates the whole year, a change made this month can move earnings reported in earlier months, so the drop may have nothing to do with this month's delivery.

module

16 to 19 funding: how the formula actually works

Student numbers, band, national rate, retention, programme cost weighting and uplifts. Where each element comes from, and which of them your own data controls.

scenario

An adult learner moves house mid-programme

A learner moves from a devolved area to a non-devolved one halfway through their aim. Which authority's rules apply, and does anything change?

scenario

A flagged record turns out to be entirely correct

A learner appears on a monitoring report every period. Each time, investigation shows the record is correct.

Sources

These are the official documents this page rests on. Where a figure, a deadline or an exact rule matters, the document is the authority and this page is the explanation.

Provider support manual (rolling, unversioned) (opens in a new tab)

Department for EducationOfficial technical documentChecked recentlyLast checked 24 October 2026

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