Glossary
Planned hours
The total hours of planned, timetabled, education-related activity for a 16 to 19 student in the year, which, with their age and high needs status, determines their funding band.
In full
Planned hours are the total of planned learning hours and planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours. The total determines which funding band a student falls into and therefore the national funding rate applied to them.
Hours must be planned, timetabled and education-related, and the college must be able to evidence them. Rules on what counts are set out in the funding rules for the year and are a regular audit focus.
If part of a programme finishes early, such as a maths or English resit passed in November, the planned hours are not changed. The time must be replaced with other activity where the reduction would take the student below the band they started in; where it would not, DfE expects replacement to be considered but does not require it. If the whole programme finishes significantly early, the planned hours are reduced to the period actually attended. A student who withdraws from the whole programme after the first 6 weeks keeps the planned hours recorded at the start; the retention factor reduces the funding instead (16 to 19 funding rules 2026 to 2027, paragraphs 98 to 100 and 128, and Annex B).
The rules behind this
A 16 to 19 student's funding band is determined by their planned hours for the year (the total of planned qualification hours and other planned, timetabled, education-related activity), together with their age and whether they have high needs.
Where this comes up
diagnostic
Planned hours do not match the timetable that is actually delivered
The planned hours recorded for 16 to 19 students do not reconcile to the timetable being delivered, so students may be in the wrong funding band.
diagnostic
'Planned hours for a T Level programme' (HRS2) must be recorded on the programme aim
The 'Planned hours for a T Level programme' must be recorded on the programme aim.
diagnostic
'Planned hours for off the job training of an apprenticeship programme' (HRS1) must be recorded on the programme aim
The 'Planned hours for off the job training of an apprenticeship programme' must be recorded on the programme aim.
diagnostic
For Tailored learning funded aims the planned hours must be recorded which represent the timetable hours for delivery.
For Tailored learning, learning aims the Planned hours must be returned
diagnostic
If 'Price Reduction due to prior learning' (RIP 1) Financial Record has been returned, Hours Record 'Planned hours for off the job training due to a reduction in prior learning' (HRS 4) must also be returned
If the Apprenticeship Financial Record 'Price Reduction due to prior learning' (AppFinRecord.AFinType = RIP and AppFinRecord.AFinCode= 1) has been returned then the Hours Type and Code 'Planned hours for off the job training due to a reduction in prior learning' (HoursType = HRS and HoursCode = 4) must be returned
diagnostic
If Hours Record 'Planned hours for off the job training due to a reduction in prior learning' (HRS 4) has been returned, 'Price Reduction due to prior learning' (RIP 1) financial record must also be returned
If the Hours Type and Code 'Planned hours for off the job training due to a reduction in prior learning' (HoursType = HRS and HoursCode = 4) has been returned then the Apprenticeship Financial Record 'Price Reduction due to prior learning' (AppFinRecord.AFinType = RIP and AppFinRecord.AFinCode= 1) must be returned
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.
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