Glossary
Return
One submission of the ILR for a collection period, made by a published deadline.
In full
A return is the ILR as it stands at a collection point, submitted by the deadline in the data collection timetable for the funding year.
Each return restates the whole year to date rather than only what changed, which is why a late correction can move earnings already reported in earlier periods.
The rules behind this
Each ILR return is a complete restatement of the funding year to date, not an increment. Every return replaces the last, which is why an error introduced late can change earnings already reported.
Where this comes up
scenario
A returning learner is enrolled as a new person
A learner returns after two years. The enrolment search does not find them, so a new record and a new ULN are created.
scenario
Results arrive after the final return has closed
A batch of awarding organisation results for last year arrives in November, after the final return closed. What can be done?
module
The collection year: what each return is for
Fourteen returns, each restating the whole year. Three of them matter more than the others, and knowing which is most of the job.
scenario
The first return of a new funding year fails badly
The first validation run of the new funding year produces hundreds of failures. What is the fastest route to a clean file?
module
Closing the funding year properly
At the final return the funding, the achievement rates and the audit population are all fixed at once. Everything that will be corrected has to be corrected before it.
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.
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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