Glossary
Validation rule
A published check applied to an ILR record, which the record must pass before it can be accepted and funded.
In full
Validation rules are published for each funding year. Each has an identifier, a message and a defined field scope, and each is applied to every record when the file is validated.
Rules check internal consistency and conformance with the specification: that dates are in a sensible order, that codes are valid for the year, that required fields are present given the other values recorded.
A rule failure is a statement about the data, not about the learner. The fix is almost always in the source system.
The rules behind this
An ILR file is validated against the published validation rules for the funding year. Records that fail a validation rule are rejected or excluded from funding until the underlying data is corrected.
Passing validation means the data is internally consistent and structurally acceptable. It does not mean the data is true, that the learner is eligible, or that the funding claimed is correct.
Where this comes up
diagnostic
A large number of validation errors appeared suddenly
Validation has produced a large number of failures that were not there before. A sudden change in volume almost always has one cause rather than many.
diagnostic
The National Insurance number is not in the correct format
If the National insurance number has been recorded in the ILR it must be recorded in the following format the first character must not be D, F, I, Q, U or V and the second character must not be D, F, I, O, Q, U or V and characters 3 to 8 must be numeric and character 9 must be A, B, C, D or space. The validation rule will trigger if the number recorded in the ILR is not in the above format.
module
From a learner walking in to funding arriving
The full chain: a learner event, the operational action it triggers, the source data it creates, the ILR fields it populates, validation, funding, reports, evidence, performance and audit.
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?
diagnostic
The AddLine2 does not match the validation pattern
The AddLine2 must match the validation pattern in the ILR specification
diagnostic
The AddLine3 does not match the validation pattern
The AddLine3 must match the validation pattern in the ILR specification
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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