Funding rules monitored: 31 official sources · awaiting first verified checkFunding Intelligence →
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What is actually in the ILR

The record is built in layers, and knowing which layer a field sits in tells you how far an error spreads. Expand a group to see the fields inside it, each defined once and linked to its full glossary page.

How the ILR nests
  1. Provider headerUKPRN and the funding year the file covers.(Data is created or changed)
  2. LearnerULN, learner reference number, demographics, home postcode.(Data is created or changed)
  3. Learner funding and monitoringEligibility and circumstance codes that apply to the person.(Data is created or changed)
  4. Employment statusEmployment circumstances, dated.(Data is created or changed)
  5. Learning deliveryAim reference, dates, funding model, aim type, completion and outcome.(Data is created or changed)
  6. Delivery funding and monitoringSource of funding, support, restart and monitoring codes.(Data is created or changed)
  7. Apprenticeship financial recordNegotiated price and payment records.(Data is created or changed)
  8. Destination and progressionWhat the learner did next.(Data is created or changed)
Read this diagram as text

The ILR has a provider header identifying the college by UKPRN. Inside it there is one record per learner, carrying their ULN and circumstances, with learner funding and monitoring records and employment status beneath. Inside each learner there is one learning delivery per aim, carrying the aim reference, dates, funding model and outcome, with learning delivery funding and monitoring records, apprenticeship financial records and destination records beneath.

3 fields

Provider

Who is submitting, and for which funding year.

UKPRNUK Provider Reference Number

The eight-digit number that identifies a learning provider across every funding and data system.

Funding year

The year that funding rules, rates and the ILR specification are set for, running from 1 August to 31 July.

ILR XML file

The file format in which the ILR is submitted.

7 fields

Learner

Who the person is, and the circumstances that affect their funding.

Learner (ILR entity)

The ILR record that describes one person: their identifiers, demographics and circumstances for the funding year.

ULNUnique Learner Number

The ten-digit number that identifies a learner across providers and across years.

Learner reference number

The provider's own identifier for a learner within a funding year, used to link the learner between the source system and the ILR.

Home postcode

The learner's home address postcode, which for adult skills determines which funding authority is responsible for them.

Prior attainment

The highest level of qualification a learner already holds, which affects eligibility and entitlement in several funding streams.

Learner funding and monitoring

Records held against the learner that carry eligibility, entitlement and circumstance information used by the funding calculation.

Learner employment status

The ILR record of a learner's employment circumstances at a point in time, used for eligibility and for apprenticeships.

13 fields

Learning delivery

What is being delivered, when, under which rules, and how it ended.

Learning delivery

The ILR record for one learning aim a learner is doing: what it is, when it runs, how it is funded and how it ends.

Learning aim reference

The code that identifies which qualification or aim is being delivered, looked up on the learning aims database.

Aim type

The field that says what role an aim plays: a programme aim, a component of a programme, or a standalone aim.

Programme aim

The aim that represents the whole programme a learner is enrolled on, with the component aims recorded beneath it.

Component aim

A qualification or unit delivered as part of a programme, recorded beneath the programme aim.

Funding model

The ILR field that determines which funding rules and which calculation apply to a learning delivery.

Learning start date

The date the learner actually started the aim, which fixes which funding year and which rules apply to it.

Planned end date

The date the aim was expected to finish when it started.

Actual end date

The date the learner actually completed or left the aim.

Completion status

The field that says whether a learner is continuing, has completed, has withdrawn, or has temporarily withdrawn.

Outcome

The field that records what the learner achieved on an aim.

Withdrawal reason

The code that records why a learner left, recorded alongside a withdrawal.

Delivery location postcode

The postcode of the place where the learning is actually delivered.

5 fields

Funding and monitoring

The small paired codes that carry eligibility, support and who is paying.

FAMFunding and monitoring

The general term for the paired type-and-code records that carry funding, eligibility and monitoring information in the ILR.

Learning delivery funding and monitoring

Records held against a single aim that carry funding, eligibility, support and monitoring information for that aim.

Source of funding

The funding and monitoring code that records which body is funding an aim, including whether it is national or devolved.

LDMLearning delivery monitoring

A funding and monitoring type used to flag local or policy-specific characteristics of an aim.

Provider specified monitoring

Optional ILR fields a provider can use for its own monitoring purposes.

5 fields

Programme specific

Records that exist only for particular kinds of provision.

Apprenticeship financial record

The ILR record that carries the financial detail of an apprenticeship, including the negotiated price and any employer payments.

Negotiated price

The price the employer and provider agree for an apprenticeship, recorded in both the ILR and the apprenticeship service.

Destination and progression

The ILR record of what a learner went on to do after their learning.

Planned hours

The total hours of planned, timetabled, education-related activity for a 16 to 19 student in the year, which determines their funding band.

EEPEmployability, enrichment and pastoral

The category of planned activity for 16 to 19 students that supports their programme without being qualification hours.

Where to go next

Field names, valid values and collection requirements are set per funding year in the official ILR specification. This explorer explains what each field is for; the specification is the authority for exactly how to complete it.