ILR & funding monitoring

The return cycle

Providers submit the ILR monthly (R01–R14). R04 is the autumn collection: for FE colleges and some other providers, the lagged student numbers in the next year's 16 to 19 allocation are based on the students funded at the R04 census date and recorded in that return, closing in December, while R14 is the final return that closes the funding year. The data collection timetable sets each collection's close; the 16 to 19 in-year monitoring guidance sets its own latest return dates for R04, R06, R10 and R13, which are not always the same day, so check the one that applies. Each return is checked against the published validation rules before it is accepted.

Funding Rules Monitoring (FRM)

DfE publishes monitoring areas to review in-year — for example continuing learners, planned hours, withdrawals and eligibility. Running these checks against anonymised data lets colleges find and fix issues before the final return.

• Validate against the current year's rules before submitting
• Common findings: residency, funding model, planned hours, withdrawals
• Keep an audit trail of corrections for assurance

Funding claims are not ILR returns

The 2025 to 2026 final funding claim follows the final ILR return but is a separate step with its own deadline: the claim form is available in Submit Learner Data from 27 October 2026, and the claim must be submitted by 6 November 2026. For providers delivering grant-funded adult provision that is not devolved to a strategic authority: grant-funded Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs and Advanced Learner Loans Bursary. 16 to 19 funding is no longer part of the funding claims process. DfE will publish reconciliation statements by 27 November 2026, and any issue with your reconciliation value must be raised by 31 December 2026. A claim that is not submitted by the deadline is treated as a nil return, and DfE issues a breach notice.

Why R04 matters in 2026 to 2027

DfE's guidance for 2026 to 2027 uses R04 data for 16 to 19 allocations, 16 to 19 in-year growth and monitoring, and the Adult Skills Fund review point. Its reference date for 16 to 19 student numbers is 1 November 2026.

• 16 to 19 allocations for 2027 to 2028: DfE is changing the 16 to 19 funding methodology from 2027 to 2028. From that year, allocations will be based solely on student numbers from the start of the previous academic year, as returned in ILR R04 or the school census. For 2027 to 2028, the previous academic year is 2026 to 2027.
• 16 to 19 in-year growth for 2026 to 2027: DfE calculates 16 to 19 in-year growth for 2026 to 2027 from R04 student figures, using a 1 November reference date. Growth is awarded on the assumption that the data is accurate: if later returns, usually R14, show it was not, DfE recovers the growth funding.
• 16 to 19 in-year monitoring: DfE expects every funded institution to have reached at least 30% of its total allocated 16 to 19 programme funding at R04, and will review and, if necessary, adjust allocations where it has not. For contract institutions, R04 delivery below 30% leads to in-year recovery.
• Adult Skills Fund and Free Courses for Jobs review point: For national Adult Skills Fund and Free Courses for Jobs funding in scope, the December review point measures delivery using the latest validated ILR data at 4 December 2026, the R04 data return. The review can lead to increases or reductions, under the criteria in the rules. Devolved areas run their own processes.
• Data quality: DfE lists the reports that must be checked before every mandatory ILR return for 16 to 19 funding, and R04 is one of those returns.