ILR & funding

Apprenticeship ILR software, computed server-side

Build and validate the ILR as you go, and compute funding-sensitive figures against the DfE rule pack in force at each start date — with an evidence pack behind every number.

Journey / Funding & ILR
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Funding & ILR

R14 Period · Closes in 4 days

ILR Valid

Forecast Cashflow (Period)

£248,500

+12% vs last period

On-programme payments

£210,000

945 active learners

Completion payments

£38,500

22 expected achievers

Validation Summary

No Error 1 / Error 2 violations

ILR structure is valid against DfE rules.

3 Warnings (Rule: OTJ_Hours_01)

Learners recorded with planned hours below minimum for standard.

Illustrative funding and ILR view with sample data.

Definition

What is apprenticeship ILR software?

The Individualised Learner Record (ILR) is the data return UK training providers submit to the funding agency to draw down and account for apprenticeship funding. ILR software builds and validates that return from live learner data, applying the correct year's funding rules so figures are accurate and audit-ready.

Is Journey ILR and apprenticeship funding software?

Yes. Journey builds and validates the ILR and computes funding-sensitive figures server-side against versioned DfE funding rule packs — currently 2024/25 and 2025/26, and built to adopt each new year as it is published. Figures are never supplied by the client. Journey is independent software and is not DfE or Ofsted approved. It does not guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.

Brings together what used to be separate tools

Funding spreadsheetsManual ILR reconciliation

Year-versioned rule packs

Each apprentice's figures are computed against the funding rules in force at their start date, not a single hard-coded year.

ILR build & validation

The ILR is built and validated continuously, so the monthly return is a review rather than a fortnight of reconciliation.

Forecasting & exports

Funding forecasts and exports are derived from the same audited data your delivery team works in.

Evidence pack per figure

Every funding figure has an evidence trail behind it, ready for a funding audit.

Last reviewed: June 2026

ILR as a continuous build, not a monthly scramble

For many providers the ILR return is a fortnightly event: pull data from the MIS, reconcile it against the portfolio and the funding spreadsheet, fix the mismatches, and submit. Each of those steps is a place where figures can drift. Journey builds and validates the ILR continuously from the live learner record, so the monthly return becomes a review of data you already trust rather than a reconstruction from several systems.

Because the ILR is assembled from the same record your delivery team works in, what you submit reflects what actually happened in delivery. A full submission history records exactly what was returned in each period, so you can always see what changed and when.

Funding figures computed server-side against the right year

Every funding-sensitive figure is computed on the server against versioned DfE funding rule packs, and the pack in force at each apprentice's start date is selected through a single source of truth. A learner who started under one year's rules is always calculated against those rules, even as new years are added. The client can request a transition but never supplies the resulting number, so figures cannot be hand-edited into something the rules would not produce.

Every figure carries an evidence pack behind it — the hours, dates and decisions that produced it — so a funding audit finds a defensible trail rather than a spreadsheet cell with no working.

2026/27 readiness

The funding engine is versioned by academic year. It currently carries the 2024/25 and 2025/26 DfE apprenticeship funding rule packs, and is built to adopt the 2026/27 pack — now published by the DWP (which took on the apprenticeship funding rules on 1 April 2026) and applying to apprenticeships starting from 1 August 2026 — added alongside the existing years rather than overwriting them, so historic learners keep being calculated correctly. Journey is independent software built around the published funding rules; it is not government approved and does not guarantee funding outcomes.

Sources & further reading

This page reflects current public guidance. For the definitive rules, always check the official sources below.

Frequently asked questions

Funding-safe and audit-ready by design

Built so your data, your funding and your audit trail hold up

Hard tenant isolation

Every record is scoped to your organisation on each read and write — one provider can never see another's data.

Append-only audit log

Every state change is recorded against the real person who made it, so the history stands up at audit.

Versioned DfE rule packs

Funding is computed server-side against the right year for each start date — 2024/25 and 2025/26, and built to adopt the 2026/27 pack now published by the DWP.

Governed AI

AI is metered per tenant, prompts are scrubbed of learner PII and outputs are validated, falling back gracefully.

ISO 27001 & Cyber Essentials

Built and operated by a UK company to externally-audited information-security standards.

Your data and employers stay yours

No lock-in: export your data whenever you like, and your employer relationships always remain yours.

Journey is independent software and is not DfE or Ofsted approved. It does not guarantee funding or inspection outcomes.

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