The NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF) provides additional funding for eligible healthcare students. It is supplementary (additional) financial support to the mainstream student loans system, and is intended to help support students attending healthcare courses to gain professional registration. Click here if you'd prefer to watch a short video about the Fund.
This funding is disbursed by the NHS Business Services Authority and is not paid for by the University of Bedfordshire. The University of Bedfordshire may be required to confirm some sections of your form.
You could be eligible for:
- £5,000 training grant per academic year for eligible students [watch the video here]
- an additional £1,000 if you are studying a "specialist subject" (as defined by the NHS LSF)
- up to £2,000 per academic year for students with parental responsibilities [watch the video here]
- reimbursement of additional travel and temporary accommodation costs incurred as a result of attending a practice placement [watch the video here] - they even provide a helpful guide on completing your TDAE claim
- up to £3,000 per academic year for students who find themselves in unforeseen financial difficulty [watch the video here]
All eligible students should have received an email from the NHS Business Services Authority inviting them to apply, but you can also apply online by creating a Learning Support Fund account here.
To be eligible for any of the above, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- in attendance on a healthcare course* at a University in England
- be eligible for both tuition fee and maintenance loan support from the Student Loans Company (SLC), including meeting their residency requirement
- you must apply within 6 months of starting your course / placement (for travel/accommodation expenses)
*"Healthcare course" is defined as one of the following:
- Dental Therapy/Dental Hygiene
- Diagnostic/Therapeutic Radiography
- Dietetics
- Midwifery
- Nursing (Adult / Learning Disabilities / Mental Health / dual qualification programmes)
- Nursing / Social Work (joint)
- Occupational Therapy
- Operating Department Practitioner
- Orthoptics
- Orthotics / Prosthetics
- Paramedicine (note: Paramedic DipHE and Foundation courses are not eligible, and students studying as a second degree will only be eligible if the student loan eligibility is met)
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry / Chiropody
- Speech and Language Therapy
Find out more about the NHS Learning Support Fund online.
You can apply online by creating a Learning Support Fund account here.