Senior Leader: new age restriction applies
An eligibility rule rather than a funding rate, get it wrong and the whole start is unfunded.
An age restriction now applies to Senior Leader at Level 7.
This is an eligibility condition, not a co-investment rate. An apprentice outside the age range cannot be funded on this standard at all, rather than being funded at a different percentage.
Age is assessed at the start of the apprenticeship, using the learning start date recorded in the ILR. Someone who turns 25 during their programme remains eligible; someone who was already 25 on day one never was.
Age restrictions of this kind fit the wider pattern across the 2026/27 rules of directing funding towards younger apprentices, alongside the Level 7 restriction and the changes to co-investment.
What to do about itcheck the eligibility gate in your enrolment process actually tests this, rather than relying on someone remembering. An ineligible start discovered at audit is a clawback, not a correction. And be aware there is now no funded route at this level in the Business and administration route for adults outside the range.