Early Years Lead Practitioner: funding band raised to £9,000
Band reviews are quiet, infrequent and financially significant.
The funding band for Early Years Lead Practitioner at Level 5 has moved from £8,000 to £9,000, an increase of around 13%. Level 5, 24 months, maximum funding £9,000, reference ST0551, currently at version 1.1.
The band is a maximum, not a price. It caps what can be drawn from a levy account or co-invested. The actual price is negotiated between employer and provider, so a band increase does not automatically raise what you charge.
The band that applies is the one in force at the apprentice's start date. Apprentices already on programme stay on the old band for their full duration, which means you may be delivering the same standard at two prices at once. Check your MIS applies the right one per learner rather than the current one to everybody.
What to do about it: if you withdrew from this standard on cost grounds, the arithmetic has changed and it is worth revisiting. For employers, a higher band means a larger potential draw on the levy account, which matters more now that new funds expire after twelve months.