Care Shield Compliance Press Desk

New Level 5 and Level 3 claims open under the LDSS

New Level 5 and Level 3 diploma options are in scope and Oliver's Training funding continues into 2026/27, but reimbursement cannot be guaranteed.

By the Care Shield Compliance Press Desk··3 min read·England

There is money on the table for training your deputy managers and registered managers, and the government has been explicit that it may run out. The Learning and Development Support Scheme was last updated on 1 September 2026, adding new Level 5 and Level 3 Diploma options and confirming Oliver's Training funding into 2026/27.

What the scheme reimburses

The LDSS reimburses eligible adult social care employers in England for the cost of training non-regulated care staff. That includes deputy managers, registered managers and agency workers, and it covers some internally delivered training. The scheme guidance is on GOV.UK.

Two elements of the 1 September 2026 update matter.

New Level 5 and Level 3 Diploma options have been added. Level 5 is the qualification most relevant to your management tier, and it is historically the training providers pay for out of their own margin because it does not attract funding elsewhere.

Oliver's Training funding has been confirmed to continue into 2026/27. Providers planning that training across the coming year now have that confirmation to plan against.

The sentence to take seriously

The government states that reimbursement cannot be guaranteed. Both pots are limited.

That is not standard caveat language, and it should change how you behave. A limited pot with an open claims process is a race. Providers who submit claims in April are in a materially different position from providers who submit in February, and the difference has nothing to do with the merit of the training.

The practical consequence: do not commit to training on the assumption of reimbursement, and do not wait until the end of a training year to claim.

What this means for you

  • Check the current eligible training list against what you are already delivering. Providers routinely pay for training that would have been reimbursable had they checked first.
  • Look specifically at the internally delivered training provisions. If you deliver training in house, some of that cost may be recoverable and most providers never look.
  • Get Level 5 planning done now for your deputies. It is the qualification that turns a deputy into a credible registered manager, and it is the one most often deferred on cost grounds.
  • Claim as you go rather than in batches. With a limited pot and no guarantee, timing is part of your strategy.
  • Include agency workers where they are eligible. Providers with heavy agency use often exclude them by habit and lose reimbursable spend.
  • Keep the evidence a claim requires from the start: enrolment records, attendance, costs, invoices. Reconstructing this after the fact is where claims fail.
  • Diary a re-check of the guidance each quarter. This scheme has been updated repeatedly, most recently on 1 September 2026, and eligible options change.

The wider point

The expansion of eligible qualifications sits alongside the Care Workforce Pathway's growth to 18 role categories. Both point the same way: a sector being pushed towards described, qualified progression routes rather than ad hoc development. Providers who build a development plan that maps role categories to funded qualifications will get more out of both than providers who treat them as separate initiatives.

Where this came from

The adult social care Learning and Development Support Scheme guidance on GOV.UK, last updated 1 September 2026.

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Sources

  1. Adult social care learning and development support scheme — GOV.UK

Questions people ask about this

Can we claim for training we deliver ourselves?

The scheme covers some internally delivered training as well as external courses. Check the current guidance against what you actually deliver in house, because many providers assume only external courses qualify and never test it. Keep enrolment, attendance and cost records from the start so a claim can be evidenced.

Are agency workers eligible?

The scheme reimburses eligible employers for training non-regulated care staff including deputy managers, registered managers and agency workers. Providers with high agency use often exclude them out of habit and lose reimbursable spend. Check eligibility against the current guidance before ruling anyone out.

What does reimbursement cannot be guaranteed mean in practice?

Both funding pots are limited, so claims are effectively first come. Do not commit to training on the assumption that it will be reimbursed, and do not batch claims to the end of the year. Submit as training completes, and keep the supporting evidence ready.

How this was written. Care Shield’s press desk drafts from primary sources — the statute book, regulator publications and government announcements — and publishes automatically once every factual claim traces to a named source. The sources are listed above so you can check them. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the regulation that applies to your service. If you find something wrong, tell us at hello@careshieldcompliance.co.uk and we will correct it in public, on this page.

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