Funding for Level 7 apprenticeships to exclude general practice nursing

A renewed commitment from the government to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships will include district nursing but has omitted other specialist practice qualification (SPQ) routes, including general practice nursing.

NHS England said that funding would be continued to 2029 for five apprenticeships at Master’s level that ‘have been identified as being vital for the delivery of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan’ and to align with the future workforce plan, ‘including the move from acute to community’.

It has been announced that funding will be continued for Level 7 apprenticeships for:

Related Article: NHS 10-year plan: What does it mean for nursing?

• Advanced clinical practitioner
• Specialist community public health nurse
• District nurse (Community Specialist Practice Qualification)
• Clinical associate in psychology (CAP)
• Population health intelligence specialists (PHIS).

In May, the government revealed plans, in effect from January 2026, to ‘refocus’ funding for Level 7 apprenticeships away from people aged 22 and older towards those aged 16 to 21 and existing apprentices, ‘where it can have the greatest impact’.

Community nursing specialisms that are currently funded, but that are not included in the new announcement include:

• Adult social care nursing
• Community children’s nursing
• Community mental health nursing
• General practice nursing
• Inclusion health nursing
• Health and justice nursing
• Community learning disability nursing
• Palliative and end of life care nursing.

Commenting on the new announcement, the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing’s (QICN) chief executive Steph Lawrence said it was ‘regrettable’ that Level 7 apprenticeships for other SPQ routes would not continue to be funded.

She said: ‘While we are obviously very glad to see district nursing on this list, it is regrettable that other essential SPQs are not included. Higher education institutions offer apprenticeship courses for a number of other specialisms e.g. community children’s nursing, general practice nursing, but without continued funding these routes will be cut off to nurses from next year.’

She added that a planned pathway in adult social care would be unlikely to launch, saying ‘It will be difficult now if not impossible, to commence the adult social care specialist practice pathway without an apprenticeship route’.

Related Article: Funding axe for Level 7 apprenticeships ‘shuts off important career route’ for nurses

Responding to the announcement, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said: ‘Investment in nurse education is critical for staffing the NHS and the government’s ambition to shift care into the community in England. We warned how damaging the decision to shut off this funding route for Level 7 Apprenticeships would be and it is a welcome step to see funding options restored to these vital specialist career routes.’

In May, the RCN said the decision to remove Level 7 funding would shut off an important career route for nursing staff, with Professor Ranger commenting that: ‘Making it more difficult for employers to fund training and education for advanced clinical specialist nursing roles makes little sense’.

A briefing statement on the new funding announcement said that NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care aims to ‘sustain the opportunities for health and care staff to progress their clinical careers’ and ‘support the wider apprenticeship agenda in health and care’.

The funding for eligible professions will be distributed through the Education and Training Activity Programme (ETAP) as a training grant.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to move Level 7 apprenticeships outside the scope of levy funding in September last year, bringing concerns that the number of nurses being trained through this route would decline.