Bulletin for May 2025

Preparation for academic year 2025/26

Here are a few tips to make the transition to the next academic year easier for you and your students:

1. Learning agreements are now available for academic year 2025/26 on the Learning Centre Portal. Please arrange for students returning next year to sign these as soon as possible and put them aside in a safe place. This will help to prepare for adding them to the portal in September.
2. You can download payment information guides for academic year 2025/26 from the Learning Centre Portal.
3. You should now enter holiday weeks onto the Learning Centre Portal. You can do this by going to the maintenance tab of the portal and then navigating to the holidays section and academic year 2025/26. Please enter all the weeks your school or college is on holiday.
4. Students can also download the application form and guidance from the nidirect website.

Managing the signing of EMA Learning Agreement forms

All new and returning students need to sign a new EMA Learning Agreement for each academic year. For returning students, this is their formal application for support in that academic year. It also confirms that they intend to follow the terms of the EMA scheme.

You should now encourage EMA students who'll be returning in September to sign their learning agreements before the end of term. You can download the forms from the Learning Centre Portal.

Students can sign the EMA Learning Agreements on a paper form in person. You can also continue emailing the agreements to your students if you prefer. You can accept return emails from students as confirmation that they're agreeing to their EMA terms. Please store these return emails in an electronic file for audit purposes.

EMA academic year start date

The EMA academic year start date will be Monday 8 September 2025. This is when we begin to count the 10 working day period for students to sign their learning agreements.

If your actual academic year start date is earlier than this, you'll still be able to update learning agreements and confirm attendances for students before 8 September.

EMA service launch and application form deliveries for academic year 2025/26

Please remember our LC Services website can support you with materials ahead of the new academic year including:

• publicity materials
• updated guidance
• service standards
• news
• information about SLC events for Learning Centres

You can also sign into the Learning Centre Portal from the website. Please save this direct link: www.lcservices.slc.co.uk

Bonus allocation

You can now allocate June bonuses on the Learning Centre Portal. You should also make submissions for students who have not achieved their objectives.

We'll begin paying June bonuses from 9 June. You should confirm all bonuses by 27 June.

If you cannot decide by the end of June if a student should receive their bonus or not, do not leave the bonus allocation blank. Please mark the student's bonus as disallowed.

You should tell the student that if anything changes, for example they get an extension to complete their objectives, you can change the bonus to confirmed. You can make that change as long as it's before the end of the academic year.