Bulletin for May 2026

Last Updated: 15 May 2026

How to prepare for academic year (AY) 2026/27

  • Learning Agreements for AY 2026/27 are now available on the Learning Centre (LC) Portal. Please arrange for your students who are returning next year to sign these as soon as possible. Please keep signed documents aside for September as this will help to prepare for inputting onto the portal. There's more information on Learning Agreements later in this bulletin.

  • You can now also download the payment information guides for AY 2026/27 from the LC Portal.

  • Please enter holiday weeks onto the LC Portal. You can do this by selecting Maintenance – Holidays – 26/27. Please enter all the weeks your school or college is on holiday.

  • Students can also download the application form and guidance from NI Direct. Please make sure that students and parents are aware that applying for EMA does not affect any benefits currently paid to the household.

  • To be eligible for backdated payments to the start of term, students must apply before 30 September 2026.

  • To be eligible for EMA in AY 2026/27, students must complete their application, sending all information and evidence, before 31 August 2027.

Signing learning agreements

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 they intend to follow the terms of the EMA scheme. You should now start to 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 LC Portal. Students can sign the EMA Learning Agreements in person on a paper form or digitally if you have created a digital version. 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 will start on 7 September 2026. This is the start of the 10 working day period for students to sign their learning agreements. You can still update learning agreements and confirm attendances if your academic year starts earlier than this.

Learning Centre Services website

Please remember the Learning Centre Services website has resources to support you with anything you may need for the new academic year. This includes:
  • publicity materials
  • updated guidance
  • service standards
  • news
  • information about SLC events for Learning Centres

Bonus allocation

You can now allocate June bonuses on the LC Portal. You should also make submissions for students who have not achieved their objectives. We'll begin paying June bonuses from 8 June 2026. You should confirm all bonuses by 26 June 2026. 

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, if they receive an extension to complete their objectives, you can then update the bonus to ‘confirmed’. You can make that change as long as it's before the end of the academic year.

EMA support desk

Our support desk team is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday to answer any day to day operational questions about individual students, application processing, payments and system issues.

You can contact the support desk on 0300 200 4050 (option 5) or email emainfo@slc.co.uk.