Terms & Conditions

KAE concessions are applicable to tuition fees only, unless otherwise stated. Not all courses are eligible for concessions. If a course is eligible for a fully funded concession and you meet the employment and earnings criteria for a fully funded discount, this will be automatically applied to the relevant courses in your basket.

If you do not meet the employment and earnings criteria for a fully funded concession and other concessions are available, these will be listed in the concessions drop-down box during the enrolment process.

If you wish to use a concession that is only applicable to enrolments conducted via our centres, you are advised to call 03000 41 22 22* to arrange the enrolment. You must inform the centre staff of the concession to be claimed at the time of enrolment. Our staff will be able to advise you of the course fee due prior to payment.

KAE is only able to offer a learner one concession per enrolment. This is the same policy when enrolling online, in our centres or via the telephone. Concessions cannot be used in conjunction with discounts.

For further information please read our concessions guide, speak to your local adult education centre or call us on 03000 41 22 22*.

If you wish to claim the specialist concession for a Sign Language course, you must enrol by calling 03000 41 22 22* or go to one of our centres. This concession is not available via the KAE website.

All enrolments are subject to final verification and approval by KAE. Should the concession selected not meet our terms, you will be contacted so that your enrolment may be corrected. You will be asked to pay for any course fees where concessions are not permitted.

For 100% concessions

You must complete and sign a 'Full funding eligibility' declaration form no later than 2 weeks prior to the course start date and no earlier than 8 weeks before the course start date.

This declaration form will provide us with details of your current employment status, earnings, benefits and pension income (where applicable), and must confirm you meet the eligibility criteria for full Department for Education (DfE) funding.

Currently you are required to visit a local centre to complete and sign your full funding declaration form. A new online declaration form option will be introduced during 2025/26, you will be informed once this facility is available in your CLS online learner account.

Reminder emails regarding outstanding full funding eligibility declarations will be sent to learners 8 weeks and 4 weeks prior to the course start date where no completed and signed declaration form has been provided for your enrolment.

Failure to complete and sign your full funding eligibility declaration form 2 weeks before the course start date, will result in the cancellation of your fully funded enrolment.

If you do wish to re-enrol after the cancellation, you will be required to contact your local centre and make payment for the course fees due.

Please be aware that if your employment and earnings circumstances have changed since you enrolled, we will be required to re-check your eligibility for the full government funding that was conditionally applied to your enrolment. If you are no longer eligible to receive this funding, you will be asked to pay the full course fees due before being able to join the course.

For all other concessions (50%, 20%, 10%, specialist concessions and Positive Steps)

Please ensure that you hold documentary evidence to support your entitlement to the concession. This evidence must be valid as at the course start date and in your name. Following the enrolment, you may be contacted by CLS and asked to provide detail of the documentary evidence you hold. If you are unable to provide details of your documentary evidence, CLS reserve the right to invoice you for the full course fee.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible for a particular concession, please contact your local centre or email onlinekae@kent.gov.uk 

We have launched 'Positive Steps', a dedicated social prescribing package. This scheme has been specifically designed to address some of the barriers to learning that people may face, therefore helping to make the first step into learning more achievable. The scheme includes a distinct set of pathways, onto which we will accept referrals via a link worker, community connector or any health professional. For more information click here.

Learners cannot be funded to retake qualifications and levels that they have previously achieved, but all learners who meet eligibility criteria can be fully funded to undertake qualifications at higher levels, this includes GCSEs, Functional Skills and Stepping Stone qualifications (C&G Awards).

Learners who have already achieved an A*-C/9-4 grade at GCSE, will be required to pay the full fee, should they wish to improve their grade.

Standing orders are available for website enrolments. Before selecting the standing order option, you must ensure that your course meets the following criteria:

• The total cost of the course must be £70 or over
• This cost must be the total balance due after any other concession has been applied
• Standing orders will also depend on your enrolment date and the course end date and therefore it may not always be possible to pay for your course by this method as we require sufficient time for the standing order mandate to reach your bank/building society and for all instalments to be paid and received before the course end date

By selecting the Standing Order option you are required to pay 25% of the amount due. Payment arrangements for the balance of the course fees will vary depending on the total cost of the course:

• Minimum number of payments = 25% deposit plus 3 monthly payments
• Maximum number of payments = 25% deposit plus 9 monthly payments

Price bandings and number of payments:

We make every effort to keep our prices as low as possible and cannot return payments to learners who withdraw from a course. You have 14 days to change your mind from the day you pay in full or make your first payment.

If you want to request a refund during this period this can be done by using the refund request form, calling 03000 41 22 22* or visiting one of our centres. After this time a refund is not available unless the course is cancelled by KAE.

Download a refund request form.

Kent Adult Education reserves the right to change published tutor details. All other amendments (dates/times/locations/prices) will be done with prior notice.

Some of our courses require our learners to satisfy certain criteria before they enrol. You should ensure you read all the information on the website about your specific course before enrolling. By enrolling via the KAE website, you are confirming you have read these details and meet any enrolment requirements specified on the course outline. For courses requiring a pre-enrolment interview, you will be unable to enrol via the website. Please contact your centre to arrange an interview and enrolment.

There may be help available if you cannot meet the cost of your course or are experiencing difficulties in accessing the online provision. Please speak to a member of our Learner Experience Team as they will be able to advise on the support available.

You can seek help with the costs of your course fee, examination fee, travel, books, equipment (including IT equipment) and childcare. The level of help and availability will depend on the type of course you choose; your personal circumstances and income. You will need to meet a member of staff who will advise and assist you in completing the application forms. You will need to apply for financial assistance before you enrol and provide evidence of your circumstances.

The website is intended for an individual learner to register and pay for a course at the time of enrolment. If you wish your employer or a sponsor to pay for course fees you must enrol via the centre offering the course.

Please note that you must be aged 19 or over by the 31st August in the academic year in which your course begins. (Academic years run from 1st August to 31st July)

Enrolment eligibility

To enrol on our courses, you must be ordinarily resident* in the UK at the start date of your course.

To enrol onto a course via our website, you must also be a British citizen and aged 19 or over as at the 31st August 2025 (for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year).

*Ordinarily resident means you live in the UK and have chosen to live here for a settled purpose

If you are ordinarily resident* in the UK at the start date of your course but not a British citizen, you will not be able to enrol via our website. However please contact us to discuss the options available to you. 

You will still be eligible to enrol on courses with us if you meet the Department for Education (DfE) or Greater London Authority (if you live in the Greater London Authority area), residency eligibility criteria.

This includes:

• Those who have a lawful permission to reside in the UK (*see list of exclusions below) AND their permission is valid until the planned end date of the course (or 12 months from the start date if you live in the Greater London Authority area)
• Those currently claiming asylum, who have lived in the UK for at least 6 months prior to the course start date
• Members of the British Armed forces
• Members of other nations' armed forces currently stationed in England

You will be required to show evidence of your immigration permission to us before you can be enrolled.

Exclusions:

You will not be eligible to enrol onto a course with us if:

• you are in the UK without authority or lawful status
• you are resident in the UK on a student or graduate visa
• you are in the UK on holiday, with or without a visa
• your immigration status imposes a study prohibition or restriction
• you are in the UK on a sponsorship visa such as a skilled worker or seasonal worker visa. This includes those who are a dependent, spouse or partner of a person in the UK on a sponsorship visa

Course Fees

Current prices are published on the website. These prices are subject to change. The total price quoted is the amount payable to secure a course place.

The total price includes tuition costs, examination fees, where applicable and in some cases, additional costs which relate to the course.

Other optional materials, which may be associated with the course, are available for purchase as identified in the course outline.

Unless details are provided in the course information, you are advised not to buy equipment, books or materials until after the first session.

You are advised that when enrolling for a course via the website you must make payment for the course within 24 hours of enrolment either during the website enrolment process, or by calling 03000 41 22 22*. Alternatively, you may pay directly at your nearest centre. After this time if payment has not been received by KAE, your place on the course will be cancelled.

These are related to specific costs for materials within the particular course. Other course materials required may be listed in the course information. You may be able to purchase materials from your tutor once the course has started. Please do not buy things in advance unless advised in the course information. Many one-day courses include all materials.

Kent Adult Education cannot be held liable for pricing errors displayed on our website, third party websites and in publications. Kent Adult Education reserves the right to make changes to published details. See Refunds section for more details.

Fees, terms and conditions for Accredited courses are subject to change in relation to the most recent funding criteria which may change during the year.

Courses usually run as advertised, but KAE reserves the right to alter or cancel courses. You will be contacted and offered an alternative course if the original course you enrolled on is cancelled or closed by KAE. If no suitable alternative is available, you can request a partial refund in the case of a course closed partway through or full refund if the course has not started.

Our fees are based on financial viability, therefore if we do not reach an appropriate fee level, we may consider other measures including offering students the option to pay extra or modify the format to allow the course to run.

We make every effort to keep our prices as low as possible and therefore regret that we cannot return payments to learners who decide to withdraw from a course.

Transfer between courses is sometimes possible. However, unless this is on the advice of Kent Adult Education, a £10 administration charge may be levied.

If you have enrolled with us before you will have a KAE Learner Number, Username and Password. If known, please quote your Learner Number when contacting us. If you have forgotten your password, please use the ‘Forgotten Password’ link to request your password reminder. This will be emailed to your registered email address. Your website username will be your registered email address.

Please check the start date of your course on the website or as supplied in your enrolment confirmation. If you require any further information or assistance before your course starts, please contact our Learner Experience Team:

By telephoning 03000 41 22 22*

Or by visiting your local centre.

At KAE we are committed to fairness and equality of access, opportunity and outcome for all learners. We expect everyone who learns and works with us to treat each other with dignity and respect, regardless of individual differences in age, gender, gender identity, race, background, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We aim to provide learners with the best possible support. We explain more about the range of our services in our Disability Statement, available on our website and in our centres.

Read the full version here

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome, valued and respected, be that in centre, in outreach venues or online. We are a diverse community and celebrate this. We aim to promote British Values, Prevent, Equality and Diversity and Safeguarding in all we do. Inappropriate behaviour contrary to this will be challenged including any displayed whilst learning online.

Learners enrolled on an Accredited course will be expected to:

• Attend on a regular basis and be ready to start on time
• Undertake course work outside the classroom
• Sit the examination and ongoing assessments
• Complete the course

Some of our courses have age restrictions – generally students need to be 19 and over.

We want you to enjoy learning with us. If there is anything you wish to tell us, e.g. relating to a disability or medical condition, that may affect your learning or using any of our facilities, please speak to a member of staff.

Some of our centres have refreshment facilities. All KAE centres are designated as non-smoking sites. Please note that whilst attending any KAE course all learners are responsible for the safe keeping of their personal property and coursework. All learners should pay due attention to the health and safety of themselves and others whilst on our premises. Special care should be taken when using equipment and tools.

Please see below the information on call charges* for telephone numbers used on this website:

03000 numbers – Calls cost no more than calls to geographic (01 and 02) numbers and must be included in inclusive minutes and discount schemes in the same way. Calls from landlines are typically charged up to 9p per minute; calls from mobiles typically cost between 8p and 40p per minute. Calls from landlines and mobiles are included in free call packages.

0800 numbers - Calls to 0800 numbers are free from landlines. Charges from a mobile may vary*.

*Please check with your service provider for exact costs.

This is available on request, from your local centre.

All personal information (including credit and debit card details) entered on the KAE website is processed through a secure server link and are encoded for learner security.

Learning Agreements

The Department for Education (DfE) require us to collect certain information about our learners which you will be asked to provide at enrolment. This information will enable us to secure funding from the DfE to keep course fees as low as possible. 

If your postcode identifies you as a London resident, your Kent Adult Education courses will be funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The DfE and GLA requires us to obtain a signed Learning Agreement from you for each course you attend. It is therefore a condition of your enrolment with CLS to sign a Learning Agreement for each of your courses.

When you enrol via our website you use your online account. This is your CLS Learner portal account. During enrolment you are asked to enter the information required by our funders and are electronically signing the learning agreement for your chosen courses. The information you have entered at enrolment along with details of your learning agreements will be available for you to view securely via your online CLS Learner portal account.

When you enrol via the telephone or in person at one of our local centres, the enroller enters the information required by our funders into our funding system on your behalf.

You will be required to complete and sign either a paper or email version of a Learning Agreement (this is dependent on the type of course). 

This must be completed, signed and returned to us within 6 weeks of the course start date.

How we use your personal information

Our courses are funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

For more information about how the DfE processes your data please refer to their privacy notice:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/privacy-information-key-stage-4-and-5-and-adult-education/privacy-information-key-stage-4-and-5-and-adult-education

Learners living in the Greater London Authority area are not able to enrol on sub contracted courses.