Enhanced Clinical Practitioner (Level 6)
Enhanced Clinical Practitioners are qualified health and care professionals who are working at an enhanced level of practice with specific knowledge and skills in a field of expertise. They manage a discrete aspect of a patient’s care within their current level of practice, which will be particular to a specific context, be it a client group, a skill set or an organisational context.
Enhanced Clinical Practitioners work as part of a multi-disciplinary clinical team across a wide range of settings, including hospitals, community clinics, individual’s homes and in dental and general practices. Specific examples of settings in which Enhanced Clinical Practitioners work include critical care units providing complex interventions to critically ill patients, GP premises providing specialist services for patients in the community and Children and Families Services units within a local council providing therapeutic interventions to children, young people and their families.
The main difference between Enhanced Clinical Practitioner (ECP) role and Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) role in Primary Care is that ECPs manage a discrete aspect of a patient’s care whereas ACPs will manage defined episodes of clinical care independently and from beginning to end.
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Duration
18 months (plus approximately 3 months for End Point Assessment)
Most Suitable For
Qualified health and care professionals, wanting to become Enhanced Clinical Practitioners working at an enhanced level of practice with specific knowledge and skills in a field of expertise.
Award
Level 6 Apprenticeship Award, plus Level 7 university Postgraduate Diploma in Enhanced Clinical Practice.
Programme Cost
£7,000
Tuition fee financial support options, and how to apply for most of these, are detailed in our Apprenticeships Process Employer Guide. Please note the following important changes to apprenticeship tuition fee funding options, for August 2026-July 2027 intakes:
- For non-levy paying employers (most SMEs): the tuition fee will now be 100% gov funded if the candidate is aged 16-24 (or turning 16 June-August 2026). The education provider will advise employer how to secure this during programme application stage. For level 2-6 programmes if candidate is aged 25 or over, both the levy transfer (100% funds) and co-investment (95% funds) options will continue to be available for employers to apply for.
- For levy-paying employers: for all level 2-6 programmes, for both apprentices already on programme and future intakes, the co-investment option has changed to 25% employer contribution and 75% gov contribution. However, for future applications, the levy transfer option (100% funds) will continue to be available for employers to apply for.
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Additional Funding
- Employer incentives for apprenticeships starting between August 2026-July 2027 (see here for full details):
- £1,000 if apprentice is aged 16-18 (or turning 16 June-August 2026); or aged between 19-24 and has either an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan provided by their local authority and/or has been, or are, in the care of their local authority.
- £2,000 for non-levy paying employers only (typically SMEs) if recruit person(s) aged 16-24 (or turning 16 June-August 2026) on to an apprenticeship programme from October 2026, as long as the employment only starts within 90 days before the intake start date.
- £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant - Employer may be able to apply for this if recruits an unemployed person(s) aged 18-24 who has been on universal credit for over 6 months. Full details are available here.
- Employer may not have to pay Class 1 Employer National Insurance if apprentice is under the age of 25. Full details are available here.
Start Date
First intake is March 2026. Future intakes are expected to be available periodically throughout the year subject to demand.
Teaching Delivery
Online
Key Learning Requirements
Apprenticeships require learners to achieve specific new knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs), which are detailed in the Apprenticeship Standard. These are achieved by:
1) Programme Teaching: online taught sessions 1 day per week plus online resources.
2) Independent study: such as assignment/project research and write up.
3) Learning in the workplace:
• The University of Cumbria’s programme includes a Workplace Learning Module which will consist of 200 hours of practical learning in the apprentices place of work.
• Further learning in the workplace will also be achieved during activities such as: shadowing colleagues, completing other programme assigned work-based tasks, day-to-day development within your current role duties/work activities, reflections with mentor, and any relevant training sessions provided by/via your employer.
The apprentice will complete a minimum of 688 hours in total to achieve the above 3 areas (200 hours of this will be completed during the Workplace Learning Module). The delivery model allows apprentices and employers to balance the demands of the apprenticeship with the demands of front-line service delivery.
Modules
This programme has fixed module delivery. For the Workplace Learning Module the employer and apprentice will choose from one of the following focus areas; Primary Care, Urgent and Emergency Care, or Mental Health. The university are developing more options, please discuss this with the university if you have any queries. A list of modules is available on the course webpage or course materials.
Placements
This programme does not require external placements to be completed, although varied experiences are beneficial.
Assessments
Apprentices will be assessed throughout the programme by assignments, observations, evaluations and work-based learning modules. The will also be a End Point Assessment.
Key Candidate Entry Requirements
• Employed 30 hours or more per week for the duration of the apprenticeship.
• Hold registration with either one of the statutory healthcare regulators as outlined within the apprenticeship standard.
• Preferably certificate/s to evidence both Maths and English either GCSE C/4 (or higher), Functional Skills Level 2 from an Ofqual approved examining organisation, or acceptable alternative (List of acceptable options here). If the candidate does not hold these, the employer will determine if candidate is to complete Functional Skills Level 2 alongside the apprenticeship. An initial diagnostic assessment will be completed by the Education Provider at application stage.
Full requirements and details are found on the course webpage/information.
Key Employer Entry Requirements
• Ensure Learner has the support and opportunities to achieve the requirements of the apprenticeship.
• An appropriate healthcare professional to act as the workplace training supervisor and mentor the apprentice.
Listed as an Approved Provider under an NHS Procurement
Yes
Application Timescale
It takes on average 2 months to complete all application stages for this programme.
If recruiting to this position, additional time will be required for recruitment and advertising stages.
Education Provider Deadlines:
For March 2026 Intake:
- By 19 December 2025, Interest in applying for this intake to have ideally been communicated to the university course team on or before 19 December 2025.
- 12-8 weeks prior to start date, Employer to have completed university onboarding form (includes attaching role JD and Signed Employment Contract).
- 8 – 4 weeks prior to start date, University will start adding learner to university systems and will provide programme timetable to employer/learner.
- 2 weeks prior to start date, University aim to have learner fully enrolled and able to access to access all university systems.
Additional Training Hub Support
Primary Care employees have access to:
• All resources provided by the L&SC PC Training Hub such as Digital training, Health and Wellbeing support and events.
Pathway
On successful completion of this apprenticeship, examples of further apprenticeship options include; Coaching Professional, Leadership and Management (Health and Social Care), Improvement Leader. This interactive occupational maps tool shows the variety of progression pathways using apprenticeships.
Career progression does not have to be linear. Entry criteria may differ per provider and even more varied routes may be available depending on the individuals prior learning and experience.
Information Last Updated
05/11/2025
Further Programme and Provider Information
• Apprenticeship Standard
• Programme Webpage
If you would like to know anything further about the programme itself, please contact: Fiona Ryder, Principal Lecturer, University of Cumbria on [email protected] or [email protected]
How to Apply
If you would like to apply for an apprenticeship programme - either for yourself, a member of staff, or a vacancy position - please complete our apprenticeship form. This form is for Primary Care Employers within Lancashire and South Cumbria only.
By completing the form, the Training Hub Apprenticeships Team will be able to complete basic pre-checks, provide you with personalised guidance, and start the programme application process for you. If you would like to discuss anything first, please email [email protected] or call Olivia, Apprenticeships Manager, on 07735161775. You can find out about the stages of applying for an apprenticeship within our Apprenticeships Process (Employer Guide).
