The short answer
The process is broadly the same across every deanery: discuss the course with your Educational Supervisor, add it to your PDP, get prospective approval through your regional system, book only after approval, then claim reimbursement with receipts. The single biggest way trainees lose money is booking before approval. Almost every policy warns that paying first risks you funding the course yourself, and some reject such claims automatically.
The universal steps
1. Discuss and document. Raise the course at an ES review and record it as a PDP entry. Several deaneries (the Midlands, East of England, Scotland) make a PDP entry a formal condition of funding, not a nicety.
2. Get prospective approval. Apply through your regional system before you book: Accent or ALM in most of England, TURAS in Scotland, Codi in Wales, and the NIMDTA process in Northern Ireland. Apply in good time: 8 weeks in the North West and North East, 6 weeks in the Midlands and Wales, at least 4 weeks in Northern Ireland.
3. Book only after approval. This is the rule that protects your money. The North East states plainly that if you pay before approval, the claim is automatically rejected. Others say you risk funding it yourself. Never book on the assumption of approval.
4. Claim reimbursement. Pay, then claim back through the regional expenses system with your receipt (not a completion certificate: several deaneries specifically require proof of payment). Watch the deadlines: the North West requires claims within 3 months of starting the course or signing up to a package; Northern Ireland within 4 weeks with a course evaluation.
The mistakes that cost trainees money
Booking before approval is the big one. After that: assuming a subscription is claimable when your deanery only funds courses; missing the regional free course your deanery expects you to use first; claiming a course above your region's cap (£500 in the North West, £600 in London, KSS, Scotland and Wales); and trying to claim the exam fee from your study budget, which no deanery allows (see Is the SCA exam fee reimbursed? for the separate England route).
An email you can adapt
If you need to open the conversation with your ES or TPD, something like this works:
Subject: SCA preparation course, study budget approval
Hi [name],
I'd like to put an SCA preparation course on my PDP ahead of my sitting in [month]. The course is [name], priced at £[amount], which sits within our deanery's study budget for exam preparation courses.
Could we discuss it at our next review so I can get prospective approval before booking? I'll add it as a PDP entry beforehand. Happy to send the course details and dates across in advance.
Thanks, [name]
Keep it short, name the course and price, flag that it fits the budget, and ask for prospective approval explicitly.