Level 3 Dental Nurse Apprenticeship

Structured online teaching, plus visits to your workplace

This is not a self-study course with a login and good luck. Your apprentice attends scheduled, tutor-led online sessions on a published timetable, and we come to your workplace for practical assessment and support.

• Live online lectures led by a tutor, not recorded modules
• Workplace visits from a named tutor for observation, assessment and support
• Progress reviews with you, the apprentice and the tutor together
• Aptem for coursework, evidence and off-the-job hours, with employer access

For you that means the apprentice stays in the workplace. No day release, no travel, no losing a member of staff for a day a week.

What your apprentice will hold

• NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in the Principles and Practice of Dental Nursing, qualification number 610/3114/8 – 365 guided learning hours, 550 total qualification time, 55 credits, 12 mandatory units, with two externally set and externally marked synoptic multiple-choice examinations
• Level 2 English and maths where required

This is a GDC-approved qualification, which is what makes registration possible. Be careful of courses titled “Dental Nursing Assistant” – those are not eligible for GDC registration as a dental nurse.

GDC registration

On completion your apprentice can apply to join the GDC register. Registration is not automatic. They must submit an application and meet the GDC registration requirements in force at the time. “Dental nurse” is a legally protected title, and registration should be sought promptly once qualified.

Assessment

This is a statutory integrated apprenticeship. Apprentices do not undertake a separate additional assessment at the end. Assessment is built into the qualification itself, which shortens the programme and removes a stage that trips learners up elsewhere.

• Aged 16 or over
• Employed in a dental setting with enough patient contact and variety of clinical procedures
• Enhanced DBS check, occupational health and vaccination requirements as your practice requires
• Fitness to practise and professional conduct expectations apply from day one

What you need to provide

An occupationally competent workplace mentor or supervisor who is GDC registered and appropriately indemnified for the supervisory role, and a safe clinical environment with exposure to an appropriate breadth of patients and procedures.

Trainees practising under supervision are covered by the practice’s or supervising registrant’s indemnity. They do not need their own.

English and maths

The rules changed on 11 February 2025 and many providers still describe the old ones.

Apprentices aged 19 and over no longer need to hold or achieve English and maths qualifications to pass their apprenticeship. If you want them to study toward level 2, we will support it and the government funds it, but it is optional and it is your decision.

Apprentices aged 16 to 18 must still hold or achieve level 2 English and maths. The government funds this and we deliver it.

Where English or maths is essential to a qualification built into the standard, it still has to be completed either way.

Why employers choose us

Choosing a training provider is a risk decision. The question is whether your apprentice finishes, and whether they finish well.

• 89% retention, against a sector target of 65%
• 47.8% achieve a distinction, against a national average of 29.3%
• 83.6% pass their assessment first time
• Rated Good in our most recent full Ofsted inspection, February 2024
• Over 10,000 people have begun their clinical career with us since 2008

Our clients include NHS ambulance trusts, Falck, Subsea 7 and the British Army.

What we do, and what you do

You provide the job, the hours and a workplace where your apprentice can practise. We do everything else.

• A named tutor for your apprentice and for you, not a call centre
• Enrolment and paperwork, including the apprenticeship service account setup if you do not have one
• Progress reviews with you, the apprentice and the tutor together, so you always know where they are
• Assessment arrangements, including gateway and liaison with the assessment organisation
• Safeguarding and wellbeing support, including 24/7 access to our learner safeguarding app

Employer access to Aptem

You get your own login to Aptem, the system we use to manage apprenticeships. You can see progress, off-the-job hours and review records whenever you want, rather than waiting for a report.

Tripartite reviews

Progress reviews bring you, the apprentice and the tutor together, so nothing is reported second hand.

Completion and registration support

We support your apprentice through the GDC application at the end, so the qualification turns into a registered nurse rather than a certificate in a drawer.

Need to find an apprentice?

We can help. We will write and post your vacancy on the government’s apprenticeship service, promote it through our own channels, and pass on suitable applicants. You decide who to interview and who to appoint.

Posting a vacancy is fiddly the first time. If you would rather not, we will handle it.

For most employers, this costs nothing

If you do not pay the apprenticeship levy and your apprentice is aged 16 to 24 when training starts, the government funds 100% of the training and assessment, up to the maximum of £8,000 for this standard. You pay nothing toward training. The same applies if you do pay the levy but have insufficient funds in your account.

And you may be paid for taking one on

• £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment – for non-levy employers taking on a new employee aged 16 to 24, where they joined you within the 90 days before the apprenticeship starts. Paid in two instalments.
• £1,000 additional payment – for apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan or experience of local authority care.
• £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant – paid directly to you by the Department for Work and Pensions where your apprentice is aged 18 to 24 and has been unemployed and receiving Universal Credit for six months or more.
• No employer National Insurance on eligible earnings for apprentices under 25.

Taken together, an eligible employer can receive up to £6,000 for training someone at no cost.

If your apprentice is 25 or over

Non-levy employers contribute 5% of the cost and the government funds the remaining 95%. Levy payers with insufficient funds contribute 25%.

If you pay the apprenticeship levy

You draw the full cost from your apprenticeship service account, up to the £8,000 maximum for this standard. Two things changed on 1 August 2026 that are worth knowing: the 10% government top-up on new contributions has stopped, and new funds now expire after 12 months rather than 24. Funds already in your account before that date keep the old 24-month expiry.

Levy transfer

If you do not pay the levy, another employer can transfer funds to cover your apprentice in full. Levy payers can transfer up to 50% of their funds each year, and any business with an apprenticeship service account can receive them. We can help you find and set this up. Funding rules change. These figures are correct as at October 2026 and we will tell you if anything affecting your apprentice changes.

The full 2026 rules, grants and what each of our nine apprenticeships costs are on one page.
Apprenticeship funding and grants 2026