Does a sandwich year count as part of the 4 years SFE support?

SFE only covers 4 years of study. I dropped out of my first uni 5 months in and now in my second year on a 3 year course + a placement year. I don't need loans for the placement year because there is no tuition fee charged by the uni and I don't need maintenance loans because I will get paid during my placement. My question is if I take a sandwich year will I have to pay for 3rd year entirely out of my own pocket (Since this will be 4 years) or does the sandwich year not count as part of the 4 year financial support? (even though I am not taking loans for the sandwich year)