Supporting You Financially

Students must be aged 16 or over but under 19 at 31 August 2021 to be eligible for help from the bursary fund in the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Students aged 19 or over are only eligible for discretionary bursary if they are continuing on a course they began aged 16-18 or have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Students aged 19 or over are not eligible for an enhanced bursary in any case.

Students must have good attendance.

Students placed on a Senior Management Contract or above of the Trust Interventions procedure will not automatically receive payments.

Students should show that they have a financial need (see application for details). If there are no relevant costs to meet then college may refuse an application.

Students qualifying for an enhanced bursary may receive up to £1,200 per year. Students with a financial need may be eligible for an enhanced bursary if they are either;

• in care
• care leavers
• receiving Income Support, or Universal Credit because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner.
• receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right.
• an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) – under 18 only. See separate ‘Further information for Asylum Seekers’ section for details.

Discretionary bursary is assessed on household income. Applications will only be successful if gross household assessed income is £30,000 or below, for those receiving Tax Credits. For households receiving Universal Credit, assessed net income should be £23,000 or below to qualify.

Household income is usually classed as the income of parents/guardians only. Income information is not required for any additional adults living at the same address eg. Grandparents or adult siblings.

If receiving Universal Credit…

You should provide the latest three monthly statements, these must be consecutive and the most recent available. All pages of each statement showing a full breakdown must be provided, these can be found by logging on to your account and clicking the hyperlink for each month. If you are having difficulty accessing your monthly statements contact the Job Centre for assistance.

If you have been receiving Universal Credit for less than three months please provide all statements you have available and include a note on the application of the start date.

If not receiving Universal Credit…

• Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
• Child Benefit
• Childcare element of Working Tax Credits
• Disability element of Working/Child Tax Credits
• Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit
• Rent from lodgers/letting rooms
• Child maintenance
• Bank or Building Society interest

Free meals will automatically also be awarded if the student or parent/guardian are in receipt of any of the following;

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income no more than £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC))
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400pa

Free meals will be equivalent to £2.41 per day. Credit of £12.05 will be available on student ID cards and will be refreshed each week. Any remaining credit will be lost at the end of each week.

Payments can only be made by BACS transfer into a bank account held in the student’s own name. More information on basic bank accounts can be found at British Bankers’ Association via the link https://www.bba.org.uk/customers/personal-banking/accessible-banking/

If there are special circumstances why a student cannot hold their own bank account this must be discussed with Student Finance before the application is submitted. Applications without student bank details will automatically be returned.

Provided a student meets the required criteria and has financial need they will be eligible to receive a maximum of £1,200 over the academic year 2020/21. Students may receive a reduced award or may be refused an award dependant on the student’s financial need.

Successful students will receive a payment in September at the start of their course. This is to help with the initial costs of starting college such as books, transport, equipment etc.. Payments will be subject to evidence of effort, satisfactory attendance and work performance (payments will be withheld if the student is placed on a Senior Management contract or above of the Trust Interventions procedure).

For successful applicants the payment dates will be advised by letter issued on 15 September.

If a student withdraws from college, payments will be stopped from the date of the withdrawal. College reserves the right to ask for any monies paid in advance to be returned.

Calculations can be provided on request for information on why an application has been declined. Contact Student Finance for details.

To appeal a decision, a cover letter should be sent along with any relevant additional supporting evidence. Appeals are referred to the Trust Finance Manager in first instance. Any further query is referred to Trust Director of Finance.