When is the bursary fund paid

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Your school or college will have their own criteria for discretionary bursaries. Check what you need to do. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies. Hide this message. If the asylum claim is decided in their favour, the local authority must provide them with the same support and services as they do care leavers.

As such, they continue to be eligible for a bursary as a student from a vulnerable group until they reach the upper age limit. Where an asylum claim is not supported, the individual may not be able to stay legally in the UK. Students who meet the criteria, and who have a financial need, can apply for a bursary for vulnerable groups.

The defined groups reflect that these students are unlikely to be receiving financial assistance from parents or carers, so may need a greater level of support to enable them to continue to participate. Institutions must ensure students are eligible for the bursary for defined vulnerable groups in each year they require support. We are continuing to review the descriptions of the defined vulnerable groups to reflect the ongoing rollout of UC and ensure they accurately reflect the purpose of the scheme.

Students on study programmes of less than 30 weeks should be paid a pro-rata amount. A student studying for around 16 hours a week is likely to have greater costs than a student studying for 4 hours a week, for example.

Institutions may decide that although a young person may be eligible for a bursary because they are in one or more of the defined vulnerable groups, they do not have any actual financial need. If paid from discretionary bursary, all the eligibility criteria and usual assessment processes must be met and followed. A young person placed with a foster carer by the local authority, including where the foster carer is on the books of an independent fostering agency, is classed as looked after.

A child who is privately fostered in other words, a private arrangement is made between the parent and the person who will care for the child is not classed as a looked after child and is not eligible for the bursary for vulnerable groups.

In some instances, a young person may have been in the care of the local authority and the care transferred to another party via a permanent form of fostering such as a Special Guardianship Order.

In these circumstances, the young person is defined as having left care so is now a care leaver. If they do, they are eligible for help from the bursary for vulnerable groups, where they need financial support to participate.

Institutions will increasingly see students claiming bursaries for defined vulnerable groups based on receiving UC.

UC award notifications do not include any information on the benefits they replace. For this reason, the description of the bursaries for vulnerable group category that relates to receipt of UC or IS is that a student must be receiving UC in their own right because they are financially supporting themselves and anyone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner.

How DWP treat any funding for education depends on whether the student is undertaking advanced full-time education. It is unlikely that 16 to 18 year olds will be in advanced full-time education as they are generally on study programmes at level 3 or below. We do encourage institutions to provide support from the bursary fund by making payments in kind where possible.

Institutions must not make bursary fund payments as regular payments for living costs. This is out of scope of the bursary fund and any such payments would be subject to the Social Security Amendment Students and Income-related Benefits Regulations Institutions must obtain proof that students meet the criteria for the bursary for vulnerable groups in full.

Institutions should ask for evidence from each student and retain copies for audit purposes. UC claimants should be able to print off details of their award from their online account or provide a screenshot to the institution. Students who meet the criteria and who are on study programmes lasting for less than 30 weeks should be given a bursary on a pro-rata basis with the actual amount dependant on the specific financial needs they have.

In some cases, a young person might meet the eligibility criteria for a bursary for vulnerable groups but their financial needs are already met, they have no relevant costs or do not need the maximum award. They should assess whether no bursary should be awarded because the student has no financial needs or to award a reduced amount because the financial help needed is limited.

ESFA recommends that institutions should be clear in their bursary fund application form that there is a possibility of no award or a limited award. This ensures all parties understand that meeting the criteria for a bursary for vulnerable groups does not automatically mean funding will be given. Institutions make discretionary bursary awards to help students with the cost of travel, to buy essential books, equipment or specialist clothing such as protective overalls, for example.

These are items the student would otherwise need to pay for to participate. Institutions set their own eligibility criteria for the discretionary bursary but must comply with the eligibility conditions and funding rules set out in this guide. Institutions must ensure that students are eligible for the discretionary bursary in each year they require support. These will vary from student to student, depending on, for example, eligibility based on household income, and actual financial need such as the distance they need to travel to the institution and the requirements of their study programme.

For example, although many students who had previously benefitted from a free school meal may have financial needs, these will vary depending on personal circumstances so an individual assessment of need should be made. Institutions must manage the number and size of discretionary bursary awards to keep within their budget. Institutions may decide to retain a small emergency fund from their allocation to support students who face exceptional circumstances due to a change in their situation during the year that impacts on their ability to participate in education.

Evidence of actual costs must be held for audit purposes. Institutions may also choose to top up the bursary with their own funds to support students who are in need. There is no set limit for the amount of discretionary bursary that can be awarded to students. Institutions can award discretionary bursaries equal to or higher than the bursary for vulnerable groups maximum as long as they have clearly identified an individual student requires this level of funding to participate.

Institutions must ensure their bursary policy ensures funding reaches those students who are most in need of financial support.

This means institutions should use household income in some way to help establish the amount of support they award to a student. This can be used in conjunction with other factors, such as distance to travel from the institution and the number of dependent children in the household, as well as the actual participation needs the student has.

However, DfE is aware that some institutions are unsure about how to use UC award notices when these are provided as evidence of household income. DfE suggests institutions may wish to ask for the 3 most recent monthly award statements. The take-home pay figure in addition to the amount of UC after all deductions will give a total monthly income.

Using 3 months statements will act as a guide to the household income for a quarter of a year. Institutions could then estimate assumed income for a full year. An example of a UC award notice is below. The notice shows the 2 highlighted figures — one for take-home pay; one for the amount of UC after deductions — that should be added together to give a monthly total.

PDF , KB , 1 page. Institutions are encouraged to keep their bursary policies under review to ensure they continue to provide support to students who need it.

For example, students from households being supported via lower income jobs could be in more financial need than a student in receipt of free school meals or where the family receives other benefits. An assessment of individual need should help to identify whether they are struggling to afford the books and equipment they need or to cover their essential travel costs.

Institutions engaged in industry placement delivery are also encouraged to ensure their bursary policies are able to respond to the needs of students undertaking industry placements. A few students may find themselves facing financial difficulties due to incurring extra participation costs, for example, because they need to pay for additional travel to their placement. These students may only need support for a short period of time. Institutions must publish a policy or statement setting out how they will use their bursary fund.

The document should be available early enough for students to be able to use the information when deciding which post institution to attend. Institutions must comply with the requirements of the Equality Act when setting their criteria and must not discriminate against their students, either directly or indirectly, because of their protected characteristics.

Bursary fund policies must clearly set out what type of help the institution offers, for example, help with transport, books and equipment, field trips and other course-related costs and whether bursary support is available to contribute to the costs of attending industry placements, university interviews and open days.

Institutions should remember that whilst the bursary can be used for transport costs, it does not replace the statutory transport duty local authorities have. Each local authority must publish an annual transport statement that sets out the arrangements they will make to facilitate participation in education or training for students aged 16 to Institutions develop and use their own application forms for the bursary fund.

Application forms must capture all the relevant information for the provider to assess the application in line with the bursary rules, including household income and the actual participation needs the student has such as help with travel or to buy essential books or equipment for example.

The application form should be signed by the student. Institutions delivering standard academic year provision may wish to specify that all applications for the bursary are submitted by a set date so they can assess the overall level of demand holistically and make discretionary awards on a fair basis.

Any specific deadline date should be clearly stated in the application form and included in the bursary policy. A small emergency fund may be retained for this purpose but consequently, ESFA recommends that there should be no absolute cut-off point for applications. Institutions delivering short programmes, roll-on roll-off provision or industry placements, should enable students to apply for help from the bursary fund at any point during the year.

The institution should communicate the outcome of the application to the student and inform them how the costs will be paid. The institution must hold a record of the planned amount of funding required based on the actual need of the student and this should be recorded against each participation need.

Institutions are not permitted to use the bursary fund in any way that would give them a competitive advantage over other institutions. Examples include:. Institutions must not use the bursary as a way of incentivising attendance or as a marketing tool to encourage students to choose their institution over another. Where institutions use non-bursary funds to provide free travel for all their students, they must make clear that this is an offer from the institution, rather than being supported via the bursary fund.

ESFA encourages institutions to pay bursaries in-kind rather than cash as far as possible. This helps ensure that the bursary is spent for the reasons it was awarded. In-kind payments can include travel passes, vouchers or credits for meals, required books and required equipment. Where institutions make in-kind payments, they should explain to the student the value of the payments and how these have been deducted from their total bursary award.

A basic bank account which students can open at age 16 allows BACS transfers and allows the student to withdraw money.

Institutions must insist that students only spend the bursary payments they have made to them on the support that has been identified as necessary to help them participate in education. Where payments are made, it is good practice to make these on a regular basis weekly, for example as this helps students manage their finances.

It also means that if a student has a payment withheld due to failing to meet the conditions the institution has set, they will not be left without financial support for a long period. Institutions should make payments for both for the bursary for vulnerable groups and the discretionary bursary conditional on the student meeting agreed standards of attendance and behaviour. Institutions must ensure that any standards they set are clear, accessible and understood by students.

Institutions should ensure they obtain and retain evidence that a student has seen and agreed to the conditions. Institutions can withhold payments if a student does not meet agreed standards, but they should always consider the individual circumstances of the student first.

Sanctioning a student to the extent that their bursary funding had been stopped for a whole term, for example, is not recommended as it can stop students attending and undermine the purpose of the bursary fund.

Institutions should consider the impact on attendance that might be caused by illness, caring responsibilities or other exceptional circumstances. This should be built into the payment conditions agreed between the student and their institution, so that both parties are aware of the potential effect on payments.

Institutions should stop payments where students have been absent for a period of 4 continuous weeks or more excluding holidays and where students have made a decision to withdraw from a study programme. Institutions can also take money back from students if they have not spent it for the reasons it was awarded to them. However, institutions should consider the impact of such an action on the individual student before taking a final decision to do so.

If an institution purchases books or equipment for a student, they must specify the student must return these at the end of their study programme so they can be used again by another student where appropriate. So, if an institution purchases equipment that is necessary for the student to complete their study programme, they can purchase this with bursary funds and specify the student must return it once they have completed their study programme.

If keeping equipment on campus is the best way of ensuring this happens, institutions have the right to set this as a condition. Institutions should handle the escalation of complaints about the bursary fund in the same way as any other complaint they may receive.

ESFA does not have a role in the administration of bursary funding to students because this is the responsibility of individual institutions. As such, ESFA does not usually get involved with complaints. However, ESFA may get involved if there is an allegation that the bursary fund eligibility criteria or any content within this guide is being disregarded.

Institutions may wish to highlight to students and parents the impact of receipt of the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund on other benefits. Institutions must not make bursary fund payments as payments for living costs. Institutions should draw down funding for bursaries for vulnerable groups from the SBSS whenever they identify and verify new students who meet the criteria. Institutions can submit as many funding claims as they need to throughout the academic year. Institutions should not hold onto claims until the end of the academic year and submit them retrospectively for payment.