Getting to grips with financial support for education and work can be daunting. To help you and your teenager we have produced a 'Money' factsheet which can be downloaded from this page (see the downloads bar). It's designed as a basic introduction to a range of financial topics and signpost you to organisations that can provide specialist support, information and advice.
Below we've provided a general overview of some of the financial sources of help that we are most frequently asked about.
16-19 Bursary Fund
There are two elements to the 16-19 Bursary Fund:
1. Young people in care, care leavers, young people in receipt of income support and disabled young people in receipt of Employment Support Allowance who are also in receipt of Disability Living Allowance will be eligible for a bursary of £1,200 a year.
2. Young people who face financial barriers to participation, eg, difficulty meeting travel costs, meals, books and equipment may apply to the learning provider for financial assistance. It will be up to the learning provider to decide if they are going to give young people in these circumstances anything from their allocation of the Bursary Fund.
Student Finance – Higher Education
Student Finance England strongly recommend that any young person considering university study start researching and applying for their finance as soon as they start researching and applying for their courses, as the earlier students get their applications in the more likely they are to receive their funding in time for the start of their course. Students are advised to do this even if they are still considering higher education as an option.
Prospective students and their parents/carers can use Student Finance England’s student finance calculator to estimate and compare course and living costs. You can also use the calculator to estimate bursaries, scholarships and awards.
Teenagers that are planning to study a degree that is going to prepare them for a career in social work, medicine, dentistry or certain other areas of healthcare, could be entitled to financial support that is different from or in addition to the standard student financial package. Click here to explore this further.
If your teenager is going to apply to university for a September 2012 start use the Your Future website to find out more about the new financial arrangements.
Care to Learn
If your teenager is a young mum or dad under 20, with one or more children they could get up to £160 per child per week to help with the cost of childcare and travel costs whilst they are in learning, as long as they use childcare provision that is registered with Ofsted.
If you have any questions about Care to Learn or you want to request a Care to Learn application pack visit www.direct.gov.uk/caretolearn or ring the Learner Support Helpline on 0800 121 8989 (7am-8pm).
Young mums or dads do not have to be on benefits to claim Care to Learn but if they are it will not affect any benefits they are getting.
If they need help finding Ofsted registered childcare they should contact Bolton Families Information Service on 01204 332170, email families@bolton.gov.uk or visit their nearest Children’s Centre.
Discretionary Learner Support for those aged 19+
This is for people that are 19+ who are attending college to study for a level 1 or 2 qualification, who face financial hardship. It is up to the learning provider to decide who receives this funding.
Extended Child Benefit
If your teenager is still at home when they leave school then you can still claim Child Benefit until September the same year. You can also apply for Child Benefit Extension within three months of your teenager officially leaving school – this extends Child Benefit for a further 20 weeks and usually ends mid November. For a more detailed overview of Child Benefit click here.
Dance and Drama Awards
These awards are for students aged 16+ who want to work in the performing arts (18+ for those that want to apply for acting or stage management courses). These awards are only applicable if your teenager takes the Trinity College London qualification at one of 21 accredited providers listed at www.direct.gov.uk/danceanddrama. These awards do not cover academic or general courses in Dance and Drama such as A levels, degree courses, teaching courses or courses in further education colleges. These awards are not to be confused with the Government's Music and Dance Scheme for exceptionally talented children aged under 16 - see www.education.gov.uk/mds.