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16-18 BURSARY AND 16-19 VULNERABLE YOUNG PERSON BURSARY

If your household income is £38,000 or below, you may be eligible for help with essential course kit/equipment, uniform, and/or travel.

(Please note this may be subject to change)

16-18 Bursary Policy Statement

The Bursary Fund is provided by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and is designed to help with the essential costs associated with accessing post-16 education. The funding is designed to support those students most in need of financial support to enable them to engage in education provision. Students can apply for a bursary if they live in a household with an income of £38,000 or under (please note this may be subject to change).

16-18 Bursary

To be eligible, you must be:

  • Resident in the UK for 3 years or more.
  • Enrolled on a 16-19 study programme funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
  • Aged 16, 17, or 18 on 31st August.
  • Aged 19 or over and continuing a study programme you began aged 16 to 18 (19+ continued).
  • Aged 19-24 on 31st August and have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
  • Have a household income of £38,000 or below (please note this may be subject to change)

16-19 Vulnerable Young Person Bursary

To be eligible, you must meet the criteria set out above as well as being:

  • A young person in care
  • Care leaver
  • In receipt of income support or universal credit in your own name
  • In receipt of employment support allowance (ESA) as well as Disability Living Allowance or personal independence payment (PIP) in your own name

Young people who meet the above criteria will receive payments and support with direct course-related costs, meals and transport up to a total award value of £1,200.

Students will be awarded the amount of support they need to participate based on an assessment of the types of costs they have and will not be automatically awarded £1,200. Students on a study programme lasting less than 30 weeks will be awarded a bursary on a pro-rata basis as appropriate based on an assessment of actual need.

What you may receive

  • Books, equipment and uniform that are essential to complete your course
  • Educational trips and visits approved by the College
  • Travel, if you live more than 1.5 miles away from the College
  • Free College meals (aged 16-18 only or 19+ with an Education, Health and Care Plan).  This is dependent on benefits.

How to apply

You will need to submit an application via your Learner Hub account and follow the instructions below:

  1. Go to Login (chesterfield.ac.uk).
  2. Sign in with your learner hub username/email and password (the login details you used when you set up your account and applied for your course).  You can reset your password from this page if you need to.
  3. Once you have logged in, on the homepage, click ‘My Bursaries’.
  4. Click ‘New Application’ and follow the on-screen instructions to submit your application.

Free college meals

Chesterfield College can support eligible students aged 16-18 with free College meals for each day they are due to attend college. You will receive an allowance of £4 per day, which will be added to your student ID card. You can only use this at the College’s canteens. If you don’t attend a main college campus, then you will receive a termly cash payment that will go into your bank account.

To be eligible for free college meals, you must be:

  • Aged between 16 and 18 on 31st August or 19 to 24 on 31st August and subject to an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP)
  • In receipt of, or having parents who receive, one of the following benefits:
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  • The Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit.
  • Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190 as assessed by HMRC.
  • Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
  • Universal Credit

Care to Learn

The Care to Learn scheme is available to anyone under the age of 20 at the start of their course and can help with childcare costs whilst you study.

What you’ll get:

You can receive up to £180 per child, per week

What it covers:

Care to Learn can help with the cost of:

  • your childcare fees, including deposit and registration fees
  • a childcare taster session for up to 5 days
  • keeping your childcare place over the summer holidays
  • taking your child to your childcare provider

Eligibility

You can get Care to Learn if all of the following apply to you:

  • you’re a parent under 20 at the start of your course
  • you’re the main carer for your child
  • you live in England
  • you’re either a British citizen or have a legal right to live and study in England
  • your course qualifies
  • your childcare provider qualifies

Your childcare provider

To qualify, your childcare provider must be one of the following

  • registered with Ofsted
  • registered with a childminder agency
  • a school

They can be a:

  • childminder
  • pre-school playgroup
  • day nursery
  • out-of-school club

Claiming Care to Learn will not affect your family’s benefits or allowances.