Disability Rights UK Factsheet

Education maintenance allowance, bursaries and adult learning grants

This Disability Alliance factsheet is a basic introduction to grants for 16-19 year olds in full time education and adult learning grants . You can find out more detailed information about benefits whilst in education in Disability Rights UK's Disability Rights Handbook, available to buy at www.radar-shop.org.uk/.

1. Age 16-19

England

If you are age 16-19 and live in England you may be able to get help under the 16-19 Bursary Fund which replaces the education maintenance allowance (EMA) scheme.

Your course must be:

funded by the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) either directly or via a local authority; or
funded or co-financed by the European Social Fund; or
otherwise publicly funded and lead to a qualification (up to level 3) that is accredited by Ofqual or is pursuant to Section 98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

You must also satisfy the residence rules. These are quite complicated but you normally have to have been resident in England for three years before the first day of the first academic (or teaching) year of your course. However there are exceptions and it is worth looking at the full list of rules which are set out in the YPLA Funding Guidance 2011/12: Funding Regulations, available at http://tinyurl.com/6jx5lhd.

Help available under the 16-19 Bursary Fund

The scheme is made up of two elements. These are

a bursary of £1,200 a year paid to you if you are considered to be vulnerable - You are considered to be vulnerable and can receive help if you are in care or a care leaver or getting income support or getting both employment support allowance and disability living allowance. If you qualify your school or college will pay you.
help under a discretionary fund - You can get help under the Discretionary Fund if you need help with things such as the costs of transport, food or equipment. Your school or college will decide how much to pay and how regularly to pay it. Payments can also be in kind (such as a transport pass) rather than in cash. Payment could also be linked to your behaviour or attendance.

You can find out more about the Bursary Fund from the Department for Education website at http://tinyurl.com/3czpvma.

Transitional arrangements

If you are part-way through your studies and are currently receiving the old EMA you will be still be paid this if you:

successfully applied for EMA in 2009/10. You will continue to receive payments at the same level until the end of the 2011/12 academic year.
are now in their first year of post-16 study and were in receipt of the maximum weekly EMA payment of £30. You will be paid £20 for each week you are in education or training until the end of the 2011/12 academic year.

Discretionary learner support

You may also be able to get help under the discretionary learner support scheme with:

financial hardship and emergencies
childcare costs (for Ofsted-registered childcare)
accommodation costs, for those who have to study further than the maximum distance from home
essential course-related equipment, materials and field trips
travel costs

To be eligible to apply, you must be age 16 or over and have been accepted onto and studying a programme of learning funded by the YPLA or Skills Funding Agency. Your school or college will decide how much to pay. For more information see the DirectGov site at http://tinyurl.com/33yovg.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

The education maintenance allowance (EMA) scheme is available in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales but is now closed to new applications in England.

EMA is a payment of up to £30 a week (payments are made fortnightly in Northern Ireland and Wales) paid directly to you if you stay on in further education from age 16 to 19. You may also receive additional payments if you remain on the course and make good progress with your learning.

The money is paid into your bank account. If you don't have an account you will need to open one.

Entitlement to EMA depends on your parents income and where you study. It does not affect the benefits of other people in the household.

Applying for EMA

In Northern Ireland you can get a form from your school, college or local Jobs & Benefits office/JobCentre.

In Scotland you must ask your school, college or Local Education Authority for an application form.

In Wales you must ask your school or college for an application form. If you are an existing EMA student a renewal application form will have been sent to your home address.

You can telephone the following numbers for more information:

EMA helpline (Wales): 0845 602 8845
EMA helpline (Northern Ireland): 0845 601 7646

You can also find out more information and download an application form from the following websites:

NI Direct for Northern Ireland - http://tinyurl.com/6artmm8.
EMA Scotland (cannot download an application form) - www.emascotland.com/students.cfm.
Student Finance Wales - http://tinyurl.com/3ygm3yq.

2. Age 19 or over

England

From September 2011 you may be able to get help under the discretionary learner support scheme (see above). For more information see the DirectGov site at http://tinyurl.com/33yovg.

You can get your tuition fees paid if you don't have GCSEs, A levels or equivalent qualifications and you wish to study. You can get free tuition:

for a course which leads to your first full Level 2 qualification.
if you’re 25 or under, for a course which leads to your first full Level 3 qualification.

You can also get free tuition for a wider range of courses if you’re getting jobseeker's allowance or you are getting employment support allowance and are in the work related activity group.

Adult learning grant

The old adult learning grant has been closed to new applications.

If you are already getting an adult learning grant (ALG) you will receive a Notice of Entitlement for 2011/12
to enable you to complete your current course and receive weekly payments from the Learner Support Service.

Northern Ireland

You can get your tuition fees paid if you don't have GCSEs, A levels or equivalent qualifications and you wish to study. You can get free tuition:

for a course which leads to your first full Level 2 qualification.
if you’re 25 or under, for a course which leads to your first full Level 3 qualification.

You can also get free tuition for a wider range of courses if you’re getting certain benefits. Contact your college for more information.

Scotland

If you are age 16 or over you can get up to £500 a year towards the cost of learning.

You can get:

£200 paid by ILA Scotland – You can get this if you are interested in learning something new or brushing up your skills. ILA Scotland is a Scottish Government scheme for people with an income of £22,000 a year or less or who are on benefits. For more information call the ILA Scotland helpline free on 0808 100 1090 or visit the ILA Scotland web page at http://tinyurl.com/6rf3os.
£500 part time fee grant paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) – You can get this if you are studying on a part-time Higher Education course, Professional Development Award (PDA) or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at levels 7-11 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) and complete at least 40 SCQF credits per year. You must also be studying at a Scottish Institution. For more information go to the SAAS website at http://tinyurl.com/3kp3pev.

Wales

In Wales you can get an assembly learning grant which is aimed to encourage people aged 19 or over and living in Wales to continue with their education.

It is a payment of up to £1,500 if you are studying full time and up to £750 if you are part time. It is dependent on your household income.

You can find out more from the Student Finance Wales website at http://tinyurl.com/3loq7cs.

Where can I get more information?

You can get help and information at your local advice centre, such as a Citizens Advice Bureau. You can get more information about where to get personal advice from our Factsheet F15 - Finding a local advice centre, available at www.disabilityalliance.org/f15.htm.

Skill helpline

The Skill Helpline can give you advice on education, training and employment.

The opening hours are:

Tuesday 11.30am-1.30pm
Thursday 1.30pm-3.30pm

Email: skill4disabledstudents@disabilityalliance.org

All our publications are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/shop.htm. You can also place an order by contacting Disability Rights UK on 020 7247 8776 (this is not an advice line) or by fax on 020 7247 8765. All our factsheets are available at www.disabilityalliance.org/fact.htm.

25 July 2011