Sixth Form 16-19 Bursary Fund- Policy

Purpose

To distribute the funds allocated by the government in the fairest possible method that takes into account the household income of students and the extra costs they incur by undertaking Sixth Form Study.

Eligibility

Students in the following three groups will be eligible for support provided they meet the general conditions set out by the government.

1.    Students who are identified by the government as ‘most vulnerable’. These students will automatically be entitled to a bursary of £1,200. Students in this group are: Young people who are looked after by the local authority

•      Care leavers

•      Those in receipt of income support (in their own right)

•      Disabled young people in receipt of both Employment Support Allowance & Disability Living Allowance.

2.    Students who are eligible for free school meals. You are eligible if your parents are claiming one of these 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 guaranteed element of State Pension Credit Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)

•      Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit Universal Credit

3.    Students who come from families in the lower 40% of UK household incomes.

•      Students with an annual family income of less than £33,000 in the last tax year (including benefits). This must be established through current benefit and income documentation as stated on the bursary application form.

•      Students who can demonstrate through benefit documentation that their award has been changed to reflect a change in circumstances so that their annual family income including benefits is now below £26,000.

4.    Young people with caring responsibilities. For example, caring for a parent or other relative may be entitled to claim bursary funding. All applications will need to be supported by either a GP letter confirming the young carer’s status, proof that they currently access the Young Carers Service or proof they are in receipt of Carers Allowance

Need

The level of bursary support provided will then be dependent on the costs students can demonstrate they incur through entering Sixth Form Study. This does not include any opportunity cost of income which would have been generated if students were not in study.

Documentary evidence of these costs must be provided unless the cost is a charge made by the school. Examples of costs would include (but are not limited to)

•      Travel to and from school (or to a partner educational organisation delivering part of a Sixth Form Programme of Study).

•      Personal Protective Clothing (such as chef’s whites) or necessary clothing required for a course.

•      Books, materials and equipment needed for a particular course (such as for art or other practical subject) Please note that bursary funds are limited and as such we are unable to fund larger items such as cameras and laptops. It may be possible for departments to loan equipment to students.

•      The cost of educational visits related to courses.

Level of Funding and Frequency of Payments

The level of support offered by the bursary depends on the amount allocated to SNHS Sixth Form through the POST 16 Funding DFE and the number of eligible student applications received from above groups 2-4.

Once this has been established during September the priority will be school transport. It is our aim to cover all transport cost to and from school for all eligible students, however if there is insufficient funds available to meet the full travel costs, eligible students will then receive a percentage towards their school travel cost.

Once the funds for school travel have been allocated the remaining bursary fund will be used thoughout the school year for students to claim for personal protective clothing, books, materials and equipment needed for a particular course and the cost of educational visits related to courses. These should be claimed via the ‘Bursary Expenses Claim Form’ available from the Sixth Form Office. If at any point during the academic year the bursary is reporting a surplus this will be distributed between the eligible students in the above groups 2-4. 

All payments are at the discretion of the Head of Sixth Form and School Business Manager.

The funding for students in category 1 is claimed directly from the government by the school and is not part of the discretionary bursary allocation.

The Post 16 Discretionary Bursary may be available to you and although the applications cannot be processed until the student is actually attending the sixth form, we are more than happy for you to send an application into school as soon as you wish, enabling us to assess it and to advise you of a preliminary outcome.  

For further advice, please contact Mrs H Privett in the Sixth Form Office or via email SNHSSixthForm@mysnhs.net