2. Full-time further education

The Scottish Funding Council gives money to colleges to provide support for further education (FE) students. Colleges must follow national guidelines in allocating their funds.

The following allowances are available to students attending college on a full-time course:1Scottish Funding Council, National Policy for Further Education Bursaries: 2020-21, June 2020; Scottish Funding Council, Education Maintenance Allowance AY 2019-20, July 2019

•education maintenance allowance;
•bursary maintenance allowance;
•care-experienced bursary maintenance allowance;
•dependants’ allowance;
•additional support needs for learning allowance;
•study expenses allowance;
•travel expenses allowance.

In addition, the following funds are available:2Scottish Funding Council, 2020-21National Policy: FE discretionary fund, June 2020;Scottish Funding Council, 2020-21National Policy: childcare funds for college students, June 2020

•FE discretionary fund;
•childcare fund, including lone parents’ childcare grant.

 

1     Scottish Funding Council, National Policy for Further Education Bursaries: 2020-21, June 2020; Scottish Funding Council, Education Maintenance Allowance AY 2019-20, July 2019 »

2     Scottish Funding Council, 2020-21National Policy: FE discretionary fund, June 2020;Scottish Funding Council, 2020-21National Policy: childcare funds for college students, June 2020 »

Education maintenance allowance

An education maintenance allowance is a means-tested weekly allowance for 16–19 year olds, paid fortnightly in arrears during term time but not during breaks.

You can claim from the autumn term if your 16th birthday falls between 1 March 2020 and 30 September 2020. You can claim from the winter term if your 16th birthday falls between 1 October 2020 and 28 February 2021. If you had an allowance previously, you can claim again if you are continuing in further education for up to three years (four years if you are regarded as ‘vulnerable’). If you can get an education maintenance allowance, you cannot get a bursary maintenance allowance as well, unless you live away from your parents’ home (see here).

If you are 18 or 19 years old, you should be assessed for a bursary maintenance allowance, and will only be considered for an education maintenance allowance if this is better for your household overall, or you do not qualify for a bursary.

You get an education maintenance allowance of £30 a week if your household income is £24,421 or less (£26,884 if your parents have another child under 16, or under 25 in education).

Bursary maintenance allowance

The bursary maintenance allowance is an income-assessed allowance and is discretionary. It is not repayable.

Maximum weekly maintenance allowance 2020/21
	Parental home	Elsewhere
Receiving education maintenance allowance	–	£42.35
Receiving universal credit (UC)	£28.00	£28.00
18 to 24	£84.30	£106.53
25 or over	£106.53	£106.53

Students entitled to an education maintenance allowance and living away from home or whose parental home is not within reasonable travelling distance of the college may be able to get an allowance of £42.35 a week. Other students getting an education maintenance allowance are not eligible for a bursary maintenance allowance.

Students aged 18 to 24 who are self-supporting, or whose parental home is not within reasonable travelling distance of the college, may be able to get an allowance of £106.53. Otherwise, they may be able to get £84.30.

The bursary is different if you have been in local authority care (see here).

A student who gets UC may be eligible for a weekly bursary of £28.

You may be able to get a bursary to pay up to £118.89 a week rent for college accommodation or college-approved lodgings. Instead of the standard maintenance allowance, you get a personal allowance of £31.14 a week. If you get an education maintenance allowance, you can also get your college accommodation rent paid in this way but do not get the extra personal allowance in addition to this.

Care-experienced bursary maintenance allowance

A care-experienced bursary maintenance allowance is an award of bursary maintenance allowance paid to a student who has been in local authority care (‘looked after’). It is £202.50 a week from age 16 onwards. To qualify before the 2020/21 academic year, you had to be younger than 26 years old on the first day of the academic year in which your course started (usually 1 August).

Dependants’ allowance

You can claim an allowance of £57.32 a week for a dependent adult for whom you have care, or financial or legal responsibilities, and whose weekly income is less than £57.32.

Additional support needs for learning allowance

You may be able to get support towards study and travel expenses if you have extra expenses because of a disability. The amounts are at the discretion of the college. You can get this allowance in addition to an education maintenance allowance.

Study expenses allowance

The income-assessed study expenses allowance is for essential items such as textbooks and special clothing. You can get this allowance in addition to an education maintenance allowance.

Travel expenses allowance

You can claim expenses if you have to travel more than two miles (it may be further for some colleges) from your term-time address. You may be able to get travel to college, to a childcare provider, to a mandatory placement and up to eight single journeys between your permanent home and your term-time address. The allowance is income assessed. You can get this allowance in addition to an education maintenance allowance.

Further education discretionary fund

The maximum available from the further education discretionary fund in 2020/21 is £4,000.

Childcare fund

Your college decides how much you can get from the childcare fund. However, if you are an eligible lone parent student, you can get alone parents’ childcare grant from this fund to help with the cost of registered or formal childcare costs. Depending on the costs of childcare, the maximum amount is £1,215 in 2020/21. Your income is not assessed and the grant is not repayable.