16-19 Bursary

The 16-19 Bursary Fund provides financial support to help students overcome specific barriers to participation so they can remain in education.

The fund is from money given to post-16 providers by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Bursary Types

There are two types of bursary available:

1. Higher-priority students (those from vulnerable groups) who, subject to financial need, will receive a bursary of up to £1,200.00 per year from the school and
2. Discretionary bursaries awarded to other students according to individual needs. For example, to help with the cost of transport to and from school, school lunches, books, equipment, music lessons, school trips, and university summer school programmes.

The school is responsible for managing both types of bursary. Students who want to apply for support from the bursary fund should complete and apply by 30th September of the relevant academic year. Applications received after that date will be considered if there are funds available, but in general, payments will not be back-dated.

Useful information about the bursary can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund

Eligibility Criteria (for all bursaries)

To be eligible for either type of bursary, the student must:

• Be aged over 16 and under 19 as at 31 August preceding the academic year of If a student turns 19 during their programme of study, they can continue to receive the bursary until the end of the academic year in which they turn 19, or to the end of the programme of study, whichever is sooner.
• Meet the residency criteria specified by the These are contained in the EFSA document ‘Funding Regulations for post-16 provision, at the following link: www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund

The student must also meet the criteria below:

Criteria for a Vulnerable Bursary

Vulnerable Bursary - of up to £1,200 per year for young people in one of the defined vulnerable groups. These are young people who are:

• In care
• Care leavers in receipt of Income Support, or Universal Credit in place of Income Support, in their own right
• In receipt of Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit and Disability Living or Personal Independence Payments in their own right

The allocation of these funds will be subject to audit so the school will require proof that the application is genuine in the form of written evidence from the young person and, if appropriate, their key worker. The school will seek and retain copies of evidence from the young person, bearing in mind confidentiality.

Appropriate evidence includes:

• for students in receipt of qualifying benefits, a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions which states the benefit the young person is entitled to (they must be entitled to the benefits in their own right). The letter should confirm that they can be in further education or training as some young people in receipt of benefits are not allowed to participate.
• for students who are in care or a care leaver, written confirmation of their current or previous looked-after status from the relevant local This is the local authority which looks after them or provides their leaving care services. This could be a letter or an email, if it is clearly from the local authority.

A financial needs assessment will also be carried out to determine the amount of support required, up to £1200 per year.

Criteria for Discretionary Bursaries

Students who do not qualify for a Vulnerable Bursary may still be eligible for support. Priority is given to pupils who are entitled to free school meals (FSM). Where there are surplus funds after the allocation of funds to pupils entitled to FSM, the household income is assessed, and funds are awarded to those pupils with the greatest need. Proof of household income should be provided via documents showing entitlement to any of the following means tested benefits:

• Universal Credit (or Tax Credits or Income Support)
• Disability Allowance
• Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Guaranteed Pension Credits

Alternatively, evidence of income from self-employment, a P60, or 3 to 6 months’ worth of bank statements can be provided.

After FSM entitlement, priority is given to those entitled to means tested benefits. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, pupils with a household income above £25,000 are not eligible for support. If you would like the school to consider specific circumstances relevant to a pupil’s eligibility, you can set out these circumstances on the application form and the school will consider them.

In all cases apart from FSM entitlement, you will still need to provide proof of household income.

Applications for Discretionary Bursaries

Applications will be done through Applicaa once enrolled. 

Funding is not guaranteed by the acceptance of an application.

Allocation of Discretionary Bursaries 

Once it is established who will be supported, the funds will need to be allocated:

• 5% of the fund will be held back to cover administrative costs.
• Some funding will be held back for applicants who join later in the year or whose personal circumstances change
• The allocation to the pupils entitled to FSM needs to be equitable; students that apply will be assessed individually and will be awarded a bursary based on their actual financial need.
• If there is still money in the fund after allocation of funds to FSM pupils, then families in receipt of means tested benefits may receive support.
• If funds remain available after this, then applications from others will be considered.
• In all cases, payments must be based on individual This must be specified in detail on the forms. This could be in the form of the payment for specific items required (e.g. meals (if not already FSM), textbooks or revision guides for home use, trips that are part of the pupil’s curriculum, transport costs to school, stationery, uniform, support for music lessons (if music is part of the student’s programme of study).
• Under normal circumstances, and for all discretionary bursary applicants, there will be a cap on bursary payments or other support provided (whether paid directly or indirectly) of £800 per year.

Pupils entitled to FSM should not apply for bursary funding to cover the cost of school meals since these are already available.

Appeals

Pupils have the right to appeal a decision. Pupils, or their parent/carer, will be required to put any appeal in writing within 21 days of receiving confirmation of an award or a rejection.

1. The letter should set out the reasons for the appeal, which must prove that the student has been wrongly assessed as falling outside the eligibility criteria, plus any further evidence to support the It should be sent to the Head of Sixth Form.

2. The decision of the Appeals panel is final and will be given in writing within 14 days of the decision.

3. The Appeals panel will consist of:

• The Head of Sixth Form
• A Governor
• A member of the Senior Leadership Team

The Appeals panel meeting will be clerked by an individual independent of the bursary award process.

Payment

• The school will use payment in kind wherever possible g. course materials, revision guides, school trips, travel card top-ups (for those not already entitled to free public transport) and for those who are not entitled to FSM, meals.
• Where payments in kind are not possible, the school will make online bank transfers.
• Payments will be contingent on the student meeting targets for attendance and punctuality.
• The payment will be made monthly in arrears.
• Some of the money to cover an individual’s curriculum-related activities such as trips or special equipment may be held back.
• There is very clear guidance from the ESFA that any money paid directly should be paid to the student and not to a parent or It is therefore a requirement that pupils applying for a bursary already have a bank account in their own name, or that they apply for one prior to the deadline of 30 September.

Audit/Administration/Monitoring of the Bursary Fund

The fund should be audited in line with the school’s standard audit procedures.

5% of the Bursary Fund will be used to pay for the administration of the fund.

The Head of Sixth Form and the School finance team will oversee the operation of the Bursary Fund.

The operation of the fund will be reviewed by the Local Governing Body each year.