16 - 19 Bursary Fund & Application

  • Please note that the EFSA guidelines specify that bursaries can no longer be a fixed amount but must be awarded according to financial need. It is possible that reduced or no funds are awarded on application.

Please read the 16 – 19 Bursary Policy below for more information:

Ready To Apply?

Please ensure you have read and understood the information on this page, once ready, please contact Cindy Lalani with details of what you would like to claim for and to confirm bursary amount.

Please note: Students who are already in receipt of free school meals at FUS need not apply as you are automatically eligible for the 16 – 19 Bursary.

If you don’t currently receive free school meals but believe you’re eligible please follow this link to find out more and apply.

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

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:

  • Students 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 and 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 job seeker’s allowance
  • Income related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
  • Support under Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Child Tax Credit (provided you are 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 – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

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

  • Students with an annual family income of less than £20,000 in the last tax year (including benefits). This must be established through current Working Tax Credit / Child Tax Credit documentation.
  • Students who can demonstrate through Working Tax Credit / Family Tax Credit that their award has been changed to reflect a change in circumstances so that their annual family income including benefits is now below £20,000.

NB. Students in categories 1 and 2 will automatically be eligible. Students in category 3 must apply by writing a letter to the Headteacher, and provide the
documentation to substantiate their eligibility. The application will then be considered and the conclusion notified within two weeks.

In addition, the following criteria must be met for a student to be eligible:

  • The student must be aged 16 and under 19 on 31st August in the
    academic year in which they start their programme of study. Where a
    student turns 19 during their programme of study, they can continue to be supported until the end of the academic year in which they turn 19, or the end of the programme of study, whichever is sooner.
  • The student must satisfy the residency criteria set out in the YPLA Funding Guidance documents.
  • The student must be on a full-time programme of study.
  • Students receiving payments under the transitional EMA support
    arrangements may be eligible for the 16-19 Bursary in addition to the EMA, but payment will be pro-rated accordingly.

Assessment and Evidence of entitlement

The eligibility of the student for the bursary is assessed using appropriate evidence that could include:

  • A letter setting out the benefit to which the student is entitled.
  • Written confirmation of the student’s current or previous looked-after status from the local authority which looks after the student
  • A Letter or similar showing the receipt of benefit
  • P60
  • Tax Credit Award Notice
  • Evidence of self-employment income
  • Receipt of Free School Meals. Students in receipt of FSM do not need to provide further evidence as this will already have been checked by Dorset County Council and they will automatically be considered eligible for the discretionary bursary.

We would encourage all students in receipt of the discretionary bursary to apply for FSM.

Evidence must be dated within three months of an application. If there is no recent proof a previous award letter will be acceptable if it is accompanied by a recent bank or Post Office account statement showing benefits paid.

Payment of Bursaries

It is expected that bursaries should be used to help students pay for the costs related to participation in education. For example, transport, books and equipment, meals whilst attending courses and the cost of educational visits related to courses/trips.

Whilst the school will not check or monitor the students’ expenditure, we will deduct the cost of any transport provided by the school to the student, where this has not already been paid for.

At the start of the year the estimated cost of providing funding to all students in group 1 and a 5% administration charge will be set aside from the bursary fund. The remaining funds will be allocated to all eligible students in groups 2 and 3. If there are insufficient funds available to meet all eligible claims, a percentage of available funds should be established by dividing the sum available by the eligible number. Eligible students should then receive the relevant percentage.

Accessing allocated funds

Students may request the release of funds from their individual bursary pot by making an application using the form provided in Appendix 1. Payment will be considered for all requests deemed to be related to their 6th form education such as:

  • Books
  • Laptops
  • Equipment
  • Transport
  • Trips

This list is not exhaustive and all requests with an educational link will be considered.

Conditions of Payment

Payment is conditional on good attendance including punctuality and a good attitude to study. Reductions to the student’s pot will be made for poor attendance, poor attitude to study etc. In addition:
• all absences must be properly notified and authorised by calling into the
school office on each day of an absence.
• known absences (e.g. medical appointments, University visits etc.) should
be notified by completing a ‘request for authorised absence’ slip and
returning it to the Sixth form office before the date of the event.
• students should be punctual to registration and lessons and there should be no ‘lates’ reported on SIMS.
• holidays during term time and prolonged medical absences will cause
reductions to the pot as the bursary is awarded to support participation in
education.
• behaviour and effort in lessons are also conditions of payment and negative feedback from teaching staff will result in bursary payments being declined.

Decisions / Appeals

Decisions about acceptability of evidence for eligibility and assessment of need will rest with the Head of Sixth Form.
Appeal from any decision would fall to a panel of a senior member of the teaching staff and a governor. Appeals must be made in writing within five working days of decisions being issued.

The decision of the Appeal panel will be final and communicated in writing to the student.