16-19 Bursary Policy 2017/18

Harlington School

16-19 Bursary Fund 2017/18

School policy

1. Background

In March 2011, the Government announced a new 16-19 Bursary Fund scheme to provide financial assistance to those young people who face a financial barrier to continuing in education or training post-16. The scheme was put in place as a partial replacement for the Education Maintenance Allowance, which closed to new applicants on 1st January 2011.

The 16-19 Bursary Fund has been allocated by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), the funding agency for 16-19 education and training.

This policy sets out the arrangements for how Harlington School will prioritise and administer the 16-19 Bursary Fund in 2017/18.

The School is committed to ensuring the Fund is used to support financially disadvantaged students taking up or continuing in their education or training post-16 and achieving their learning aims.

The named contact at the School for all 16-19 Bursary support/enquiries is Mr Jefferies- Head of Sixth Form (Assistant Headteacher).

The 16-19 Bursary Fund is a limited fund determined by the EFA.

2. General eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Bursary, all students be aged over 16 and under 19 at 31 August 2017and meet the residency criteria in the EFA Funding Guidance 2017/18

If you’re 19 and over

You could also get a bursary if you either:

  • are continuing on a course you started aged 16 to 18 (known as being a ’19+ continuer’)
  • have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

3. Additional eligibility for Guaranteed Bursary

A Guaranteed Bursary is available to all students who are identified as being any of the following: (Please be advised that section 7 will still be applicable)

  • In care (the local authority providing the care for the young person will confirm this).
  • A care leaver (the local authority that looked after the young person will confirm this).
  • In receipt of income support or Universal Credit (evidenced by letter/document from the benefits office).
  • In receipt of both Disability Living Allowance (or Personal Independence Payment) and Employment Support Allowance.

4. Additional eligibility for Discretionary Bursary

A Discretionary Bursary may be awarded, subject to availability of funds, to all students where:

  • thestudent’s parent/guardian/carer(s) are in receipt of one of the following:
  • Income Support.
  • Income Based Jobseekers Allowance.
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
  • Guarantee element of State Pension Credit.
  • Eligible for Free School Meals from 1st September 2017

We encourage ALL 6th Form students to apply. Each student will be assessed individually and awarded a bursary based on their actual financial need. Please be advised that funding is NOT guaranteed if an application has been submitted as the funding is to support students who are financially disadvantaged. A decision letter, with the amount awarded will be sent home by 3rd November 2017.

The bursary fund allocated by EFA is supplemented by an additional amountprovided by the Governors of Harlington School. The intention of this additional funding is to widen the scope of those who qualify for assistance. As a guide, £360.00 was allocated to each student last year, however, if we have more students this year the amount awarded may be substantially less.

5. Evidence

All applications to access the 16-19 Bursary Fund must be supported by appropriate evidence. Copies of evidence may be retained by the School to provide financial assurance as required. All evidence will be treated as confidentialand stored securely.

Acceptable supporting evidence for the Guaranteed Bursary will be either a:

  • Statement from the Local Authority confirming the student’s current or previous looked after status;
  • Recent Entitlement or Award Statement setting out the benefit to which the student is entitled.

Acceptable supporting evidence for the Discretionary Bursary will be either:

  • All partsof the latest Tax Credit Award Notice (TCAN) for the young person’s household. This document from HM Revenue & Customs details entitlement to Tax Credits and the Total Anticipated Income for the year 6 April 2017 to 5 April 2018.

Working families will be urged to apply for Tax Credits if they are haven’t already done so. Applications for Bursary will not be considered until the outcome of the Tax Credit application has been determined.

  • P60 End of Year Certificate for all adults in the student’s household who contribute to household costs. This certificate is a statement of earnings from an employer. It must be for the correct adult(s) and for the correct Tax Year (to 5 April 2017). The income will be shown as Total for year.
  • Self Assessment Tax Calculation (SA302). This is the equivalent of the P60 for self employed people. It must be for the correct adult(s) and for the correct Tax Year (to 5 April 2017). The income will be shown as Total for year.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT ALL INCOME FROM PAID WORK AND BENEFITS RECEIVED ARE DISCLOSED AND EVIDENCE PROVIDED. FAILURE TO DO SO COULD RESULT IN YOUR APPLICATION BEING DECLINED OR DELAYED. HOUSING BENEFIT IS NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

False information, or fraudulent claims may lead to prosecution, and/or the relevant Government department informed.

6. Accessing the funding awarded

Each qualifying student will have an account which will be held within the Finance Office. The amount awarded will be credited to this account. An initial £50.00 will be deposited in October 2017 to each qualifying students. The balance will then be split into 4 credits.

October (30% minus the initial £50.00)

December (20%)

February (20%)

May (30%)

Funding will not be transferred into a personal bank account.

The Finance Office will purchase any educational items on the student’s behalf. A Bursary Purchase Order Form will be available for students to complete detailing their requirements and purchases will only be made if the funding is available in the student’s account.

If the student makes a personal purchase, Finance will refund the cost on production of receipts/proof of purchase, but only if the funding is available, and the purchase is an agreed item that is covered by this policy. Please check before you buy if you are unsure.

It is also imperative students check the amount available before making any purchases.

It is the student’s responsibility to manage their account so not to spend more than is available.Any funds not used by 31st August 2018 will no longer be available to the student and invested into the 6th Form.

Funding will be deducted if students do not meet the qualifying condition requirements mentioned below. Any deductions will be notified in writing to the student’s home address.

An account statement will be sent out to the student’s home address on a monthly basis detailing the funding available.

Students must remember the bursary is intended to help keep young people in education and assist in furthering their studies. Some examples of acceptable expenditure include;

  • Basic stationary including note pads, pens, pencils, rulers, printer paper etc.
  • Course-related books including text books and revision books.
  • Appropriate wider reading books.
  • Educational trips.
  • Higher Education/careers events.
  • Additional tuition sessions.
  • Furniture that may be required to aid study.
  • Specific course materials including art equipment for students studying art-based courses, calculators for those studying technical subjects and appropriate sporting equipment for those studying sport-based subjects.
  • Travel costs to visit university open days

The above list features some examples and is by no means exhaustive.However, students must check with Mr Jefferies for items not included on the list above BEFORE purchase, as the school is under no obligation to reimburse the costs of items not deemed suitable, if permission has not been secured prior to purchase.

7. Qualifying condition requirements

All students in receipt of a Bursary must meet weekly punctuality and attendance requirements to ensure continued support. In addition, all students in receipt of a Bursary must behave appropriately and submit work of an appropriate level and to the required deadlines. If the young person does not meet these conditions, the school reserves the right to withdraw or suspend Bursary payments.

Students will specifically be required to;

  • Achieve 90% or above attendance on a weekly basis. Bursary will be paid incrementally based upon the number of weeks for which attendance is 90% or above. Students should check their weekly attendance with their form tutor and liaise with individual teachers should they feel a mistake has been made regarding subject attendance registers. A parental note or doctors’ note provided within reasonable time of the absence may be taken into consideration.
  • Attend all parents’ evenings, trips or school activities specified within any given week. Absence from parents’ evenings or trips will result in the non-payment of bursary for that specific week. A parental note or doctors’ note provided within reasonable time of the absence may be taken into consideration.
  • Complete all work to a satisfactory standard. Students who do not complete the required work in all subjects may not be in receipt of bursary payment for that specific week.
  • Display an excellent standard of behaviour. Poor behaviour in or around the school may result in the non-issue of bursary for that specific week. Students are advised to refer to the ‘Code of Conduct’ in the Sixth Form student handbook for further details.

Any deductions will be assessed for the following periods:

06.09.17 – 20.10.17Deductions will be taken from October’s funding allocation

30.10.17 – 15.12.17Deductions will be taken from December’s funding allocation

02.01.18 – 09.02.18Deductions will be taken from February’s funding allocation

18.02.18 – 04.05.18Deductions will be taken from May’s funding allocation

8. Application

Applications for a Bursary must be made using the correct Application Form and should be submitted in full by 14th October 2017.

Consideration will be given to assisting any student to make an application where they are unable to do so due to a level of learning difficulty and/or disability.

Consideration will also be given to assisting any student in making an application where they are not able to provide supporting evidence due to difficulties with engagement or support from their parent/guardian/carer(s).

9. Process

All applications for a Bursary will be assessed by a 16-19 Bursary Application Panel, consisting of:

  • School Finance Officer(s)
  • Head of Sixth Form (Assistant Headteacher)

The Panel will review the application, supporting evidence and any other personal circumstantial evidence and young people will be notified of the outcome within two weeks of receipt of all relevant paperwork. Please note that the Panel’s decision is final.

10. Confidentiality

Applications and supporting evidence will be confidential to the 16-19 Bursary Application Panel. The applications and supporting evidence will remain confidential during processing, payment and storage. If it is necessary to obtain additional information to reach a decision, the student and/or their parent/guardian/carer(s) will be told the reasons why this is necessary prior to sharing any information further.

11. Change of students’ financial circumstances

Any student in receipt of a Bursary has a duty to inform the School should their financial circumstances change. This does not automatically mean any future Bursary payments will be stopped but would result in a convening of the 16-19 Bursary Application Panel to determine whether the payments continue or be stopped and the funds redistributed.

12. Student transferring

Where a student in receipt of a Bursary transfers out of the School to another education/training provider in-year, the School will liaise with that provider to ensure continuity of Bursary payments to enable the student to complete the learning aims.

Where a student in receipt of a Bursary transfers in to the School from another education/training provider in-year, the School will liaise with that provider to ensure continuity of Bursary payments to enable the student to complete the learning aims.

13. Student withdrawing

Where a student in receipt of a Bursary withdraws from the School, and does not transfer to another education/training provider, Bursary payments made prior to the date of withdrawal will not be recovered but any scheduled payments to be made after the date of withdrawal will not be made.

14. Further information

Further national information on the 16-19 Bursary Fund can be found at: